Lehigh Valley Standard Towers – An Overview

Lehigh Valley standard towers were located at many places on the railroad, mainly in Pennsylvania and New York.  Not all were alike, as many had slight variations. Most had 5 windows, but some had only 3 or 4, while others had 6.  Most of the later towers had a coal bin attached to the back, while some did not. The tower stairs arrangements also differed. Below is a list of towers verified as being of standard design, which was 5 windows by 3 windows.  Since not all were built this way, a modeler needs to look at pictures of the tower he or she wants to build so that the number of windows and stair arrangement can be known. Drawings of the Lehigh Valley standard tower are in Vol.18 No.3 of the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society’s magazine, Flags, Diamonds & Statues. The N Scale Architect makes an excellent model of the Valley standard tower, which the ARHS had available through its website. For additional info, email Joel Holmes: lehighvalley at twlakes dot net

  • Greens Bridge   (4 X 3, appears to be higher than most other towers.)
  • Phillipsburg Bel Del Tower, Market St. (appears to be a 4 X 3, later modified)
  • Easton (original tower)
  • Bethlehem
  • East Penn Junction
  • Union Street, Allentown (bay window added later)
  • Catasauqua
  • Treichlers
  • Lehighton
  • Tannery
  • Pittston Junction   (6 X 3)
  • Coxton (no coal bin)
  • Athens
  • State Line (stucco)
  • Van Etten (5 X 4, no coal bin)
  • Geneva Junction
  • Niagara Junction
  • Manchester
  • P&L Junction
  • Rochester Junction
  • Tift Farm Junction

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