Two remnants of long-gone rail companies are visible in this 1986 scene in the small community of Danielsville, Pennsylvania. In the left foreground is the Lehigh and New England’s freight station, and to the left of the station is the L&NE main line right of way, curving east toward Bender’s Junction and Pen Argyl. Since the trains stopped running in 1961, the brick station, built as part of the 1912-3 Tamaqua extension, has lived multiple lives. At the time of this photo, it has had several courses of bricks covered in stucco, and a small addition has been added on the track side of the building as part of a lawn mower shop. Thirty years later, the building has been covered with siding, and is a styling salon.
The more ornate brick building to the right was built in 1903 by the Blue Ridge Traction Company as its offices, powerhouse, and carbarn. Like so many new transit companies of the day, Blue Ridge Traction started with huge plans that evolved into a six-mile trolley line to Walnutport. The company gave up in 1924, but its substantial structure is still around in 2016. The carbarn doors in the front of the building have been replaced with a frame façade, and the structure houses apartments and a commercial enterprise. The sign at the top of the building still faintly reads, “Blue Ridge Traction Co.”
