It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 2:04 pm

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 22 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
 Post subject: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 1:33 pm 

Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2015 7:45 pm
Posts: 190
Location: Boyertown, PA
For those of you near Reading, PA, you might of heard of The Oley Valley Railway, later part of the Reading Street Railway. There Are two trolley cars built for that division still around, and info on either would be much appreciated, but especially #302 because of how close it is to home in Oley, PA. I have heard only of its existance but not of exactly where it is (my only notation was a vague "just outside of Oley") or who owns it.

_________________
"My train of thought derailed. There were no surviviors."


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:50 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 10:58 am
Posts: 384
Location: Reston, VA
I think the car you are looking for is at the intersection of Mill Rd. and Fieldstone Ln., north of Oley. It is to the left of Reading car 95, which is very obvious. It has been converted to a house.


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 10:12 am 

Joined: Tue Sep 26, 2006 9:59 pm
Posts: 112
Location: Woodstock, CT
I believe that location is here:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.4058794,-75.7876787,67m/data=!3m1!1e3


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 3:23 pm 

Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2015 7:45 pm
Posts: 190
Location: Boyertown, PA
So that covers 302. What about 307? I had heard it was "Along Hopewell Road near the Berks/Chester County line" according to the 1970 book "Trolleys of Berks County PA" by Harry Foesig. Does anyone know more about its location?

_________________
"My train of thought derailed. There were no surviviors."


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Sat Mar 14, 2015 12:45 am 

Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2010 3:41 am
Posts: 12
Being an Oley resident ive spent a bit of time following the Oley Valley Railroad. I believe the car on the right is Reading Transit car #95. I would like to stop by one day and ask the current owners what history they have on the cars.


Attachments:
1274466_10201403172695024_322608292_o.jpg
1274466_10201403172695024_322608292_o.jpg [ 178.51 KiB | Viewed 12768 times ]
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Sat Mar 14, 2015 12:47 am 

Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2010 3:41 am
Posts: 12
Builder photo of Oley Valley Railway Car #1 and The horseshoe curve near Shanesville.


Attachments:
66153_10201403284257813_1617030658_n.jpg
66153_10201403284257813_1617030658_n.jpg [ 37.55 KiB | Viewed 12769 times ]
11024764_10205109515751284_4744831897590556_n.jpg
11024764_10205109515751284_4744831897590556_n.jpg [ 159.19 KiB | Viewed 12769 times ]
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 12:17 pm 

Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2015 7:45 pm
Posts: 190
Location: Boyertown, PA
That still leaves 307. I think somebody who knows about it is required, it seems that the area is too wooded to do a satellite search.

_________________
"My train of thought derailed. There were no surviviors."


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:22 pm 

Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2010 9:31 am
Posts: 724
From what I was told, car 307 is "near French Creek State Park." That's all I have.


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2019 10:05 am 

Joined: Wed May 15, 2019 8:57 pm
Posts: 4
I am looking for information on where the Oley Line Sub-Station #1 would have been located on the Oley Valley Trolley line.

I believe I've identified the right of way that may have been used for the 60kV transmission line that would have fed the sub-stations at Oley Line and Shanesville.

Image

This line runs from Reading through Oley Line, and up through Shanesville.

When you zoom in, the line cross Oley Turnpike just west of Moyer Rd.

Image

Logically, that tells me the sub-station would be somewhere in this vicinity as I believe the Trolley generally followed Oley Turnpike until it reached Oley Line and then took a northerly turn.

Does anyone have information that would collaborate this theory?


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2019 1:06 pm 

Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2010 9:31 am
Posts: 724
Has anyone confirmed that the car next to #95 is #302?


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Sun May 19, 2019 8:26 pm 

Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2017 5:54 pm
Posts: 84
6-18003 wrote:
Has anyone confirmed that the car next to #95 is #302?

Given that 302 was reported to be sold with 95 to the same owner, it is a fair assumption that this is 302.
Chenevert wrote:
I am looking for information on where the Oley Line Sub-Station #1 would have been located on the Oley Valley Trolley line.

I believe I've identified the right of way that may have been used for the 60kV transmission line that would have fed the sub-stations at Oley Line and Shanesville.

Image

This line runs from Reading through Oley Line, and up through Shanesville.

When you zoom in, the line cross Oley Turnpike just west of Moyer Rd.

Image

Logically, that tells me the sub-station would be somewhere in this vicinity as I believe the Trolley generally followed Oley Turnpike until it reached Oley Line and then took a northerly turn.

Does anyone have information that would collaborate this theory?

Short answer: good theory but no. The Oley Valley Railway's alignment closely parallels PA Route 73 for most of the way to Oley proper, marked by concrete bridges, abuttments, and a relatively identifiable right of way for being abandoned in 1932. I have identified a building near Shanesville, in the approximate area of where the substation was supposed to be, that resembles the ruins of the one nearer to Carsonia, but this requires further investigation. The following map is an ongoing project of mine, based on maps by Harry Foesig and my own personal observation. It is a work in progress, and isn't complete, but gets across the way it ran from Boyertown to Oley.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1T7nZti_a_VrybsY_cqnWo5MptVM&ll=40.364375458014024%2C-75.70564431264256&z=14


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2019 9:32 pm 

Joined: Wed May 15, 2019 8:57 pm
Posts: 4
Awesome work. Thank you for sharing. I grew up in Limekiln and believe I know where some bridge abutments may be. Do you have data for the line closer to Limekiln as it heads towards Jacksonwald?

Do we know for sure that the high voltage lines that serves the substations ran along the same route as the trolley? Seems logical to me that they may not be on the same route.


Last edited by Chenevert on Mon May 20, 2019 10:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2019 10:04 pm 

Joined: Wed May 15, 2019 8:57 pm
Posts: 4
Here is a possible bridge abutment crossing Monocacy Creek.
https://goo.gl/maps/gBg58koaFKaRpJGk9

Something of interest along what looks like might the trolley line
https://goo.gl/maps/d2RDxx1q9ADchvM3A


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2019 11:27 pm 

Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2013 12:36 am
Posts: 594
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
If you haven't already found the USGS historical maps of the area, here is a 1915 map updated to 1938.

https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/viewer/ ... 1/-75.8026

The "map transparency" slider allows you to fade between this map and a current USGS map.


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Oley Valley Railway Car #302
PostPosted: Tue May 21, 2019 10:02 am 

Joined: Wed May 15, 2019 8:57 pm
Posts: 4
Many thanks. That certainly takes the mystery out of the trolley track alignment.


Offline
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 22 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]


 Who is online

Users browsing this forum: 70000, Google [Bot] and 143 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: