All Aboard! IronPigs Honor Lehigh Valley’s Railroad History by Becoming IronHorses on September 3

Allentown, PA (June 27, 2023) – As part of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Salute to the Lehigh Valley, presented by Matheson, the IronPigs will transform into the IronHorses on Sunday, September 3 in honor of the rich railroad tradition that helped shape the Lehigh Valley.

The transformation will include an IronHorses inspired logo and jersey. The IronPigs will don the IronHorses jersey and hat on Sunday, September 3, against the Syracuse Mets. The IronHorses jersey will be auctioned off following the game.

As part of the IronPigs Salute to the Lehigh Valley, presented by Matheson, the story of the Lehigh Valley can’t be told without the help of the rail industry and IronHorses that powered them. IronHorses, the colloquial term for the first steam locomotives, were the driving force that transformed the Lehigh Valley from a collection of coal mines and fields, to an interconnected web of cities and towns that transformed the region’s economy from local to national. At the time of the transition to steam locomotives, most machinery and transportation was still powered by horses, hence the easy connection.

IronHorses themed merchandise is now available for purchase at the IronPigs Clubhouse Store. Visit the store at Coca-Cola Park or shop online at shopironpigs.com to see the selection of IronHorses merchandise. Tickets for the September 3 game are available now and you can secure your seats online by going to ironpigsbaseball.com or by phone at (610) 841-PIGS (7447).

Specifically in the Lehigh Valley, these IronHorses helped transform the region, beginning in the mid-19^th century. The Lehigh Valley Railroad’s original and primary route between Easton and Allentown, was built in 1855. One of the primary purposes of the original building of the railroad was for the transportation of coal, but eventually the region flourished enough that passenger transportation became a huge factor as well. As the region became entrenched as one of the main coal and eventually steel suppliers to the nation, the Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railroad transported coal, ore, limestone and iron for furnaces for the Thomas Iron Company, the Lehigh Crane Iron Company, the Lehigh Valley Iron Works, the Carbon Iron Company, and others.

In 1862, Asa Packer (founder of Lehigh University) was elected as President of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Under his stewardship, the railroad industry in the Lehigh Valley continued to flourish, now incorporating vast amounts of tourists and passengers as students and families of Lehigh University would fill into Packer’s trains. The Lehigh Valley Railroad had one of the most prestigious passenger trains at the time, the Black

Diamond, which carried passengers to the Finger Lakes and Buffalo. The name Black Diamond derived from the main cargo the rail line carried, anthracite coal.

With the iron and coal industry booming thanks to the innovations of the railroads and IronHorses, the Lehigh Valley continued to grow. The railroads that initially carried the raw coal and steel products from the mines to furnaces continued to expand, adding lines connecting the Lehigh Valley to the rest of the northeast and even as far as Canada. The fact that the Lehigh Valley had an expanding rail network, combined with two of the most valuable resources of the day, made the Lehigh Valley an essential lynchpin of the American economy.

By the 1950’s, the railroad industry was usurped by the automobile. Even still, the impact that the IronHorse had on the Lehigh Valley is undeniable. Walk around downtown Allentown, Bethlehem, or Easton, and there are still remnants of the IronHorses, from old train stations to railroad track that has since been paved over. Still today, some of these rail lines operate for tourist excursions, such as the Allentown and Auburn Railroad, The Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern Railroad, the Colebrookdale Railroad, and the Reading & Northern Railroad.

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The IronPigs are presented by Capital BlueCross.

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