Monday, April 4, 2022

Liberty Bell Jewett removed from list

This photo, taken today by John Petsche and posted to the Ahead of the Torch Facebook page (no log-in required), shows what remains of Lehigh Valley Transit 805. This "Liberty Bell Jewett" was built for the LVT in 1912 and was one of the cars not rebuilt as freight motors. I'm not sure what its history was after the LVT quit, but like identical car 801 it ended up as a body and was eventually picked up by someone looking to preserve it. Unlike 801, it seems that it was in markedly decrepit condition even when initially earmarked for salvation, and thereafter was stored outside on a truck trailer just off the highway in Penn Allen, PA. As can be inferred from the above photo, in recent years it's been almost totally consumed by trees during the summer, and it's obvious that the roof is starting to cave in. So while this car had been included on the PNAERC list since it seemed to be set aside for preservation, it no longer seems that the car is either (1) being actively maintained or preserved in any way currently, or (2) likely to survive much longer. So it's off the list. That leaves three preserved LVT cars - the aforementioned 801, car 1030 at Seashore, and Key System 271 at Rio Vista.

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