Nostalgia & History > Railroad history on display at the Atlas Cement Company Museum

Having nothing to do on this dreary Sunday afternoon, my wife and I decided Sunday would be a good day to visit the Atlas Cement Company's Museum in Northhampton, PA. It is only open on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month so today was the day we went. What we discovered was a little gem when it comes to learning about the local history of this area related to both railroading and Atlas Cement. They were the major provider of cement for building the Panama Canal (8 million barrels), NYC's Empire State Building (151,000 barrels of cement) and Rockefeller Center (450,000 barrels of cement). But the displays just didn't focus solely on cement projects but included the area's railroads. On display were various items and photos of the Northhampton & Bath RR and Atlas Portland Cement Company's steam engine 24. The bell from that engine could be seen in a display case! Regarding that can and bottle of Atlas Beer seen above the bell, it was brewed by Atlas workers who poured the cement for the Panama Canal. A giant model railroad car of Hercules Cement Railroad's hopper HCCX 1000 was also on display to help illustrate the company's patented process of unloading cement. It definitely was an educational and enjoyable visit for us!



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/21 14:20 by Pattenburg.

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I've read about the museum, but have never visited. Cement was a big part of my "roots" as my Dad's family settled in the Lehigh Valley and lived in Ormrod and Coplay (right across the river from Norrthampton). My Grandfather worked for a couple cement companies and retired as a foreman. An uncle was an accountant at St Regis in Nazareth, which I assume was a cement bag facility. I remember the Penn-Dixie tramway that crossed the road between Northampton and Nazareth, which carried limestone from a quarry to the plant. There were nets strung over the road to catch the errant pieces that sometimes fell out of the tram buckets. I used to walk over to Northampton from Grandmom's house in Coplay and visit the N&B yard. I believe the old N&B offices (shown) are now a Walgreens or some such. Although the cement industry is still a part of the Lehigh Valley, it is a shadow of its former self.

TJY
 

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Very interesting. Thank you for sharing this, It seems to be well worth a visit. 

Thanks for posting this story and pictures of an obscure gem.  Gerry

Excellent post, add that museum to the list, realy cool,

Out

Great stuff!  Is that an 0-6-0 cab forward?

boxcar1954 Wrote:
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> Great stuff!  Is that an 0-6-0 cab forward?

Hard to see from that photo.

Looks like a Camelback, just the nose is very short and you can't see it in the photo, refer to the No.21 in the other picture.
Gonut



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/28/21 13:59 by Gonut1.