By CASSANDRA DAYOUB

Special to The Press

Where train tracks once laid in North Whitehall and Whitehall is now a paved walkway that memorializes the past while serving present visitors.

The Ironton Rail Trail is a completely paved walkway that connects the communities of North Whitehall and Coplay.

It is designed to be 9.2 miles in distance and breaks down into a 4-mile spur toward Ironton and a 5-mile loop around Coplay and Hokendauqua.

According to the IRT Oversight Commission, a recent usage report revealed a 37-percent traffic increase within the last year.

The data collected showed 302,084 individuals on the trail in 2020 - an increase of more than 80,000 from 2019.

“Many people experienced the IRT for the first time in 2020, finding a safe place to exercise outside during the pandemic,” according to IRT Oversight Commission members Ray Deutsch and Ray Bieak.

The trail draws in locals throughout the Lehigh Valley for its scenic views of the Lehigh River and its flat terrain, but what cannot be missed is the artifact graveyard from the 1800s that lines the walk.

The Ironton Rail Trail “is the beginning of the Industrial Revolution,” according to Bieak.

The trail was originally the Ironton Railroad, built by Tinsley Jeter in 1860. He was an iron ore property owner who also developed the area of Ironton.

The 6-mile-long railroad connected with the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Coplay and would transport iron ore from North Whitehall to the Thomas Iron Works in Hokendauqua.

The Ironton Railroad was successful until the mid to late 1900s.

The final demise of the train era came with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s decision to allow trucks to haul dry cement in 1958.

As this country moved forward with more effective ways of transporting material goods, abandoned train tracks sat idle throughout the United States.

In 1974, Congress passed the Regional Rail Reorganization Act, which provided temporary relief to the bankrupt railroads.

Soon after, Conrail (Consolidated Rail Corporation) was created as a government-funded private company that would take ownership of most railroads, including the Ironton Railroad in 1976.

The property was acquired by Whitehall Township from Conrail in 1996 after a six-year negotiation initiated by Mayor Michael Harakal Jr., who filled the township executive position at the time.

“I have a special place with the IRT,” Harakal said.

The IRT Oversight Commission preserved 23 historical sites that can be found along the trail.

Visitors can enter the IRT by trailheads or through neighborhood entrances placed around North Whitehall and Coplay.

The trail is mostly maintained by a committed group of volunteers, Boy and Girl Scouts, local church groups and the IRT Oversight Commission members.

Anyone interested in volunteering for trail cleanup days or for more information on how to enter the trail, may visit Facebook.com and search Ironton Rail Trail or visit irontonrailtrail.org.