Macungie's Flower Park Station Is a Front-Row Seat on a Busy Freight Line

"We call it a drive-by park," retired Lehigh County Judge Bob Young told The Morning Call in 2015. "Nobody can do much here but just walk nicely around the circle and see our flowers."

For flowers, he has a point. The park at Main and Mill streets is small, and most of us see it through a windshield on Route 100. For trains, though, the borough's own description ends on a different note. It lists the fountain, the flower beds and the "old time Train Station," then says the park gives residents hours of enjoyment watching "the trains pass by." That depot sits right beside one of the busier freight lines in eastern Pennsylvania. You'll see more trains if you sit and wait than if you drive past, and you'll see the most if you know when the line is busy.

A Hotel Lot, a Longwood Adviser and a Replica Depot

The "station" was never a working depot. Railpace Newsmagazine calls it an ersatz Macungie station, an open-air shelter at the Route 100 grade crossing. Rail fans online call it the Macungie Railfan Pavilion.

The ground under it has its own history. The Macungie Hotel stood there, a restaurant known for its lobster dishes, until a fire on August 23, 1985. Afterward, the charred shell sat on the corner for more than a decade. The property was condemned and auctioned. Young's son bid on it for him, and Young later donated the land to the borough.

What came next was not a quick cleanup. An expert from Longwood Gardens was brought in to advise the Macungie Garden Club. The club planted 10,000 flowers and put in the fountain, the lights and the brick path. The first tulips came from Holland. The park was finished in 2000 and won the 2002 Governor's Award for Excellence in Local Government for reviving the hotel site. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society gave it an award the following year and a maintenance award in 2005.

By 2015, the yearly routine was set. The Garden Club ordered plants with roughly $2,000 that Borough Council set aside in its budget, and about 20 volunteers planted them. One May morning that year, they put in 3,200 annuals. The same article mentioned something that matters for this guide. It said the park appeals to "flower fans, photo seekers and train watchers" because it sits right on the Norfolk Southern line.

What Rolls Past Main and Mill

The tracks beside the pavilion were laid by the East Pennsylvania Railroad in 1859. They became part of the Philadelphia & Reading in 1865, part of Conrail in 1976 and part of Norfolk Southern in 1999. Railpace calls today's Reading Line "busy" and "a vital link for NS," carrying traffic from the south and west toward New Jersey.

It is not a sleepy branch line. Between Macungie and Allentown, general freight trains run as fast as 50 mph and intermodal trains as fast as 60 mph. Railpace says that's too fast to chase a train by car on local roads. Special locomotives come through too. A Railpace aerial photo shows NS 8114, the Original Norfolk Southern heritage unit, leading eastbound train 28X past the Route 100 crossing on February 24, 2024.

The crossing itself is new this year. Norfolk Southern replaced it in July. Route 100 closed at 6 a.m. Saturday, July 11, and was expected to reopen Sunday evening. During the work, PennDOT detoured traffic onto US 222, I-78, Lehigh Street, Chestnut Street and Buckeye Road.

Timing a Train Without Signals

Railroad signals used to give a heads-up that a train was coming. Not anymore. Norfolk Southern has removed the automatic block signals along the line in recent years. The nearest signals still in place are dispatcher-controlled ones at CP-Alburtis, milepost 24, and at CP-BURN on Auburn Street in Allentown. Trackside detectors that check passing trains for dragging equipment and overheated wheel bearings announce their readings over the radio. The one in Topton reads out at milepost 18.8, and there's one right in Emmaus at milepost 29.9. Railpace suggests a scanner or the Scanner Radio phone app to hear what's coming.

Without a scanner, the clock is your best tool. Railpace describes the daily pattern this way:

On weekdays there's extra activity just west of town. Local train H11 out of Allentown switches ends on the siding at Alburtis, then turns north onto the Catasauqua & Fogelsville Branch at CP-Alburtis. A weekday morning visit, before the midday lull, gives the best odds of a busy stretch.

Setting Up at the Pavilion This Month

Railpace's directions are simple. Turn onto Mill Street at the crossing, where there's plenty of parking and a fairly good view of trains in both directions. October has a particular reason to go. Railpace points out a large maple on the north side of the tracks that turns "an explosion of color in the fall." If kids get restless between trains, a convenience store sits across Route 100, and a Wawa and a McDonald's are half a mile north on Route 100.

One rule matters more than any timetable. The Federal Railroad Administration says railroad property is off-limits except at designated crossings, and trains can come at any time from either direction. At 50 to 60 mph, that warning is real. The pavilion, the benches and the brick path give you a good view from public ground.

Other Places to Watch Within a Few Miles

Once the pavilion feels familiar, the same Railpace guide points to other spots along the line between Macungie and Emmaus:

1. Macungie Veterans Association, 287 Lehigh St. Railpace recommends the broadside view across its lawn. Ask the association for permission before setting up there.
2. Scenic View Drive, west of town. A broadside view near where the Orchard Road grade crossing used to be. That crossing has been closed and removed.
3. South Fourth Street overpass, Emmaus. Railpace's pick for westbound trains, and better than the Sixth and Seventh Street crossings nearby.
4. Golden Street beside the Emmaus Theater. Views from higher ground, an easy stop before or after a show.
5. Klines Lane and East Harrison Street. Morning spots. Klines Lane has easy parking and a view in both directions, and East Harrison Street has an open view of westbound trains.

The drive between the two boroughs is part of it. Railpace's route runs east on Buckeye Road past the Buckeye Tank Farm, then left at the Trivet diner where it meets Route 29, which becomes Chestnut Street on the west side of Emmaus.

When the Weather Turns or the Kids Want More

The real line runs every day, but some days call for a roof or a ride. Three nearby options cover the rest of the season.

The Lehigh & Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum at 705 Linden St. in Bethlehem has a 5,000-square-foot layout that models Lehigh Valley, Reading and Central of New Jersey routes, so kids get to see the railroads of this region in miniature. Admission is $8 for adults, and children 12 and under get in free. The next open house is Sunday, October 18. Its holiday schedule lists steam train displays November 27 and 28, Thomas and Friends December 12 and 13, and passenger trains December 19 and 20. Check the museum's schedule before you go.

The Great Pumpkin Train from Delaware River Railroad Excursions, 38 Market St. in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, runs weekends through November 1. Every child gets a free pumpkin, and mining and corn maze activities cost extra. As of today, about four weekends are left.

Lock Ridge Park and Furnace Museum at 525 Franklin St. in Alburtis tells the industrial story behind lines like this one. The furnace made iron from 1868 to 1921. Lehigh County lists self-guided outdoor exhibits year-round, with weekend tours from May through September, so this time of year it's an outdoor walk.

The Park's December Shift

When the flower beds are bare, the park becomes the borough's gathering spot again. Last year's Macungie tree lighting took place December 4, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. at the Flower Park by the railroad tracks, with a sing-along, cocoa and cookies, and a visit from Santa. The date has moved from year to year. It was December 6 in 2024, and in 2015 The Morning Call described it as the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. As of early October, the 2026 date hasn't been posted, so watch the borough calendar. If a freight train passes during the countdown, the tracks are right there.

Jeff Adams has spent more than 30 years in construction and renovation, so he looks at a house the way a builder does, down to the foundation, the windows and the noise a busy road or rail line brings. If you own a home within a few blocks of Main and Mill and want to know what it would sell for in today's market, Jeff Adams will walk through it with you and give you an honest number. Get Your Free Home Valuation.