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.

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. The colors of the new IronHorses logo pays tribute to the prominent Lehigh Valley Railroad.

The Lehigh Valley IronHorses will play at Coca-Cola Park for one night only on Sunday, September 3 at 6:35 p.m. Click the link below to purchase tickets to watch the IronHorses take on the Syracuse Mets on Sunday, September 3.

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.

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.