The Siegfried Station will continue to remain a fixture in the Borough of Northampton.

Northampton Borough Council, at the Feb. 20 meeting, approved a lease agreement with the station's owner, Norfolk Southern Railroad.

Norfolk freight trains cross the historic one-time passenger station and home of the Northampton Area Historical Society.

Borough Manager Gene Zarayko said although the terms of the lease are not what the borough initially desired, the lease was necessary.

"We had no lease," Zarayko said "They [Norfolk & Southern] could have given us 60 days to vacate."

Without the lease, Zarayko stressed, the Siegfried Station likely would have closed.

Zaryko said the lease, which increased from a $252 annual payment to $2,400 yearly, was the best deal the borough was able to reach with Norfolk.

"The lease is for five years," Zarayko said.

It is believed after the five-year contract expires the lease can be renewed.

Zarayko said the Northampton County hotel tax was another factor in securing a formal, signed lease with Norfolk.

The tax provides grants to the Northampton Historical Society and the Siegfried Station, assisting with maintenance and improvements.

The lease will allow the historic society to continue its operations.

Located west of 21st Street, near the Lehigh River and the rail tracks, the one-time passenger station dates back to the early 1900s, before the borough became Northampton, and when there were villages such as Siegfried and Alliance in the community.

A railroad baggage building, torn down years ago, was located west of the present Siegfried Station.

The borough years ago had two railroad passenger stations, one at the Veterans of Foreign Wars site and the other at Siegfried, both operated by Jersey Central Railroad.

Several years back, Norfolk Southern acquired the railroad from Conrail.