Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway
Encyclopedia
The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway was a Pennsylvania line from near Carlisle
southward to Gettysburg
operated by a subsidiary of the Reading Company
. The line also included the Round Top Branch
over the Gettysburg Battlefield
to Round Top, Pennsylvania
until .
and on May 22, 1891, the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad
(the G & H RR superintendent, W. H. Woodward, was retained). On May 18, 1897, on the north side of the railroad’s station at Gettysburg, the "Reading Railway" had finished another siding across Washington St. By 1904, the Gettysburg yards had 5 sidings, including 3 over Washington St and 1 toward Pennsylvania College
's 1889 Glatfelter Hall. Attached to the Washington St siding south of the station was the sole westward siding to the turntable and the roundhouse, which was on the northeast corner of the crossing. The crossing was the site of a 1909 Reading and Western Maryland
collision of freight trains.
Just prior to the 1913 Gettysburg reunion, additional passing sidings on the "Gettysburg & Harrisburg branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway company" were constructed between Goodyear and Gettysburg,http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=waRcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZlgNAAAAIBAJ&dq=hackmen%20gettysburg&pg=4474%2C180540 and a switch from Round Top Branch
connected westbound onto the Western Maryland. The state health department operated reunion comfort stations at both Gettysburg depots (cf.
Gettysburg Railroad Station
),http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=waRcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZlgNAAAAIBAJ&dq=hackmen%20gettysburg&pg=4474%2C180540 and President Woodrow Wilson
used the Round Top Branch
to depart the Great Camp on his special train. On May 18, 1897, on the north side of the railroad’s station at Gettysburg, the "Reading Railway" had finished another siding across Washington St. By 1904, the Gettysburg yards had 5 sidings, including 3 over Washington St and 1 toward Pennsylvania College
's 1889 Glatfelter Hall. Attached to the Washington St siding south of the station was the sole westward siding to the turntable and the roundhouse, which was on the northeast corner of the crossing. The crossing was the site of a 1909 Reading and Western Maryland
collision of freight trains.
Just prior to the 1913 Gettysburg reunion, additional passing sidings on the "Gettysburg & Harrisburg branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway company" were constructed between Goodyear and Gettysburg,http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=waRcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZlgNAAAAIBAJ&dq=hackmen%20gettysburg&pg=4474%2C180540 and a switch from Round Top Branch
connected westbound onto the Western Maryland. The state health department operated reunion comfort stations at both Gettysburg depots (cf.
Gettysburg Railroad Station
),http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=waRcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZlgNAAAAIBAJ&dq=hackmen%20gettysburg&pg=4474%2C180540 and President Woodrow Wilson
used the Round Top Branch
to depart the Great Camp on his special train. On May 18, 1897, on the north side of the railroad’s station at Gettysburg, the "Reading Railway" had finished another siding across Washington St. By 1904, the Gettysburg yards had 5 sidings, including 3 over Washington St and 1 toward Pennsylvania College
's 1889 Glatfelter Hall. Attached to the Washington St siding south of the station was the sole westward siding to the turntable and the roundhouse, which was on the northeast corner of the crossing. The crossing was the site of a 1909 Reading and Western Maryland
collision of freight trains.
Just prior to the 1913 Gettysburg reunion, additional passing sidings on the "Gettysburg & Harrisburg branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway company" were constructed between Goodyear and Gettysburg,http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=waRcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZlgNAAAAIBAJ&dq=hackmen%20gettysburg&pg=4474%2C180540 and a switch from Round Top Branch
connected westbound onto the Western Maryland. The state health department operated reunion comfort stations at both Gettysburg depots (cf.
Gettysburg Railroad Station
),http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=waRcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZlgNAAAAIBAJ&dq=hackmen%20gettysburg&pg=4474%2C180540 and President Woodrow Wilson
used the Round Top Branch
to depart the Great Camp on his special train. Similarly, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
's southbound train passed the Eternal Light Peace Memorial
and stopped at a special station from where he motored to Oak Hill
to dedicate the memorial during the 1938 Gettysburg reunion
. In 1924, the land for the Idaville station was sold.http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=28slAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1_kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4739,1861421&dq=reading-railroad-station+gettysburg&hl=en
One of the railroad’s last excursion trains was a May 7, 1939, Reading Railroad train with 400 from Philadelphia over the Round Top Branch.http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tCMmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=A_0FAAAAIBAJ&dq=deacon-dubbs%201939&pg=5128%2C3340232 Except for special occasions, e.g., Bethlehem
students in 1958,http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3VYmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=h_8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=5368,3736477&dq=reading-railroad+gettysburg+1940&hl=en Reading passenger service to Gettysburg ceased in 1941;http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=32373 and a 1942 application was made to abandon nearly the entire Round Top Branch. The station was repainted in 1946,http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=klJUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QzoNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5552,6071275&dq=reading-railroad-station+gettysburg&hl=en and the turntable and 3-engine roundhouse
had been removed before 1970. The Gettysburg spur south of the east-west Western Maryland RR crossing and that had been part of the Round Top Branch
remained until at least 1962.
filed for bankruptcy in 1971 and the railway line was owned by Conrail in 1976 from April 1-October. The line was purchased by the Blairsville & Indiana Railroad which changed its name to Gettysburg Railroad (1976–1996) and used the line for freight and, under its Gettysburg Passenger Services subsidiary, tourist excursions. (In the mid 1990s the line's junction at Gettysburg was moved west to Seminary Ridge
.) In 1996 the line was purchased by the RailAmerica
subsidiary, Delaware Valley Railroad Company, which created a new operating company, Gettysburg Railway
, that included Gettysburg Scenic Rail Tours. The line was sold October 1997 to John H. Marino, who operated the line until 2001. The station was purchased by Gettysburg College
(which requested restoration funds in 1999) and was used by the Pioneer Lines Scenic Railway for diesel excursions on the line by 2007.
The remaining G. & H. tracks are part of the 25 mi (40.2 km) Gettysburg & Northern Railroad which transports ”canned goods, pulpboard, soda ash, grain, and scrap paper” and connects via 6 stations to the Norfolk Southern Railway
at Mount Holly Springs and CSX Transportation
at Gettysburg.http://www.pioneer-railcorp.com/Subsidiaries/GET/get.html
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
southward to Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
operated by a subsidiary of the Reading Company
Reading Company
The Reading Company , usually called the Reading Railroad, officially the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road and then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway until 1924, operated in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states...
. The line also included the Round Top Branch
Round Top Branch
The Round Top Branch was an extension of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad from the Gettysburg borough across the Gettysburg Battlefield to Round Top, Pennsylvania...
over the Gettysburg Battlefield
Gettysburg Battlefield
The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
to Round Top, Pennsylvania
Round Top, Pennsylvania
Round Top, Pennsylvania, is a populated place near Little Round Top that is notable for 2 Battle of Gettysburg field hospitals, the 1884 Round Top Station, and several battlefield commemorative era attractions for tourists...
until .
History
The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway was formed when the "Reading Railroad" took control of the South Mountain RailroadSouth Mountain Railroad (Cumberland)
The South Mountain Railroad was a southcentral Pennsylvania railway line for "connecting the Pine Grove works to the Cumberland Valley R. R." and which provided mining and passenger services via a southwest section from Hunter's Run, Pennsylvania, and a northern section from Hunter's Run to the...
and on May 22, 1891, the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad
Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad
The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad was a railway line of Pennsylvania from Hunter's Run southward to Gettysburg in the 19th century. The north junction was with the South Mountain RR, and a crossing with the Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad's westward extension was at Gettysburg...
(the G & H RR superintendent, W. H. Woodward, was retained). On May 18, 1897, on the north side of the railroad’s station at Gettysburg, the "Reading Railway" had finished another siding across Washington St. By 1904, the Gettysburg yards had 5 sidings, including 3 over Washington St and 1 toward Pennsylvania College
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
's 1889 Glatfelter Hall. Attached to the Washington St siding south of the station was the sole westward siding to the turntable and the roundhouse, which was on the northeast corner of the crossing. The crossing was the site of a 1909 Reading and Western Maryland
Western Maryland
Western Maryland is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that consists of Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties. The region is bounded by the Mason-Dixon line to the north, Preston County, West Virginia to the west, and the Potomac River to the south. There is dispute over the...
collision of freight trains.
Just prior to the 1913 Gettysburg reunion, additional passing sidings on the "Gettysburg & Harrisburg branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway company" were constructed between Goodyear and Gettysburg,http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=waRcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZlgNAAAAIBAJ&dq=hackmen%20gettysburg&pg=4474%2C180540 and a switch from Round Top Branch
Round Top Branch
The Round Top Branch was an extension of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad from the Gettysburg borough across the Gettysburg Battlefield to Round Top, Pennsylvania...
connected westbound onto the Western Maryland. The state health department operated reunion comfort stations at both Gettysburg depots (cf.
Cf.
cf., an abbreviation for the Latin word confer , literally meaning "bring together", is used to refer to other material or ideas which may provide similar or different information or arguments. It is mainly used in scholarly contexts, such as in academic or legal texts...
Gettysburg Railroad Station
Gettysburg Railroad Station
-American Civil War:Train service to the depot was stopped when Jubal Early's Confederates burned the Rock Creek trestle on June 27, 1863. The depot's telegrapher, a young daughter of "Mr...
),http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=waRcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZlgNAAAAIBAJ&dq=hackmen%20gettysburg&pg=4474%2C180540 and President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
used the Round Top Branch
Round Top Branch
The Round Top Branch was an extension of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad from the Gettysburg borough across the Gettysburg Battlefield to Round Top, Pennsylvania...
to depart the Great Camp on his special train. On May 18, 1897, on the north side of the railroad’s station at Gettysburg, the "Reading Railway" had finished another siding across Washington St. By 1904, the Gettysburg yards had 5 sidings, including 3 over Washington St and 1 toward Pennsylvania College
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
's 1889 Glatfelter Hall. Attached to the Washington St siding south of the station was the sole westward siding to the turntable and the roundhouse, which was on the northeast corner of the crossing. The crossing was the site of a 1909 Reading and Western Maryland
Western Maryland
Western Maryland is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that consists of Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties. The region is bounded by the Mason-Dixon line to the north, Preston County, West Virginia to the west, and the Potomac River to the south. There is dispute over the...
collision of freight trains.
Just prior to the 1913 Gettysburg reunion, additional passing sidings on the "Gettysburg & Harrisburg branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway company" were constructed between Goodyear and Gettysburg,http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=waRcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZlgNAAAAIBAJ&dq=hackmen%20gettysburg&pg=4474%2C180540 and a switch from Round Top Branch
Round Top Branch
The Round Top Branch was an extension of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad from the Gettysburg borough across the Gettysburg Battlefield to Round Top, Pennsylvania...
connected westbound onto the Western Maryland. The state health department operated reunion comfort stations at both Gettysburg depots (cf.
Cf.
cf., an abbreviation for the Latin word confer , literally meaning "bring together", is used to refer to other material or ideas which may provide similar or different information or arguments. It is mainly used in scholarly contexts, such as in academic or legal texts...
Gettysburg Railroad Station
Gettysburg Railroad Station
-American Civil War:Train service to the depot was stopped when Jubal Early's Confederates burned the Rock Creek trestle on June 27, 1863. The depot's telegrapher, a young daughter of "Mr...
),http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=waRcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZlgNAAAAIBAJ&dq=hackmen%20gettysburg&pg=4474%2C180540 and President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
used the Round Top Branch
Round Top Branch
The Round Top Branch was an extension of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad from the Gettysburg borough across the Gettysburg Battlefield to Round Top, Pennsylvania...
to depart the Great Camp on his special train. On May 18, 1897, on the north side of the railroad’s station at Gettysburg, the "Reading Railway" had finished another siding across Washington St. By 1904, the Gettysburg yards had 5 sidings, including 3 over Washington St and 1 toward Pennsylvania College
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
's 1889 Glatfelter Hall. Attached to the Washington St siding south of the station was the sole westward siding to the turntable and the roundhouse, which was on the northeast corner of the crossing. The crossing was the site of a 1909 Reading and Western Maryland
Western Maryland
Western Maryland is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that consists of Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties. The region is bounded by the Mason-Dixon line to the north, Preston County, West Virginia to the west, and the Potomac River to the south. There is dispute over the...
collision of freight trains.
Just prior to the 1913 Gettysburg reunion, additional passing sidings on the "Gettysburg & Harrisburg branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway company" were constructed between Goodyear and Gettysburg,http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=waRcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZlgNAAAAIBAJ&dq=hackmen%20gettysburg&pg=4474%2C180540 and a switch from Round Top Branch
Round Top Branch
The Round Top Branch was an extension of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad from the Gettysburg borough across the Gettysburg Battlefield to Round Top, Pennsylvania...
connected westbound onto the Western Maryland. The state health department operated reunion comfort stations at both Gettysburg depots (cf.
Cf.
cf., an abbreviation for the Latin word confer , literally meaning "bring together", is used to refer to other material or ideas which may provide similar or different information or arguments. It is mainly used in scholarly contexts, such as in academic or legal texts...
Gettysburg Railroad Station
Gettysburg Railroad Station
-American Civil War:Train service to the depot was stopped when Jubal Early's Confederates burned the Rock Creek trestle on June 27, 1863. The depot's telegrapher, a young daughter of "Mr...
),http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=waRcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZlgNAAAAIBAJ&dq=hackmen%20gettysburg&pg=4474%2C180540 and President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
used the Round Top Branch
Round Top Branch
The Round Top Branch was an extension of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad from the Gettysburg borough across the Gettysburg Battlefield to Round Top, Pennsylvania...
to depart the Great Camp on his special train. Similarly, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
's southbound train passed the Eternal Light Peace Memorial
Eternal Light Peace Memorial
The Eternal Light Peace Memorial is a 1938 Gettysburg Battlefield monument commemorating the 1913 "reconciliation of our people North and South after the lapse of only 50 years since they had fought" in the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg...
and stopped at a special station from where he motored to Oak Hill
Oak Ridge, Adams County, Pennsylvania
Oak Ridge is the landform of the Gettysburg Battlefield where the Eternal Light Peace Memorial was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 1938 Gettysburg reunion. 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Whitworth rifled cannon fired from Oak Hill at Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill. The ridge...
to dedicate the memorial during the 1938 Gettysburg reunion
1938 Gettysburg reunion
The 1938 Gettysburg reunion was a Gettysburg Battlefield encampment of American Civil War veterans for the Battle of Gettysburg's 75th anniversary. The gathering included approximately 25 Gettysburg battle veterans and had totals of 1,359 Federal and 486 Confederate attendees of the 8,000...
. In 1924, the land for the Idaville station was sold.http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=28slAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1_kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4739,1861421&dq=reading-railroad-station+gettysburg&hl=en
One of the railroad’s last excursion trains was a May 7, 1939, Reading Railroad train with 400 from Philadelphia over the Round Top Branch.http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tCMmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=A_0FAAAAIBAJ&dq=deacon-dubbs%201939&pg=5128%2C3340232 Except for special occasions, e.g., Bethlehem
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
students in 1958,http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3VYmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=h_8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=5368,3736477&dq=reading-railroad+gettysburg+1940&hl=en Reading passenger service to Gettysburg ceased in 1941;http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=32373 and a 1942 application was made to abandon nearly the entire Round Top Branch. The station was repainted in 1946,http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=klJUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QzoNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5552,6071275&dq=reading-railroad-station+gettysburg&hl=en and the turntable and 3-engine roundhouse
Roundhouse
A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...
had been removed before 1970. The Gettysburg spur south of the east-west Western Maryland RR crossing and that had been part of the Round Top Branch
Round Top Branch
The Round Top Branch was an extension of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad from the Gettysburg borough across the Gettysburg Battlefield to Round Top, Pennsylvania...
remained until at least 1962.
Subsequent companies
The Reading CompanyReading Company
The Reading Company , usually called the Reading Railroad, officially the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road and then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway until 1924, operated in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states...
filed for bankruptcy in 1971 and the railway line was owned by Conrail in 1976 from April 1-October. The line was purchased by the Blairsville & Indiana Railroad which changed its name to Gettysburg Railroad (1976–1996) and used the line for freight and, under its Gettysburg Passenger Services subsidiary, tourist excursions. (In the mid 1990s the line's junction at Gettysburg was moved west to Seminary Ridge
Seminary Ridge
Seminary Ridge is a dendritic ridge which was an area of Battle of Gettysburg engagements during the American Civil War and of military installations during World War II.-Geography:...
.) In 1996 the line was purchased by the RailAmerica
RailAmerica
RailAmerica, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, is a holding company of a number of short-line railroads and regional railroads in the United States and Canada....
subsidiary, Delaware Valley Railroad Company, which created a new operating company, Gettysburg Railway
Gettysburg Railway
The Gettysburg Railway was a Pennsylvania short-line railroad that operated from 1996 to 2001. The 23.4 mi line ran from Gettysburg to Mount Holly Springs. It was a subsidiary of RailAmerica....
, that included Gettysburg Scenic Rail Tours. The line was sold October 1997 to John H. Marino, who operated the line until 2001. The station was purchased by Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
(which requested restoration funds in 1999) and was used by the Pioneer Lines Scenic Railway for diesel excursions on the line by 2007.
The remaining G. & H. tracks are part of the 25 mi (40.2 km) Gettysburg & Northern Railroad which transports ”canned goods, pulpboard, soda ash, grain, and scrap paper” and connects via 6 stations to the Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
at Mount Holly Springs and CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
at Gettysburg.http://www.pioneer-railcorp.com/Subsidiaries/GET/get.html