Middletown and Hummelstown Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Middletown and Hummelstown Railroad is a shortline railroad
which operates freight
and passenger excursion train
s in Middletown, Pennsylvania
to Hummelstown, Pennsylvania
, just outside of Hershey
and Harrisburg
.
s for passenger excursions. Coaches are 1920s-vintage Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
cars. Passengers board at the 1891-era freight station in Middletown for an 11 miles (17.7 km) round-trip excursion along the Swatara Creek and Union Canal
; a narrator relates history of the canal and various sites along the trip.
There is also a collection of heritage railway rolling stock displayed in the Middletown Yard. A more modern 1969 engine is used to transport freight trains. Freight service has been provided since 1976 and passenger excursion service has been provided since 1986.
stop. Several yards north, lies the busy four-lane U.S. Route 322
and Hummelstown proper, where the railway connects with Norfolk Southern's (NS) busy Harrisburg Line
freight line. Railway management has requested additional crossing allowance of the highway, as PennDOT currently restricts the railway to 12 crossings per year and is willing to install additional crossing protection (gates, additional flashers).
Freight business is minimal on the Middletown and Hummelstown Railroad. Management has stated that regular access to the NS line in Hummelstown would greatly help grow the railway's freight potential.
PennDOT said it believes more discussion regarding warning devices for the crossing is needed given the volume and type of traffic on Route 322, which is a semi-limited-access highway at that crossing. In addition, the Hummelstown Borough Council has expressed concern around quality of life issues (noise, odor, safety) with having more trains passing through town.
Shortline railroad
A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the USA and Canada...
which operates freight
Freight train
A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars or goods wagons hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain...
and passenger excursion train
Excursion train
An excursion train is a chartered train run for a special event or purpose.Examples of excursion trains:* A train to a major sporting event* A train run for railfans or tourism...
s in Middletown, Pennsylvania
Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Middletown is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River, nine miles southeast of Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
to Hummelstown, Pennsylvania
Hummelstown, Pennsylvania
Hummelstown is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,360 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, just outside of Hershey
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Hershey is a census-designated place in Derry Township, Dauphin County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The community is located 14 miles east of Harrisburg and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hershey has no legal status as an incorporated municipality...
and Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
.
Passenger excursion trains
The company uses both steam and diesel locomotiveLocomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s for passenger excursions. Coaches are 1920s-vintage Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company was a railroad connecting Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley, rich in anthracite coal, to Hoboken, New Jersey, , Buffalo and Oswego, New York...
cars. Passengers board at the 1891-era freight station in Middletown for an 11 miles (17.7 km) round-trip excursion along the Swatara Creek and Union Canal
Union Canal (Pennsylvania)
The Union Canal was a towpath canal that existed in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States during the 19th century. First proposed in 1690 to connect Philadelphia with the Susquehanna River, it ran approximately 75 mi from Middletown on the Susquehanna below Harrisburg to Reading on...
; a narrator relates history of the canal and various sites along the trip.
There is also a collection of heritage railway rolling stock displayed in the Middletown Yard. A more modern 1969 engine is used to transport freight trains. Freight service has been provided since 1976 and passenger excursion service has been provided since 1986.
Controversy
Though the railway owns the trackage between its two namesake towns, it currently only regularly operates as far north as the Indian Echo CavernsIndian Echo Caverns
Indian Echo Caverns is a show cave in Derry Township near Hummelstown, Pennsylvania in the United States. The limestone caves are open for the public to visit via guided tour....
stop. Several yards north, lies the busy four-lane U.S. Route 322
U.S. Route 322
U.S. Route 322 is a long, east–west United States Highway, traversing Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The road is a spur of U.S. Route 22 and one of the original highways from 1926...
and Hummelstown proper, where the railway connects with Norfolk Southern's (NS) busy Harrisburg Line
Harrisburg Line
The Harrisburg Line is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line runs from Philadelphia west to Harrisburg along the former Reading Company main line....
freight line. Railway management has requested additional crossing allowance of the highway, as PennDOT currently restricts the railway to 12 crossings per year and is willing to install additional crossing protection (gates, additional flashers).
Freight business is minimal on the Middletown and Hummelstown Railroad. Management has stated that regular access to the NS line in Hummelstown would greatly help grow the railway's freight potential.
PennDOT said it believes more discussion regarding warning devices for the crossing is needed given the volume and type of traffic on Route 322, which is a semi-limited-access highway at that crossing. In addition, the Hummelstown Borough Council has expressed concern around quality of life issues (noise, odor, safety) with having more trains passing through town.