Northern Central Railway
Encyclopedia
The Northern Central Railway was a Class I Railroad
connecting Baltimore, Maryland with Sunbury, Pennsylvania
. Completed in 1858, the line came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad
(PRR) in 1861, when the PRR acquired a controlling interest in the Northern Central's stock to compete with the rival Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
(B&O). Thereafter, the Northern Central operated as a subsidiary of the PRR until much of its Maryland trackage
was washed out by Hurricane Agnes
in 1972.
ed by an act of the legislature of Maryland
on February 13, 1828, with authority to construct a railroad from Baltimore to the Susquehanna River
. To reach the Susquehanna at any commercially useful point, the new line would have to cross the state line into York County, Pennsylvania
. However, the Pennsylvania legislature
did not look favorably on the prospect of the trade of its southern counties being tapped for the benefit of Baltimore, instead of Philadelphia
, and would not grant a charter for a connecting railroad. Construction had begun in 1829, and reached as far north as the York Road at Cockeysville
by 1831. At that time, the Baltimore & Susquehanna obtained an amendment to its charter from the Maryland legislature which allowed it to built via Westminster
into the headwaters of Monocacy Creek
, intending to reach Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
. New construction began at Hollins and ran west through the Green Spring Valley. The line reached the Reistertown Road at Owings Mills
on June 13, 1832. However, despite fierce opposition from Philadelphia interests, the Pennsylvania legislature finally chartered the York and Maryland Line Rail Road on March 14, 1832, authorizing it to connect the Baltimore & Susquehanna, at the state line, with York, Pennsylvania
, a commercial center on Codorus Creek
.
The directors of the Baltimore & Susquehanna did not immediately give up their planned route via Westminster, the terms of the new charter being somewhat onerous. The Adams County Railroad was chartered on April 6, 1832, in Pennsylvania, to run from Gettysburg to the Maryland state line, but was never constructed, nor was the line to Westminster (later the Green Spring Branch) extended. A further amendment to the York & Maryland Line's charter in 1837 allowed it the unlimited use of the Wrightsville, York and Gettysburg Railroad, which it had aided financially. The Baltimore & Susquehanna, and York & Maryland Line had completed the line from Baltimore to York by 1838. This line included the Howard Tunnel
, the earliest railroad tunnel
in the U.S. still in use today.
In 1832 the railroad purchased its first locomotive
, the Herald, which was run along the route from Baltimore to Owings Mills. This purchase was a major undertaking, for it was built in England
and transported by ship The America's. Also, because the age of railroading was new to America, an engineer was sent with the locomotive to ensure that he could teach others the finer art of locomotive engineering. John Lawson, (b. Makerfield, November 27, 1810) went on to own, captain and be first engineer to the Cherokee steamboat, which helped with the Confederate Army effort during the American Civil War
.
In April 1840, the Wrightsville, York & Gettysburg had been completed between York and Wrightsville
, on the Susquehanna. There a connection was made to the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge
, allowing trains to cross the river and reach the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad and later, the Pennsylvania Railroad
just prior to the Civil War. The railroad provided an alternative method of shipping cargo from central Pennsylvania to the Maryland seaports versus the Tide Water and Susquehanna Canal. However, the cost of expansion and inconsistent tariff
policies plagued the Baltimore & Susquehanna and limited further growth.
The York and Cumberland Railroad Company was chartered on April 21, 1846 to connect the York & Maryland Line with the Cumberland Valley Railroad
somewhere north of Mechanicsburg
. It was opened on February 10, 1851, running north from York to the Susquehanna and then following the river to Lemoyne
, across the river from Harrisburg
. It was briefly operated by the Cumberland Valley, but the Baltimore & Susquehanna took over operations on June 7. Work also began on the Hanover Branch Railroad
, a line connecting Hanover
with the York & Maryland Line at Hanover Junction
.
On April 14, 1851, the Susquehanna Railroad was chartered to build north from the York & Cumberland or the Pennsylvania Railroad
up the Susquehanna through Halifax
, Millersburg
and Sunbury
, where it would fork into two branches reaching Williamsport
and Wilkes-Barre
. It was an ambitious enterprise, badly in need of capital
, and as yet unorganized. The charter was amended on April 24, 1852, to allow the York & Cumberland and Wrightsville, York & Gettysburg to subscribe or loan up to $500,000 to the company, and to permit the counties and boroughs along the way to contribute funds. The Maryland legislature authorized the City of Baltimore to contribute the same amount on May 14. The Susquehanna RR finally elected officers on June 10, and was soon embroiled in a dispute with the Sunbury and Erie Railroad over right-of-way.
Meanwhile, on May 27, the Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Railroad (renamed the Western Maryland Railroad in 1853) was incorporated
to build from the end of the line at Owings Mills towards Hagerstown
. On July 4, a serious accident occurred on the Baltimore & Susquehanna when a special picnic excursion collided with a York local, killing thirty-one persons. The Hanover Branch Railroad was opened to Hanover on October 22 and operated by the Baltimore & Susquehanna. On May 10, 1853, the Baltimore & Susquehanna's charter was amended to permit it to build two branches to the Patapsco River
(the Canton Extension), but this was stymied by legal problems and difficulties in tunneling.
On the northward extension, the Susquehanna RR let contracts for the line from Lemoyne to Sunbury in November 1852, and construction began on February 22, 1853. A financial crisis beginning in the fall of 1853 proved a severe embarrassment to the Baltimore & Susquehanna and associated railroads, and on March 10, 1854, the Maryland legislature authorized the Baltimore & Susquehanna, York & Maryland Line, York & Cumberland, and Susquehanna Railroads to merge, writing off its investment in the lines in exchange for a mortgage
on the new railroad. Construction halted on the Susquehanna RR. The Pennsylvania legislature authorized the merger on May 3, and articles of consolidation
were signed on December 4 (filed December 16, 1854), forming the Northern Central Railway Company.
On April 1, 1855, the Northern Central stopped operating the Hanover Branch RR, which began independent operation. On December 20, 1855, construction resumed on the northward extension, and by December 28, 1856, the line had bridged the Susquehanna at Dauphin
and reached Millersburg, connecting with the Dauphin and Susquehanna Railroad and the Lykens Valley Railroad, respectively. These were lateral lines tapping coal mines east of the Susquehanna, and the extension afforded them a direct outlet by rail rather than by canal boat. In 1857, it reached Herndon
and the Trevorton Coal and Railroad Company, another mining line. On June 28, 1858, the line was opened to Sunbury, where it connected with the Shamokin Valley and Pottsville Railroad, to Shamokin
, and the Sunbury and Erie Railroad, to Williamsport.
In 1861, the PRR acquired a controlling interest in the Northern Central's stock to compete with the rival B&O. Thereafter, the Northern Central operated as a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad until the latter's demise in the late 20th century.
During the Civil War, the Pennsylvania Railroad-controlled Northern Central served as a major transportation route for supplies, food, clothing, and materiel
, as well as troops heading to the South from Camp Curtin
and other Northern military training stations. During the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign
, Confederate
Major General
Jubal A. Early raided the NCR during his occupation of York, burning some rolling stock
and a few machine shops in the rail yard
. To impair traffic between Baltimore and Harrisburg, his cavalry
destroyed a large number of York County bridges originally constructed by the B&S. They were quickly rebuilt by Herman Haupt
and the U.S. Army Military Railroad in conjunction with the Northern Central Railway. Traffic resumed shortly thereafter, and thousands of wounded soldiers from the Battle of Gettysburg
, including Union
Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles
, were evacuated via the Northern Central to hospitals in Harrisburg, Baltimore, York, and elsewhere.
The Northern Central was attacked again on July 10, 1864, when a 130-man Confederate cavalry detachment attacked the line near Cockeysville, under orders from Gen. Bradley T. Johnson
. After cutting telegraph wires along Harford Road, they encamped at Towson
overnight. The next day, the Confederate cavalry skirmished with a smaller force of Union cavalry along York Road as far south as Govens, before heading west to rejoin Gen. Johnson's main force.
Abraham Lincoln
traveled on the Northern Central on his way to deliver the Gettysburg Address
in November 1863, changing trains in Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania
. After Lincoln's assassination
, his body was transported via the same rails on the funeral train
's journey from Washington, D.C.
, to Springfield, Illinois
. The nine-car train departed Washington on April 21, 1865, arriving at Baltimore's Camden Station
at 10 a.m. on the B&O Railroad. After public viewing of the President's remains, the train departed Baltimore on the Northern Central at 3 p.m. and arrived at Harrisburg at 8:20 p.m., with a brief stop at York.
On March 31, 1881, the Northern Central acquired the Union Railroad of Baltimore whose route ran from Baltimore to Bayview Junction, Maryland. In 1898, they built the Millersburg Passenger Rail Station
.
and equipped with block signals between Baltimore and Harrisburg by World War I
. The line carried heavy passenger and freight
traffic until the 1950s. On-line freight included flour, paper, milk, farm products, coal, and less-than-carload shipments
between such settlements as White Hall, Parkton, Bentley Springs, Lutherville, and the city of Baltimore. Local commuter service, referred to as the "Parkton local," operated over the 28 miles (45 km) between Calvert Station in Baltimore and Parkton, Maryland
. Long distance passenger trains equipped with sleepers and dining cars were also operated by the PRR over the line from Baltimore Penn Station
to Buffalo
, Toronto
, Chicago, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri
, with through-sleeping car service as far as Houston, Texas
(see 1955 timetable, below). Much of the "Pennsy's" through freight service to points west was routed via its electrified Port Deposit line along the Susquehanna River to Enola Yard
in Harrisburg, however, instead of the Northern Central line.
With the decline in rail passenger and freight service in the 1950s, accelerated by completion of the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway (I-83), the "Parkton locals" were dropped in 1959 and the line was reduced from double-track to single-track. Some long-distance trains, such as the General to Chicago and the Buffalo Day Express, continued to operate until the late 1960s. In 1972, when Hurricane Agnes
caused bridge damage and washouts along the line, it ceased operations completely. One of the oldest rail lines in the country, it had run for a total of 134 years.
(PC).
After sustaining damage along the main line due to Hurricane Agnes, the PC petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission
to abandon the railroad south of York. The section of the line between York and New Freedom was acquired by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
in June 1973.
A series of events including inflation, poor management, abnormally harsh weather conditions and the withdrawal of a government-guaranteed 200-million-dollar operating loan forced the Penn Central to file for bankruptcy
protection in 1970. PRR operated under court supervision until 1976, when its lines were tranferred to a new government corporation, Conrail. (See Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act
.)
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources
converted the corridor north of Cockeysville into a trail which opened to the public in 1984. It is known in Maryland as the Northern Central Railroad Trail
. The trail continues into Pennsylvania, where it becomes the York County Heritage (YCH) trail. The line south of Cockeysville was rebuilt in the late 1980s and is now part of the double-tracked Baltimore Light Rail
system.
Class I railroad
A Class I railroad in the United States and Mexico, or a Class I rail carrier in Canada, is a large freight railroad company, as classified based on operating revenue.Smaller railroads are classified as Class II and Class III...
connecting Baltimore, Maryland with Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Sunbury is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and West branches. The population was 9,905 at the 2010 census...
. Completed in 1858, the line came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
(PRR) in 1861, when the PRR acquired a controlling interest in the Northern Central's stock to compete with the rival Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
(B&O). Thereafter, the Northern Central operated as a subsidiary of the PRR until much of its Maryland trackage
Rail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
was washed out by Hurricane Agnes
Hurricane Agnes
Hurricane Agnes was the first tropical storm and first hurricane of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season. A rare June hurricane, it made landfall on the Florida Panhandle before moving northeastward and ravaging the Mid-Atlantic region as a tropical storm...
in 1972.
Early history
The Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad Company was charterCharter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
ed by an act of the legislature of Maryland
Maryland General Assembly
The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is a bicameral body. The upper chamber, the Maryland State Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives...
on February 13, 1828, with authority to construct a railroad from Baltimore to the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
. To reach the Susquehanna at any commercially useful point, the new line would have to cross the state line into York County, Pennsylvania
York County, Pennsylvania
York County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 434,972. It is in the Susquehanna Valley, a large fertile agricultural region in South Central Pennsylvania....
. However, the Pennsylvania legislature
Pennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times , the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by...
did not look favorably on the prospect of the trade of its southern counties being tapped for the benefit of Baltimore, instead of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, and would not grant a charter for a connecting railroad. Construction had begun in 1829, and reached as far north as the York Road at Cockeysville
Cockeysville, Maryland
Cockeysville is a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 19,388 at the 2000 census.-History:...
by 1831. At that time, the Baltimore & Susquehanna obtained an amendment to its charter from the Maryland legislature which allowed it to built via Westminster
Westminster, Maryland
Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a greater Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV...
into the headwaters of Monocacy Creek
Monocacy Creek
Monocacy Creek is a tributary of the Lehigh River in Northampton County, Pennsylvania in the United States.One of only 56 limestone streams in the state of Pennsylvania, the creek's headwaters lie in the slate belt, near the borough of Chapman....
, intending to reach Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
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...
. New construction began at Hollins and ran west through the Green Spring Valley. The line reached the Reistertown Road at Owings Mills
Owings Mills, Maryland
Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population was 20,193 at the 2000 census. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus for the Baltimore Metro Subway and to Owings Mills Mall....
on June 13, 1832. However, despite fierce opposition from Philadelphia interests, the Pennsylvania legislature finally chartered the York and Maryland Line Rail Road on March 14, 1832, authorizing it to connect the Baltimore & Susquehanna, at the state line, with York, Pennsylvania
York, Pennsylvania
York, known as the White Rose City , is a city located in York County, Pennsylvania, United States which is in the South Central region of the state. The population within the city limits was 43,718 at the 2010 census, which was a 7.0% increase from the 2000 count of 40,862...
, a commercial center on Codorus Creek
Codorus Creek
Codorus Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in York County, Pennsylvania in the United States.-Course:Codorus Creek rises on Beecher Hill in Manheim Township, just north of the Pennsylvania-Maryland line and the town of Lineboro, Maryland...
.
The directors of the Baltimore & Susquehanna did not immediately give up their planned route via Westminster, the terms of the new charter being somewhat onerous. The Adams County Railroad was chartered on April 6, 1832, in Pennsylvania, to run from Gettysburg to the Maryland state line, but was never constructed, nor was the line to Westminster (later the Green Spring Branch) extended. A further amendment to the York & Maryland Line's charter in 1837 allowed it the unlimited use of the Wrightsville, York and Gettysburg Railroad, which it had aided financially. The Baltimore & Susquehanna, and York & Maryland Line had completed the line from Baltimore to York by 1838. This line included the Howard Tunnel
Howard Tunnel
The Howard Tunnel is located near New Salem, Pennsylvania. In operation since 1838, it is the second oldest active rail tunnel in the U.S. Originally constructed by the York and Maryland Line Rail Road, it formed a critical link in the north-south line assembled by the Northern Central Railway.It...
, the earliest railroad tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
in the U.S. still in use today.
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
, the Herald, which was run along the route from Baltimore to Owings Mills. This purchase was a major undertaking, for it was built in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and transported by ship The America's. Also, because the age of railroading was new to America, an engineer was sent with the locomotive to ensure that he could teach others the finer art of locomotive engineering. John Lawson, (b. Makerfield, November 27, 1810) went on to own, captain and be first engineer to the Cherokee steamboat, which helped with the Confederate Army effort during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
In April 1840, the Wrightsville, York & Gettysburg had been completed between York and Wrightsville
Wrightsville, Pennsylvania
Wrightsville is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,310 at the 2010 census. Wrightsville borough has a police department, historic society, and a volunteer fire company.- History :According to a plaque at Samuel S...
, on the Susquehanna. There a connection was made to the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge
Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge (Columbia, Pennsylvania)
The Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge once carried the York Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad across the Susquehanna River between Columbia and Wrightsville, Pennsylvania and is therefore considered a Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge...
, allowing trains to cross the river and reach the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad and later, the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
just prior to the Civil War. The railroad provided an alternative method of shipping cargo from central Pennsylvania to the Maryland seaports versus the Tide Water and Susquehanna Canal. However, the cost of expansion and inconsistent tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
policies plagued the Baltimore & Susquehanna and limited further growth.
The York and Cumberland Railroad Company was chartered on April 21, 1846 to connect the York & Maryland Line with the Cumberland Valley Railroad
Cumberland Valley Railroad
The Cumberland Valley Railroad was an early railroad in Pennsylvania, USA, originally chartered in 1831 to connect with Pennsylvania’s Main Line of Public Works...
somewhere north of Mechanicsburg
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Mechanicsburg is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, USA, eight miles west of Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Mechanicsburg was settled in 1806 and incorporated as a borough on April 12, 1828...
. It was opened on February 10, 1851, running north from York to the Susquehanna and then following the river to Lemoyne
Lemoyne, Pennsylvania
Lemoyne is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Lemoyne was incorporated as a borough on May 23, 1905. As of the 2000 census, the borough population was 3,995. It was formerly named Bridgeport. Lemoyne lies across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's capital...
, across the river from 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...
. It was briefly operated by the Cumberland Valley, but the Baltimore & Susquehanna took over operations on June 7. Work also began on the Hanover Branch Railroad
Hanover Branch Railroad
The Hanover Branch Railroad Company was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania in the mid-19th century. The company was incorporated on March 16, 1847 and began operating trains in 1852...
, a line connecting Hanover
Hanover, Pennsylvania
Hanover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, southwest of York and north-northwest of Baltimore, Maryland.The town is situated in a productive agricultural region. The population was 15,289 at the 2010 census. The borough is served by a 717 area code and the Zip Codes of 17331-34...
with the York & Maryland Line at Hanover Junction
Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania
Hanover Junction is a small unincorporated community in south-central York County, Pennsylvania, United States, near the borough of Seven Valleys...
.
On April 14, 1851, the Susquehanna Railroad was chartered to build north from the York & Cumberland or the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
up the Susquehanna through Halifax
Halifax, Pennsylvania
Halifax is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. Halifax was incorporated as a borough on May 29, 1785. The borough is situated at the confluence of Armstrong Creek and Susquehanna River. The population was 875 at the 2000 census...
, Millersburg
Millersburg, Pennsylvania
Millersburg is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,562 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
and Sunbury
Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Sunbury is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and West branches. The population was 9,905 at the 2010 census...
, where it would fork into two branches reaching Williamsport
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...
and Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
. It was an ambitious enterprise, badly in need of capital
Financial capital
Financial capital can refer to money used by entrepreneurs and businesses to buy what they need to make their products or provide their services or to that sector of the economy based on its operation, i.e. retail, corporate, investment banking, etc....
, and as yet unorganized. The charter was amended on April 24, 1852, to allow the York & Cumberland and Wrightsville, York & Gettysburg to subscribe or loan up to $500,000 to the company, and to permit the counties and boroughs along the way to contribute funds. The Maryland legislature authorized the City of Baltimore to contribute the same amount on May 14. The Susquehanna RR finally elected officers on June 10, and was soon embroiled in a dispute with the Sunbury and Erie Railroad over right-of-way.
Meanwhile, on May 27, the Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Railroad (renamed the Western Maryland Railroad in 1853) was incorporated
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
to build from the end of the line at Owings Mills towards Hagerstown
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
. On July 4, a serious accident occurred on the Baltimore & Susquehanna when a special picnic excursion collided with a York local, killing thirty-one persons. The Hanover Branch Railroad was opened to Hanover on October 22 and operated by the Baltimore & Susquehanna. On May 10, 1853, the Baltimore & Susquehanna's charter was amended to permit it to build two branches to the Patapsco River
Patapsco River
The Patapsco River is a river in central Maryland which flows into Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore...
(the Canton Extension), but this was stymied by legal problems and difficulties in tunneling.
On the northward extension, the Susquehanna RR let contracts for the line from Lemoyne to Sunbury in November 1852, and construction began on February 22, 1853. A financial crisis beginning in the fall of 1853 proved a severe embarrassment to the Baltimore & Susquehanna and associated railroads, and on March 10, 1854, the Maryland legislature authorized the Baltimore & Susquehanna, York & Maryland Line, York & Cumberland, and Susquehanna Railroads to merge, writing off its investment in the lines in exchange for a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
on the new railroad. Construction halted on the Susquehanna RR. The Pennsylvania legislature authorized the merger on May 3, and articles of consolidation
Consolidation (business)
Consolidation or amalgamation is the act of merging many things into one. In business, it often refers to the mergers and acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, consolidation refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a group...
were signed on December 4 (filed December 16, 1854), forming the Northern Central Railway Company.
On April 1, 1855, the Northern Central stopped operating the Hanover Branch RR, which began independent operation. On December 20, 1855, construction resumed on the northward extension, and by December 28, 1856, the line had bridged the Susquehanna at Dauphin
Dauphin, Pennsylvania
Dauphin is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 791 at the 2010 census. Dauphin's ZIP code is 17018. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Dauphin is located at...
and reached Millersburg, connecting with the Dauphin and Susquehanna Railroad and the Lykens Valley Railroad, respectively. These were lateral lines tapping coal mines east of the Susquehanna, and the extension afforded them a direct outlet by rail rather than by canal boat. In 1857, it reached Herndon
Herndon, Pennsylvania
Herndon, formerly Trevorton Junction, is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Herndon was first founded by Robert A. Parrish in 1840. The town was later named for Naval commander William Lewis Herndon, who died in 1857 while trying to rescue passengers from his sinking...
and the Trevorton Coal and Railroad Company, another mining line. On June 28, 1858, the line was opened to Sunbury, where it connected with the Shamokin Valley and Pottsville Railroad, to Shamokin
Shamokin, Pennsylvania
Shamokin is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, at the western edge of the Anthracite Coal Region. At the 2000 census the population was 8,009 residents...
, and the Sunbury and Erie Railroad, to Williamsport.
In 1861, the PRR acquired a controlling interest in the Northern Central's stock to compete with the rival B&O. Thereafter, the Northern Central operated as a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad until the latter's demise in the late 20th century.
Consolidation and Civil War
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
, as well as troops heading to the South from Camp Curtin
Camp Curtin
Camp Curtin was a military training camp in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War.When news of the bombardment and subsequent surrender of Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina reached Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers...
and other Northern military training stations. During the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign
Gettysburg Campaign
The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...
, Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Jubal A. Early raided the NCR during his occupation of York, burning some rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
and a few machine shops in the rail yard
Rail yard
A rail yard, or railroad yard, is a complex series of railroad tracks for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading, railroad cars and/or locomotives. Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic....
. To impair traffic between Baltimore and Harrisburg, his cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
destroyed a large number of York County bridges originally constructed by the B&S. They were quickly rebuilt by Herman Haupt
Herman Haupt
Herman Haupt was an American civil engineer and railroad construction engineer and executive. As a Union Army General in the American Civil War, he revolutionized military transportation in the United States and was one of the unsung heroes of the war.-Early life:Haupt, whose first name was...
and the U.S. Army Military Railroad in conjunction with the Northern Central Railway. Traffic resumed shortly thereafter, and thousands of wounded soldiers from the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, including Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles
Daniel Sickles
Daniel Edgar Sickles was a colorful and controversial American politician, Union general in the American Civil War, and diplomat....
, were evacuated via the Northern Central to hospitals in Harrisburg, Baltimore, York, and elsewhere.
The Northern Central was attacked again on July 10, 1864, when a 130-man Confederate cavalry detachment attacked the line near Cockeysville, under orders from Gen. Bradley T. Johnson
Bradley Tyler Johnson
Bradley Tyler Johnson was an American lawyer, soldier, and writer. Although his home state of Maryland remained loyal to the Union during the American Civil War, Johnson served as a general in the Confederate States Army, leading efforts to raise a Maryland Line in the CSA, and rising to command...
. After cutting telegraph wires along Harford Road, they encamped at Towson
Towson, Maryland
Towson is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 at the 2010 census...
overnight. The next day, the Confederate cavalry skirmished with a smaller force of Union cavalry along York Road as far south as Govens, before heading west to rejoin Gen. Johnson's main force.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
traveled on the Northern Central on his way to deliver the Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
in November 1863, changing trains in Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania
Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania
Hanover Junction is a small unincorporated community in south-central York County, Pennsylvania, United States, near the borough of Seven Valleys...
. After Lincoln's assassination
Abraham Lincoln assassination
The assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, as the American Civil War was drawing to a close. The assassination occurred five days after the commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee, and his battered Army of...
, his body was transported via the same rails on the funeral train
Funeral train
A funeral train is a train specially chartered in order to carry a coffin or coffins to a resting place. Funeral trains today are often reserved for leaders and national heroes, as part of a state funeral, but in the past were sometimes the chief means of transporting coffins and mourners to...
's journey from Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, to Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
. The nine-car train departed Washington on April 21, 1865, arriving at Baltimore's Camden Station
Camden Station
Camden Station, now also referred to as Camden Yards, is a train station at the intersection of Howard and Camden Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, served by MARC commuter rail service and local Light Rail trains. It is adjacent to Oriole Park at Camden Yards...
at 10 a.m. on the B&O Railroad. After public viewing of the President's remains, the train departed Baltimore on the Northern Central at 3 p.m. and arrived at Harrisburg at 8:20 p.m., with a brief stop at York.
On March 31, 1881, the Northern Central acquired the Union Railroad of Baltimore whose route ran from Baltimore to Bayview Junction, Maryland. In 1898, they built the Millersburg Passenger Rail Station
Millersburg Passenger Rail Station
Millersburg Passenger Rail Station, also known as the Northern Central Railway: Station , is a historic railway station located at Millersburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1898, by the Northern Central Railway. It is a two-story, brick and frame building in the Queen Anne style....
.
Twentieth century
The Pennsylvania Railroad's Northern Central line was double-trackedDouble track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...
and equipped with block signals between Baltimore and Harrisburg by World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The line carried heavy passenger and 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...
traffic until the 1950s. On-line freight included flour, paper, milk, farm products, coal, and less-than-carload shipments
Less than container load
Less than container load is a shipment that is not large enough to fill a standard cargo container. The abbreviation LCL formerly applied to "Less than Car Load" for quantities of material from different shippers or for delivery to different destinations which might be carried in a single...
between such settlements as White Hall, Parkton, Bentley Springs, Lutherville, and the city of Baltimore. Local commuter service, referred to as the "Parkton local," operated over the 28 miles (45 km) between Calvert Station in Baltimore and Parkton, Maryland
Parkton, Maryland
Parkton is a rural area in the northern part of Baltimore County, Maryland, USA. It borders southern York County, PA, and this border forms part of The Mason-Dixon Line...
. Long distance passenger trains equipped with sleepers and dining cars were also operated by the PRR over the line from Baltimore Penn Station
Pennsylvania Station (Baltimore)
Pennsylvania Station is the main train station in Baltimore, Maryland. Designed by New York architect Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison , it was constructed in 1911 in the Beaux-Arts style of architecture for the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is located at 1515 N...
to Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Chicago, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, with through-sleeping car service as far as Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
(see 1955 timetable, below). Much of the "Pennsy's" through freight service to points west was routed via its electrified Port Deposit line along the Susquehanna River to Enola Yard
Enola Yard
Enola Yard is a large rail yard located in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, along the western shore of the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was the world's largest freight yard through 1956. The yard continues to operate today at lower traffic levels.-History:The yard was...
in Harrisburg, however, instead of the Northern Central line.
With the decline in rail passenger and freight service in the 1950s, accelerated by completion of the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway (I-83), the "Parkton locals" were dropped in 1959 and the line was reduced from double-track to single-track. Some long-distance trains, such as the General to Chicago and the Buffalo Day Express, continued to operate until the late 1960s. In 1972, when Hurricane Agnes
Hurricane Agnes
Hurricane Agnes was the first tropical storm and first hurricane of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season. A rare June hurricane, it made landfall on the Florida Panhandle before moving northeastward and ravaging the Mid-Atlantic region as a tropical storm...
caused bridge damage and washouts along the line, it ceased operations completely. One of the oldest rail lines in the country, it had run for a total of 134 years.
Penn Central and aftermath
In 1968 the PRR merged with the New York Central railroad, to form the Penn CentralPenn Central Transportation
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American railroad company that operated from 1968 until 1976. It was created by the merger on February 1, 1968, of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad...
(PC).
After sustaining damage along the main line due to Hurricane Agnes, the PC petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...
to abandon the railroad south of York. The section of the line between York and New Freedom was acquired by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Barry Schoch Presently, PennDOT supports over of state roads and highways, about 25,000...
in June 1973.
A series of events including inflation, poor management, abnormally harsh weather conditions and the withdrawal of a government-guaranteed 200-million-dollar operating loan forced the Penn Central to file for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
protection in 1970. PRR operated under court supervision until 1976, when its lines were tranferred to a new government corporation, Conrail. (See Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act
Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act
The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, often called the "4R Act," is a United States federal law that established the basic outlines of regulatory reform in the railroad industry and provided transitional operating funds following the 1970 bankruptcy of Penn Central...
.)
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is a government agency in the state of Maryland charged with maintaining natural resources such as the 66 state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, wildlife and recreation areas....
converted the corridor north of Cockeysville into a trail which opened to the public in 1984. It is known in Maryland as the Northern Central Railroad Trail
Northern Central Railroad Trail
The Torrey C. Brown Trail, formerly known as the Northern Central Railroad Trail is a rail trail that runs along an abandoned railroad corridor where the Northern Central Railway used to run. The trails extends from Cockeysville, Maryland to the boundary with Pennsylvania. At the Pennsylvania...
. The trail continues into Pennsylvania, where it becomes the York County Heritage (YCH) trail. The line south of Cockeysville was rebuilt in the late 1980s and is now part of the double-tracked Baltimore Light Rail
Baltimore Light Rail
The Maryland Transit Administration Light Rail is a light rail system serving Baltimore, Maryland, United States, and the surrounding suburbs.In downtown Baltimore it uses city streets...
system.
See also
- List of defunct Maryland railroads
- List of defunct Pennsylvania railroads
- Maryland and Pennsylvania RailroadMaryland and Pennsylvania RailroadThe Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad , familiarly known as the "Ma and Pa", was an American short-line railroad between York and Hanover, Pennsylvania, formerly operating passenger and freight trains on its original line between York and Baltimore, Maryland, from 1901 until the 1950s...
(Ma & Pa Railroad)