Round Top Branch
Encyclopedia
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
. The branch ran southward from the terminus of the railroad's mainline (junction
with the Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad
north of Meade School), west of the school & the Catholic cemetery, across the field of Pickett's Charge
& south Cemetery Ridge
, east of Weikert Hill & Munshower Knoll, and through Round Top to between Little Round Top
's east base and the Taneytown Rd
. In addition to battlefield tourists, the line carried stone monoliths and statues for constructing new monuments during the battlefield's memorial association & commemorative eras, as well as equipment, supplies, and participants for Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War
(e.g., 1884 Camp Gettysburg
, 1913 Gettysburg reunion, 1918 Camp Colt
, & 1938 Gettysburg reunion
).
and had 9 stations from Hunter's Run.http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CFQmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JgAGAAAAIBAJ&dq=round-top%20railroad&pg=2218%2C1182618 By July 14, 1882, Professor Ambrose E Lehman of the State Geological Survey had completed the G. & H. R. R. survey for the branch to Round Top, and the H. J., H. & G. R. R. survey was subsequently commenced by Engineer Joseph S. Gitt http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=908mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=V_8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2412,996535&dq=saw-mill+round-top+gettysburg&hl=en for a competing Round-Top Railroad Company route to Round Top (the latter was never built).
Tracklaying workers under foreman Coulson were placing rails of 80 lbs per yard for the branch in May 1884 (worker "Blind Davy" Weikert was totally blinded by a premature dynamite blast).http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qKkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UegFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5845,1818015&dq=william-patterson+round-top&hl=en The Round Top Station's warehouse was completed June 21, 1884. After being surveyed in May;http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_VMmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JgAGAAAAIBAJ&pg=1507,753004&dq=round-top-branch&hl=en the branch's connection to the H. J., H. & G. R. R. was being completed on July 22, 1884 "just beyond the Cashman limestone kilns"; and a siding along the Fairfield Road
had been completed as well as a switch at the PA National Guard commissary (the 1913 siding held 8 carloads of ice). The "dumm
y" Baldwin steam engine
had begun excursion
s "to the hill" in June 1884 and could carry about 40 passengers (the branch's "dinky" could carrying about 10.) The G. & H. R. R. also published a Gettysburg Battlefield
guidebook with 1884 images by "the great landscape photographer, Mr. Bell, of Philadelphia" (cf.
William Bell).http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-1MmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JgAGAAAAIBAJ&pg=1450%2C673522
By 1888, the branch's Hancock Station on the battlefield was south of The Angle
near the Vermont http://books.google.com/books?id=Fi4tAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q&f=false and Tammany monuments; and on a map, a wye with crossing double spurs was depicted at Round Top Station along with a benchmark
at 545 ft (166.1 m) elevation http://rutlandtrail.org/mapview.cgi?lat=39.8073127306&long=-77.2327229927&scale=13&theme=Historic&width=7&height=8&dot=Yes&submit=E (by 1904 the wye was no longer depicted). In 1902, Camp Lawton
was headquartered at The Angle
with its telegraph and telephone office at the Emmitsburg Rd "junction of the steam and electric road
s near the Codori buildings". Through October 1914, a combination arsenal/commissary along the Round Top Branch was used for Pennsylvania National Guard camps at Gettysburg
. A special platform on the branch was built for 1913 Gettysburg reunion veterans to disembark directly into their camp on the west side of the Emmitsburg Rd; and after addressing the veterans, President Woodrow Wilson
departed the Great Camp in his private rail car via the branch.
The branch's junction was visible on a June 25 aerial photo of the 1938 Gettysburg reunion
camp; and on May 7, 1939, a Reading Railroad train from Philadelphia carried 400 excursionists over the branch to Round Top.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 an application to abandon the Round Top Branch was made in 1942 (the rails were removed and a few artifacts remain in place
.) The mainline junction is now located at Seminary Ridge
west of the original 19th century junction and was used by the Gettysburg Railroad (1976–1996) and the 1996-2001 Gettysburg Railway
.
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...
from the Gettysburg borough
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...
across 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...
. The branch ran southward from the terminus of the railroad's mainline (junction
Junction (rail)
A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , 'points' and signalling.one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a fairly simple layout of tracks suffices to...
with the Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad
Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad
The Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad was a railroad line in Pennsylvania in the 19th century. The 38 mile main line ran from Orrtanna to Hanover Junction where it connected with the Northern Central Railway...
north of Meade School), west of the school & the Catholic cemetery, across the field of Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander,...
& south Cemetery Ridge
Cemetery Ridge
Cemetery Ridge is a geographic feature in Gettysburg National Military Park south of the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that figured prominently in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to July 3, 1863. It formed a primary defensive position for the Union Army during the battle, roughly the center of...
, east of Weikert Hill & Munshower Knoll, and through Round Top to between Little Round Top
Little Round Top
Little Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left flank on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg....
's east base and the Taneytown Rd
Pennsylvania Route 134
Pennsylvania Route 134 , also called Taneytown Road, is a north–south, two-lane state highway in Pennsylvania. It runs in Cumberland and Mount Joy townships from Gettysburg to the Mason-Dixon Line...
. In addition to battlefield tourists, the line carried stone monoliths and statues for constructing new monuments during the battlefield's memorial association & commemorative eras, as well as equipment, supplies, and participants for Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War
Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War
Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War were used by the Pennsylvania National Guard, Civil War veterans, the United States Marine Corps, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the United States Army, and the Youth Conservation Corps....
(e.g., 1884 Camp Gettysburg
Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War
Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War were used by the Pennsylvania National Guard, Civil War veterans, the United States Marine Corps, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the United States Army, and the Youth Conservation Corps....
, 1913 Gettysburg reunion, 1918 Camp Colt
Camp Colt, Pennsylvania
Camp Colt was a military installation near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania used for Tank Corps recruit training prior to deployment in World War I. The camp used the Gettysburg Battlefield site of the previous Great Reunion of 1913 and the preceding 1917 WWI recruit training camp for U. S. troops along...
, & 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...
).
History
After completion of a 22 mi (35.4 km) initial survey into Gettysburg along Rock Creek on January 12, 1882;http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8lMmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JgAGAAAAIBAJ&pg=4488,255825&dq=fuller+round-top+gettysburg&hl=en the G. & H. R. R. mainline was instead completed into the borough along Oak RidgeOak 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...
and had 9 stations from Hunter's Run.http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CFQmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JgAGAAAAIBAJ&dq=round-top%20railroad&pg=2218%2C1182618 By July 14, 1882, Professor Ambrose E Lehman of the State Geological Survey had completed the G. & H. R. R. survey for the branch to Round Top, and the H. J., H. & G. R. R. survey was subsequently commenced by Engineer Joseph S. Gitt http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=908mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=V_8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2412,996535&dq=saw-mill+round-top+gettysburg&hl=en for a competing Round-Top Railroad Company route to Round Top (the latter was never built).
Tracklaying workers under foreman Coulson were placing rails of 80 lbs per yard for the branch in May 1884 (worker "Blind Davy" Weikert was totally blinded by a premature dynamite blast).http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qKkyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UegFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5845,1818015&dq=william-patterson+round-top&hl=en The Round Top Station's warehouse was completed June 21, 1884. After being surveyed in May;http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_VMmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JgAGAAAAIBAJ&pg=1507,753004&dq=round-top-branch&hl=en the branch's connection to the H. J., H. & G. R. R. was being completed on July 22, 1884 "just beyond the Cashman limestone kilns"; and a siding along the Fairfield Road
Pennsylvania Route 116
Pennsylvania Route 116 is an east–west route located in southern Pennsylvania. The route begins at Pennsylvania Route 16 in Carroll Valley north of the Pennsylvania-Maryland state line. It passes through the historic Civil War town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in Adams County, intersecting U.S...
had been completed as well as a switch at the PA National Guard commissary (the 1913 siding held 8 carloads of ice). The "dumm
Steam dummy
A steam dummy or dummy engine, in the United States of America and Canada, was a steam engine enclosed in a wooden box structure made to resemble a railroad passenger coach....
y" Baldwin steam engine
Baldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
had begun excursion
Excursion
An excursion is a trip by a group of people, usually made for leisure, education, or physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other purposes....
s "to the hill" in June 1884 and could carry about 40 passengers (the branch's "dinky" could carrying about 10.) The G. & H. R. R. also published a 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...
guidebook with 1884 images by "the great landscape photographer, Mr. Bell, of Philadelphia" (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...
William Bell).http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-1MmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JgAGAAAAIBAJ&pg=1450%2C673522
By 1888, the branch's Hancock Station on the battlefield was south of The Angle
The Angle
The Angle is a Gettysburg Battlefield area which includes the 1863 Copse of Trees used as the target landmark for Pickett's Charge, the 1892 monument that marks the high-water mark of the Confederacy, and several other Battle of Gettysburg monuments...
near the Vermont http://books.google.com/books?id=Fi4tAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q&f=false and Tammany monuments; and on a map, a wye with crossing double spurs was depicted at Round Top Station along with a benchmark
Benchmark (surveying)
The term bench mark, or benchmark, originates from the chiseled horizontal marks that surveyors made in stone structures, into which an angle-iron could be placed to form a "bench" for a leveling rod, thus ensuring that a leveling rod could be accurately repositioned in the same place in the future...
at 545 ft (166.1 m) elevation http://rutlandtrail.org/mapview.cgi?lat=39.8073127306&long=-77.2327229927&scale=13&theme=Historic&width=7&height=8&dot=Yes&submit=E (by 1904 the wye was no longer depicted). In 1902, Camp Lawton
Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War
Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War were used by the Pennsylvania National Guard, Civil War veterans, the United States Marine Corps, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the United States Army, and the Youth Conservation Corps....
was headquartered at The Angle
The Angle
The Angle is a Gettysburg Battlefield area which includes the 1863 Copse of Trees used as the target landmark for Pickett's Charge, the 1892 monument that marks the high-water mark of the Confederacy, and several other Battle of Gettysburg monuments...
with its telegraph and telephone office at the Emmitsburg Rd "junction of the steam and electric road
Gettysburg Electric Railway
The Gettysburg Electric Railway was a borough trolley that provided summer access to Gettysburg Battlefield visitor attractions such as military engagement areas, monuments, postbellum camps, and recreation areas...
s near the Codori buildings". Through October 1914, a combination arsenal/commissary along the Round Top Branch was used for Pennsylvania National Guard camps at Gettysburg
Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War
Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War were used by the Pennsylvania National Guard, Civil War veterans, the United States Marine Corps, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the United States Army, and the Youth Conservation Corps....
. A special platform on the branch was built for 1913 Gettysburg reunion veterans to disembark directly into their camp on the west side of the Emmitsburg Rd; and after addressing the veterans, 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...
departed the Great Camp in his private rail car via the branch.
The branch's junction was visible on a June 25 aerial photo of 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...
camp; and on May 7, 1939, a Reading Railroad train from Philadelphia carried 400 excursionists over the branch to Round Top.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 an application to abandon the Round Top Branch was made in 1942 (the rails were removed and a few artifacts remain in place
In situ
In situ is a Latin phrase which translated literally as 'In position'. It is used in many different contexts.-Aerospace:In the aerospace industry, equipment on board aircraft must be tested in situ, or in place, to confirm everything functions properly as a system. Individually, each piece may...
.) The mainline junction is now located at 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:...
west of the original 19th century junction and was used by the Gettysburg Railroad (1976–1996) and the 1996-2001 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....
.
| Intersections & curves | Coordinates |
|---|---|
| junction | 39.832606°N 77.237733°W |
| switch to turntable | for 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... |
| wye switch | behind Meade School |
| Stevens Run (3 crossings, 1 in borough) |
39.82937°N 77.238801°W 39.822214°N 77.242336°W 39.821903°N 77.242244°W |
| Emmitsburg Road | 39.812805°N 77.23923°W |
| Hancock Station | |
| slight bend | 39.804308°N 77.235169°W |
| Hancock Av | 39.803442°N 77.234445°W |
| United States Av | 39.80242°N 77.233758°W |
| curve E of Weikert Hill | 39.796997°N 77.231886°W |
| Round Top Station | |
| Wheatfield Rd | |
| terminus | between ends of 2 rock walls |