South Mountain Railroad (Cumberland)
Encyclopedia
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 CVRR junction northeast of Carlisle
. The northern section merged with the Gettysburg & Harrisburg Railroad
line south from Hunter's Run to the Gettysburg Battlefield
in 1891 to create the Gettysburg & Harrisburg Railway
line, while the branch southwest from Hunter's Run became the Hunter's Run and Slate Belt Railroad
line.
Modernized sections of the South Mountain Railroad remain north of Hunter's Run; while parts of the railbed are available for hiking and biking such as near Carlisle (Letort Spring Run Nature Trail)http://www.ccpa.net/DocumentView.aspx?DID=181 and the Pine Grove Furnace State Park
(Cumberland County Biker/Hiker Trail with section of the Appalachian Trail
.)
legislation in 1864/1865, and company bonds were issued in 1869. The junction with the Cumberland Valley Railroad
was laid east of Carlisle near Ashland Cemetery, Carlisle Barracks
, and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
. By June 2, 1874, the railroad had 8 scheduled stops between the terminus and South Mountain Junction; and in December 1875, the railway had sidings of 2.26 mi (3.6 km); 9 passenger, 6 freight, & 3 wood/water stations; and 2 engine houses.
The South Mountain Railway and Mining Company acquired the line in 1877, considered extending the railway line west of Pine Grove in 1880, and "commenced a preliminary survey" in 1881 for a branch southward to Gettysburg. Instead on August 20, 1883; the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad
(with the same president, Colonel Jackson C. Fuller) commenced a junction at Hunter's Run for a line to the battlefield
. As a result, the South Mountain Railroad's connection near Carlisle at the CVRR's "South Mountain Junction" (named "Carlisle Junction" in the South Mountain RR schedule) was subsequently renamed "Gettysburg Junction". The tracks to Pine Grove Park were used by the first G&H excursion train from Gettysburg on May 28, 1884; and the stop at Laurel Forge was added to the G & H's July 3, 1884, schedule.
By May 1891, the competing Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburg Railroad extended to Harrisburg from the crossing with the South Mountain RR "about six miles south of Carlisle" north of Mount Holly Springs
(named "Carlisle Junction" on both lines' 1904 schedules). The South Mountain Railway and Mining Company's northern section and the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad
southward line merged on July 20, 1891, to become the railway line of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway, and the southwest South Mountain RR section from Hunter's Run was leased by the Hunter's Run and Slate Belt Railroad
. The lease was terminated on November 11, 1910 and the Reading Company
took up operation of the line from Hunters Run to Pine Grove Furnace.
The tracks between Mount Holly Springs toward Carlisle were removed ,http://www.letort.org/LetortHistoricalProject.html and the tracks near Carlisle branching southward from Gettysburg Junction were abandoned . The line's depot and freight station at Gettysburg Junction were subsequently used by the Estep Electric Services Co. The remaining tracks from Hunter's Run to the Mount Holly Springs
area are part of the Gettysburg & Northern Railroad
.http://www.pioneer-railcorp.com/Subsidiaries/GET/get.html
Pine Grove Iron Works
The Pine Grove Iron Works was a southcentral Pennsylvania smelting facility during the Industrial Revolution. The works is notable for remaining structures that are historical visitor attractions of Pine Grove Furnace State Park, including the furnace stack of the Pine Grove Furnace.-Geography:The...
to the Cumberland Valley R. R.
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...
" 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 CVRR junction northeast of Carlisle
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...
. The northern section merged with the Gettysburg & 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...
line south from Hunter's Run to 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...
in 1891 to create the Gettysburg & Harrisburg Railway
Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway
The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway was a Pennsylvania line from near Carlisle southward to Gettysburg operated by a of the Reading Company...
line, while the branch southwest from Hunter's Run became the Hunter's Run and Slate Belt Railroad
Hunter's Run and Slate Belt Railroad
The Hunter's Run and Slate Belt Railroad was a railway line from the Hunter's Run junction of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway that ran southwestward along the south side of Mountain Creek to the Pine Grove Iron Works...
line.
Modernized sections of the South Mountain Railroad remain north of Hunter's Run; while parts of the railbed are available for hiking and biking such as near Carlisle (Letort Spring Run Nature Trail)http://www.ccpa.net/DocumentView.aspx?DID=181 and the Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Pine Grove Furnace State Park is a protected Pennsylvania area that includes Laurel and Fuller lakes in Cooke Township. The park provides various outdoor recreation activities, has the remains of the Pine Grove Iron Works, and was the site of the 1830 Laurel Forge, 1880s Pine Grove Park, and an...
(Cumberland County Biker/Hiker Trail with section of the Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
.)
History
The South Mountain Railroad was authorized by the South Mountain Iron CompanySouth Mountain Iron Company
The South Mountain Iron Company was the owner of the Pine Grove Furnace in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, along South Mountain after the 1864 $1,500,000 purchase from Jay Cooke & Company...
legislation in 1864/1865, and company bonds were issued in 1869. The junction 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...
was laid east of Carlisle near Ashland Cemetery, Carlisle Barracks
Carlisle Barracks
Carlisle Barracks is a United States Army facility located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is part of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command and is the site of the U.S. Army War College...
, and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School was an Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, the school was the first off-reservation boarding school, and it became a model for Indian boarding schools in other locations...
. By June 2, 1874, the railroad had 8 scheduled stops between the terminus and South Mountain Junction; and in December 1875, the railway had sidings of 2.26 mi (3.6 km); 9 passenger, 6 freight, & 3 wood/water stations; and 2 engine houses.
The South Mountain Railway and Mining Company acquired the line in 1877, considered extending the railway line west of Pine Grove in 1880, and "commenced a preliminary survey" in 1881 for a branch southward to Gettysburg. Instead on August 20, 1883; 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...
(with the same president, Colonel Jackson C. Fuller) commenced a junction at Hunter's Run for a line to the 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...
. As a result, the South Mountain Railroad's connection near Carlisle at the CVRR's "South Mountain Junction" (named "Carlisle Junction" in the South Mountain RR schedule) was subsequently renamed "Gettysburg Junction". The tracks to Pine Grove Park were used by the first G&H excursion train from Gettysburg on May 28, 1884; and the stop at Laurel Forge was added to the G & H's July 3, 1884, schedule.
By May 1891, the competing Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburg Railroad extended to Harrisburg from the crossing with the South Mountain RR "about six miles south of Carlisle" north of Mount Holly Springs
Mount Holly Springs, Pennsylvania
Mount Holly Springs is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,925 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
(named "Carlisle Junction" on both lines' 1904 schedules). The South Mountain Railway and Mining Company's northern section and 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...
southward line merged on July 20, 1891, to become the railway line of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway, and the southwest South Mountain RR section from Hunter's Run was leased by the Hunter's Run and Slate Belt Railroad
Hunter's Run and Slate Belt Railroad
The Hunter's Run and Slate Belt Railroad was a railway line from the Hunter's Run junction of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway that ran southwestward along the south side of Mountain Creek to the Pine Grove Iron Works...
. The lease was terminated on November 11, 1910 and 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...
took up operation of the line from Hunters Run to Pine Grove Furnace.
The tracks between Mount Holly Springs toward Carlisle were removed ,http://www.letort.org/LetortHistoricalProject.html and the tracks near Carlisle branching southward from Gettysburg Junction were abandoned . The line's depot and freight station at Gettysburg Junction were subsequently used by the Estep Electric Services Co. The remaining tracks from Hunter's Run to the Mount Holly Springs
Mount Holly Springs, Pennsylvania
Mount Holly Springs is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,925 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
area are part of the Gettysburg & Northern 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...
.http://www.pioneer-railcorp.com/Subsidiaries/GET/get.html