Maparailroadhist.org
Title
The Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad Historical Society
Description
The Peach Bottom Railway, organized in the 1870's, intended to connect coal fields at Broad Top (and possibly Pittsburgh) with Philadelphia, competing with the dominant Pennsylvania Railroad. The Maryland Central Railroad, founded in the late 1860's, had similar intentions, but instead wanted to connect Baltimore with anthracite mines via interchanges with railroads such as the Reading or Lehigh Valley. The results of both of these ventures, their subsequent failures, and various reorganizations play a part in the the history of the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad.
The Peach Bottom Railway
The Peach Bottom Railway planned to build their railroad in three divisions. An eastern division extending from Philadelphia to Peach Bottom in Lancaster County, actually went so far as to lay track from Oxford to Peach Bottom eventually becoming the Lancaster Oxford and Southern, before ceasing operations in 1918. A western division was to reach from Hanover Junction - a connection with the Northern Central Railway in York County - to the East Broad Top Railroad. The western division died, however, due to the expensive prospect of building the line over many mountain crests at a time of bank failures in Philadelphia after difficulties financing the Northern Pacific. But, the middle division, came to long term fruition. It was originally planned to connect Peach Bottom in York County (there were two towns by the same name, across from each other on the Susquehanna River) with the Northern Central Railway at Hanover Junction. But businessmen in York managed to convince the Railway to connect with the Northern Central in York, which would provide that city with rail service to the cigar and furniture factories in Red Lion. Narrow gauge track was laid to Dallastown by 1874, with completion to Delta (about 6 miles from Peach Bottom) in 1876. The Railway experienced financial difficulties and was sold and became the York and Peach Bottom Railway in 1882, with the line finally reaching Peach Bottom in 1883. The middle and eastern divisions never connected and the two towns of Peach Bottom were flooded with the construction of hydro-electric dams on the Susquehanna.
The Maryland Central Railroad
The Maryland Central Railroad hadn't made it off paper when the Baltimore and Delta Railway Company was formed from the merger of two other local railroads. Its first rails were laid in Baltimore in 1881 and opened to Towsontown in 1882. In that year, the Baltimore and Delta merged into the Maryland Central Railroad, which then built on to Delta and connected with the York and Peach Bottom in 1884. Actual train connections with York and Peach Bottom didn't go as scheduled, leaving residents of Delta unhappy with the MCR, which also added to their displeasure by operating on the Sabbath. The MCR also suffered financial difficulties and emerged as the Maryland Central Railway Company in 1888.
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