- Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad
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Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad 
1901 map of the P&BC, labeled as "PW&B," reflecting its control by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore RailroadLocale Pennsylvania and Maryland Dates of operation 1854–1916 Successor Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) Length 110 miles (180 km) Headquarters Philadelphia The Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad (P&BC) was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It operated approximately 110 miles (180 km) of track, consisting of a 63 miles (101 km) main line between West Philadelphia and Octoraro Junction, Maryland (near Port Deposit), and several branch lines.
Contents
History
Charter and planning
The P&BC was chartered in Pennsylvania in 1854, and that same year it consolidated with the Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad, chartered in Maryland in 1852.[1] The initial plan for the road was to build from a connection with the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad (WC&P) at Wawa, Pennsylvania (formerly called "Grubb's Bridge"), southwest for 78 miles (126 km) to a junction with the Northern Central Railway, north of Baltimore. (The WC&P line from Philadelphia reached Wawa in 1856.) However, the ultimate terminus of the line was close to the northern bank of the Susquehanna River, in Cecil County, Maryland near Port Deposit.
Construction and operation
Construction on the P&BC began in 1855 at Concordville, Pennsylvania. The first section of the line, between Wawa Junction (also called West Chester Junction) and Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania opened in 1859, and the line reached Oxford, Pennsylvania in 1860. The first train entered Oxford on December 22, 1860.[2][3]
The P&BC line reached Rising Sun, Maryland in 1865 and Rowlandsville (4 miles (6.4 km) north of Port Deposit, along Octoraro Creek) in December 1868, connecting with the Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad (C&PD).[3] The total length of the line was 46 miles (74 km). By this time some journals reported that it was unlikely that the P&BC would build its own bridge over the Susquehanna and continue toward Baltimore.[4][3] To get to Baltimore, it was easier for the P&BC to lease the C&PD line for a few miles to Perryville, where trains could proceed south over the new PW&B bridge built by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B).
Consolidation
In 1881, the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad was consolidated into the P&BC, and the merged lines were controlled by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. The PW&B's successor company, the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad, purchased the P&BC in 1916. All of these lines were controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR).[5] Subsequently the line from Wawa south to Rowlandsville was called the Octoraro Branch. Passenger train service on the line ended in 1935.[6]
Successor lines: Late 20th century to present
The PRR abandoned the Octoraro Branch south of Colora, Maryland in 1961. The Wawa and Concordville Railroad, a tourist railroad, operated between Concordville and Wawa during 1967 and 1968, leasing the line from PRR. Floods in the Wawa area during 1971-72 made the line unusable north of Brandywine Creek.[3]
The PRR merged into Penn Central in 1968, and after the Penn Central bankruptcy in 1970, ownership of the line went to Conrail. Following the Conrail breakup in 1989, the Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) took over the Octoraro Branch, and leased it to short-line freight railroad companies. Octoraro Railroad operated freight trains between Chadds Ford and the Pennsylvania-Maryland state line in the 1980s to 1994. The Morristown and Erie Railway provided freight service on the line in 2003 and 2004. The East Penn Railroad currently operates the line and connects at Chadds Ford to the former Wilmington and Northern Railroad line and the Brandywine Valley Railroad, which connects to the national rail network.[7] The portion of the line north of Brandywine Creek remains washed out, however the right-of-way is still owned by SEPTA.
See also
- List of defunct Maryland railroads
- List of defunct Pennsylvania railroads
- Wawa (SEPTA station)
References
- ^ Ashmead, Henry G. (1884). History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts. p. 199. http://www.delcohistory.org/ashmead/ashmead_pg199.htm.
- ^ Poor, Henry V. (1860). History of the Railroads and Canals of the United States of America. 1. New York: John H. Schultz & Co. p. 477. http://books.google.com/books?id=BO8cAAAAIAAJ&dq=History%20of%20the%20Railroads%20and%20Canals&pg=PA477#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ a b c d Garrett, Jerre. "The Baltimore Central Railroad Reaches Rising Sun." Accessed 2011-09-14.
- ^ Poor, Henry V. (1868). Manual of the Railroads of the United States, for 1868-69. New York: H.V. & H.W. Poor. p. 251. http://books.google.com/books?id=vohS7PpusAQC&pg=PA251#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ Poor's Intermediate Manual of Railroads. New York: Poor's Manual Co. 1917. p. 226. http://books.google.com/books?id=vGJJAAAAMAAJ&lpg=PA959&ots=j0GFdk2vpX&dq=%22poor's%20manual%22%201917&pg=PA226#v=onepage&q=%22poor's%20manual%22%201917&f=false.
- ^ Dixon, Mike. "All’s Quiet on the Octoraro Branch Line." Window on Cecil County's Past. 2008-10-20.
- ^ U.S. Surface Transportation Board. Washington, D.C. (2004-12-21). "East Penn Railway, Inc.—Modified Rail Certificate." 69 F.R. 76522
Categories:- Companies affiliated with the Pennsylvania Railroad
- Defunct Maryland railroads
- Defunct Pennsylvania railroads
- Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad
- Railway companies established in 1854
- Railway companies disestablished in 1916
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