Gettysburg Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Gettysburg Railroad was a railway line in Pennsylvania that operated from 1858-1870 over the 17 mile (27 km) main line from the terminus in Gettysburg
to the 1849 Hanover Junction
. After becoming the Susquehanna, Gettysburg & Potomac Railway line in 1870, the tracks between Gettysburg and Hanover Junction became part of the Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad
in 1874, the Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway
in 1886, and the Western Maryland Railway
in 1917.
and New Oxford
on January 6, 1858 (the first passenger train had entered Adams County
on September 14, 1857.) After construction commenced from New Oxford on June 24, 1858, a locomotive
first entered the Gettysburg borough on November 29. Service from Goulden's Station had begun by September 27,http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oYYlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CvMFAAAAIBAJ&dq=gettysburg%20railroad&pg=4168%2C1638619 the line was "completed" at Gettysburg on December 1, 1858, with operations over the Gettysburg Railroad Company tracks managed from that date by the Hanover Branch RR until June 12, 1859. The last spike was driven at Gettysburg on December 16, 1858 (12:30 a.m.); and that day at Hanover, company representatives met an official "party of Baltimoreans" with the Blues Band from Calvert railway station
. The group arrived at Gettysburg at 3 p.m. where a reception was held at "a large and recently furnished building near the depot". The Gettysburg Railroad Station
contracted in the fall opened in May 1859 after the railroad had been the site of a New Oxford riot at the end of December 1858.
, the line at Gettysburg was disabled when the nearby Rock Creek bridge was demolished by Confederate forces. On November 18, 1863, President Lincoln
used the line to attend the consecration of the Soldiers' National Cemetery
where he delivered the Gettysburg Address
. In 1869, Robert McCurdy was the railway line's superintendenthttp://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1mMmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0P8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4533%2C367302 after being elected company president in 1853 and 1860.http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Robert+McCurdy%22&tbs=nws:1,ar:1&source=newspapers#q=%22Robert+McCurdy%22+gettysburg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7oMMTqehBo30swOs9eyTDg&ved=0CBMQpwUoBg&source=lnt&tbs=cdr:1%2Ccd_min%3A%2Ccd_max%3A1870&tbm=nws&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=947acc49bcb1f900&biw=1600&bih=727
in 1874, the Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway
in 1886, and the Western Maryland Railway
in 1917.
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...
to the 1849 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...
. After becoming the Susquehanna, Gettysburg & Potomac Railway line in 1870, the tracks between Gettysburg and Hanover Junction became part of 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...
in 1874, the Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway
Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway
The Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway was a railroad that operated in Maryland and Pennsylvania in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The 59 miles main line ran from Emory Grove, Maryland to Orrtanna, Pennsylvania, with a 6 miles branch from Valley Junction, Pennsylvania to Hanover Junction,...
in 1886, and the Western Maryland Railway
Western Maryland Railway
The Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad which operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation. The WM became part of the Chessie System in 1973 and ceased operating its lines...
in 1917.
History
On March 4, 1851, Robert McCurdy, Josiah Benner, and Henry Myers secured a charter for the Gettysburg Railroad Company. The groundbreaking was on February 22, 1856; the 1st mortgage was issued in 1857, and the railroad opened between Hanover JunctionHanover Junction, Pennsylvania
Hanover Junction is a small unincorporated community in south-central York County, Pennsylvania, United States, near the borough of Seven Valleys...
and New Oxford
New Oxford, Pennsylvania
New Oxford is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,783 at the 2010 census. Within New Oxford there are several large manufacturing plants...
on January 6, 1858 (the first passenger train had entered Adams County
Adams County, Pennsylvania
Adams County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,407. It was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County and named in honor of the second President of the United States, John Adams...
on September 14, 1857.) After construction commenced from New Oxford on June 24, 1858, a locomotive
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...
first entered the Gettysburg borough on November 29. Service from Goulden's Station had begun by September 27,http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oYYlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CvMFAAAAIBAJ&dq=gettysburg%20railroad&pg=4168%2C1638619 the line was "completed" at Gettysburg on December 1, 1858, with operations over the Gettysburg Railroad Company tracks managed from that date by the Hanover Branch RR until June 12, 1859. The last spike was driven at Gettysburg on December 16, 1858 (12:30 a.m.); and that day at Hanover, company representatives met an official "party of Baltimoreans" with the Blues Band from Calvert railway station
Calvert railway station
Calvert was a railway station at Calvert, Buckinghamshire on the former Great Central Main Line between Manchester Piccadilly and London Marylebone. The station was opened in 1899 and closed in 1964...
. The group arrived at Gettysburg at 3 p.m. where a reception was held at "a large and recently furnished building near the depot". The Gettysburg Railroad Station
Gettysburg Railroad Station
-American Civil War:Train service to the depot was stopped when Jubal Early's Confederates burned the Rock Creek trestle on June 27, 1863. The depot's telegrapher, a young daughter of "Mr...
contracted in the fall opened in May 1859 after the railroad had been the site of a New Oxford riot at the end of December 1858.
Civil War
On June 27 prior to the 1863 Battle of GettysburgBattle 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...
, the line at Gettysburg was disabled when the nearby Rock Creek bridge was demolished by Confederate forces. On November 18, 1863, President 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...
used the line to attend the consecration of the Soldiers' National Cemetery
Gettysburg National Cemetery
The Gettysburg National Cemetery is located on Cemetery Hill in the Gettysburg Battlefield near the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and adjacent to Evergreen Cemetery to the south...
where he delivered 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 1869, Robert McCurdy was the railway line's superintendenthttp://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1mMmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0P8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4533%2C367302 after being elected company president in 1853 and 1860.http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Robert+McCurdy%22&tbs=nws:1,ar:1&source=newspapers#q=%22Robert+McCurdy%22+gettysburg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7oMMTqehBo30swOs9eyTDg&ved=0CBMQpwUoBg&source=lnt&tbs=cdr:1%2Ccd_min%3A%2Ccd_max%3A1870&tbm=nws&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=947acc49bcb1f900&biw=1600&bih=727
Successor lines
In December 1870,http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Robert+McCurdy%22&tbs=nws:1,ar:1&source=newspapers#sclient=psy&hl=en&tbs=cdr:1%2Ccd_max%3A1870&tbm=nws&source=hp&q=McCurdy+%22gettysburg+railroad%22&aq=o&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=947acc49bcb1f900&biw=1600&bih=727 the Susquehanna, Gettysburg & Potomac Railway company purchased the Gettysburg Railway Company's trackage to Hanover Junction, 2 steam locomotives, 1 passenger car, and 2 freight cars. The railway line between Gettysburg and Hanover Junction became part of the Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg RailroadHanover 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...
in 1874, the Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway
Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway
The Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway was a railroad that operated in Maryland and Pennsylvania in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The 59 miles main line ran from Emory Grove, Maryland to Orrtanna, Pennsylvania, with a 6 miles branch from Valley Junction, Pennsylvania to Hanover Junction,...
in 1886, and the Western Maryland Railway
Western Maryland Railway
The Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad which operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation. The WM became part of the Chessie System in 1973 and ceased operating its lines...
in 1917.