Peach Bottom Railway
Encyclopedia
The Peach Bottom Railway was a 19th-century narrow gauge railroad in Pennsylvania, designed to haul coal
from the Broad Top
fields in central Pennsylvania
to Philadelphia
, but succeeded only in establishing two local short lines.
ed on March 24, 1868 and planned in three divisions. The Eastern Division would run from Philadelphia or some point near that city to the Susquehanna River
at Peach Bottom
. A crossing would need to be effected there to reach the Middle Division, which would run north to the mouth of Muddy Creek and follow that stream to Felton
. From Felton, the Middle Division would proceed either to Hanover Junction
or York
. The Western Division, whose course was never well-defined, would run north of Gettysburg
and cross the mountain ridges to the coal fields near Orbisonia
.
from York County
. When the company was organized in 1871, he became President; Samuel R. Dickey, of Oxford
, was Vice-President. Local support was drawn principally from York, Lancaster
and Chester Counties
, representing the Middle and part of the Eastern Divisions. Surveying began on December 1, 1871, and chief engineer John Mifflin Hood
recommended adoption of 3 ft (914 mm) gauge, which was very popular at the time as a method of reducing construction costs. Ground was broken on the Eastern Division in August 1872 at Oxford, on the Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad
, and construction westward began. Location of the Middle Division, meanwhile, was influenced by the necessity of raising funds for the anticipated crossing of the mountains to the west. The direct route from Felton ran through a sparsely populated area, and a secret attempt to gain financial aid from the Reading by proposing a branch to Wrightsville
(across the river from the Reading and Columbia Railroad) was unsuccessful. The company was approached by a group of businessmen from York offering support, and decided to build upon that point. Grading
began in York, towards Red Lion and the Muddy Creek watershed
.
Funds from the company's stock subscriptions and loans from local banks kept the company afloat during the Panic of 1873
. Hood surveyed a route for the Western Division via East Berlin
, Biglerville
and Arendtsville
, following Conewago Creek
through the Narrows and the Chambersburg-Gettysburg road through a gap in South Mountain
. However, the financial contraction of the Panic made it impossible to raise funds for the line west. Construction continued on the other two divisions, however, with the Eastern Division opening from Oxford to Hopewell
on November 10, 1873, and to Goshen on November 25, 1874. On July 4, 1874, the Middle Division was opened from York to Red Lion. The railroad was now pressed for money, and additional fundraising was necessary in 1875. By the end of the year, the Middle Division had reached Bridgeton, and the Eastern Division to Eldora. The Middle Division reached Delta
and the prospect of abundant slate
traffic in 1876, while the Eastern Division pushed on to Dorsey. A contretemps occurred when President Boyd opposed extension of the Middle Division to Peach Bottom, on the grounds that it would generate no local traffic and there was no prospect of bridging the Susquehanna in the near future. In 1877, he was replaced by Charles McConkey, a resident of Peach Bottom, but finances did not allow for construction on the extension to continue, although the Eastern Division finally reached the Susquehanna in 1878.
for both divisions in 1881, and the Eastern Division was reorganized as the Peach Bottom Railroad, while the Middle Division became the York and Peach Bottom Railway. Although the York and Peach Bottom did reach the latter point in 1883, cars were never ferried between the two railroads, and they were never again under the same management.
In 1889 the York and Peach Bottom was purchased by the Maryland Central Railway, and a new consolidated company was formed, the Baltimore and Lehigh Railroad, in 1891. In 1890 the Peach Bottom was sold to a group of Lancaster businessmen and reorganized as the Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railroad.
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
from the Broad Top
Broad Top
Broad Top is a plateau located in south-central Pennsylvania. It extends into Huntingdon County to the north, Fulton County to the southeast, and Bedford County to the southwest. It is bounded to the west by Saxton Mountain and Terrace Mountain, and to the east by Sideling Hill. In Bedford...
fields in central Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
to Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, but succeeded only in establishing two local short lines.
Charter and plan
The railway was charterCharter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
ed on March 24, 1868 and planned in three divisions. The Eastern Division would run from Philadelphia or some point near that city to the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
at Peach Bottom
Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania
Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania is an unincorporated village in Fulton Township, Lancaster County, in the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. It lies on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, at ....
. A crossing would need to be effected there to reach the Middle Division, which would run north to the mouth of Muddy Creek and follow that stream to Felton
Felton, Pennsylvania
Felton is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 506 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Felton is located at ....
. From Felton, the Middle Division would proceed either to 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...
or York
York, Pennsylvania
York, known as the White Rose City , is a city located in York County, Pennsylvania, United States which is in the South Central region of the state. The population within the city limits was 43,718 at the 2010 census, which was a 7.0% increase from the 2000 count of 40,862...
. The Western Division, whose course was never well-defined, would run north of Gettysburg
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...
and cross the mountain ridges to the coal fields near Orbisonia
Orbisonia, Pennsylvania
Orbisonia is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 425 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Orbisonia is located at ....
.
Construction and fundraising
The principal promoter was Stephen G. Boyd, a member of the Pennsylvania General AssemblyPennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times , the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by...
from York County
York County, Pennsylvania
York County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 434,972. It is in the Susquehanna Valley, a large fertile agricultural region in South Central Pennsylvania....
. When the company was organized in 1871, he became President; Samuel R. Dickey, of Oxford
Oxford, Pennsylvania
Oxford is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Oxford is the closest town to Lincoln University. The population was 4,315 at the 2000 census.-History:The borough was once called Oxford Crossing and Oxford Village....
, was Vice-President. Local support was drawn principally from York, Lancaster
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...
and Chester Counties
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
, representing the Middle and part of the Eastern Divisions. Surveying began on December 1, 1871, and chief engineer John Mifflin Hood
John Mifflin Hood
John Mifflin Hood was an American railroad executive. Hood was President of the Western Maryland Railway from 1874 to 1901. In 1901 he became President of United Railways and Electric Company, a streetcar company in Baltimore....
recommended adoption of 3 ft (914 mm) gauge, which was very popular at the time as a method of reducing construction costs. Ground was broken on the Eastern Division in August 1872 at Oxford, on the Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad
Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad
The Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries...
, and construction westward began. Location of the Middle Division, meanwhile, was influenced by the necessity of raising funds for the anticipated crossing of the mountains to the west. The direct route from Felton ran through a sparsely populated area, and a secret attempt to gain financial aid from the Reading by proposing a branch to Wrightsville
Wrightsville, Pennsylvania
Wrightsville is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,310 at the 2010 census. Wrightsville borough has a police department, historic society, and a volunteer fire company.- History :According to a plaque at Samuel S...
(across the river from the Reading and Columbia Railroad) was unsuccessful. The company was approached by a group of businessmen from York offering support, and decided to build upon that point. Grading
Land grading
Grading in civil engineering and construction is the work of ensuring a level base, or one with a specified slope, for a construction work such as a foundation, the base course for a road or a railway, or landscape and garden improvements, or surface drainage...
began in York, towards Red Lion and the Muddy Creek watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
.
Funds from the company's stock subscriptions and loans from local banks kept the company afloat during the Panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
. Hood surveyed a route for the Western Division via East Berlin
East Berlin, Pennsylvania
East Berlin is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,521 at the 2010 census. East Berlin is served by the Bermudian Springs School District....
, Biglerville
Biglerville, Pennsylvania
Biglerville is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,200 at the 2010 census. The National Apple Museum is located on West Hanover St...
and Arendtsville
Arendtsville, Pennsylvania
Arendtsville is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough lies on Pennsylvania Route 234 and it is well known for its annual Apple Harvest Festival in the fall...
, following Conewago Creek
Conewago Creek
Conewago Creek can refer to the following streams in Pennsylvania in the United States. All are in theChesapeake Bay drainage basin via the Susquehanna River, and are located either east or west of the river....
through the Narrows and the Chambersburg-Gettysburg road through a gap in South Mountain
South Mountain (Maryland and Pennsylvania)
South Mountain is the northern extension of the Blue Ridge Mountain range in Maryland and Pennsylvania. From the Potomac River near Knoxville, Maryland in the south, to Dillsburg, Pennsylvania in the north, the long range separates the Hagerstown and Cumberland valleys from the Piedmont regions of...
. However, the financial contraction of the Panic made it impossible to raise funds for the line west. Construction continued on the other two divisions, however, with the Eastern Division opening from Oxford to Hopewell
Hopewell, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Hopewell is an unincorporated community in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies at an elevation of 344 feet . Home to Hanover Farms, Hopewell UMC and BSA Troop 8....
on November 10, 1873, and to Goshen on November 25, 1874. On July 4, 1874, the Middle Division was opened from York to Red Lion. The railroad was now pressed for money, and additional fundraising was necessary in 1875. By the end of the year, the Middle Division had reached Bridgeton, and the Eastern Division to Eldora. The Middle Division reached Delta
Delta, Pennsylvania
Delta is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and one of the southernmost communities in Pennsylvania. The population was 728 at the 2010 census...
and the prospect of abundant slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
traffic in 1876, while the Eastern Division pushed on to Dorsey. A contretemps occurred when President Boyd opposed extension of the Middle Division to Peach Bottom, on the grounds that it would generate no local traffic and there was no prospect of bridging the Susquehanna in the near future. In 1877, he was replaced by Charles McConkey, a resident of Peach Bottom, but finances did not allow for construction on the extension to continue, although the Eastern Division finally reached the Susquehanna in 1878.
Disposition
The two lines would never be united. Heavy bonded indebtedness resulted in receivershipReceivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
for both divisions in 1881, and the Eastern Division was reorganized as the Peach Bottom Railroad, while the Middle Division became the York and Peach Bottom Railway. Although the York and Peach Bottom did reach the latter point in 1883, cars were never ferried between the two railroads, and they were never again under the same management.
In 1889 the York and Peach Bottom was purchased by the Maryland Central Railway, and a new consolidated company was formed, the Baltimore and Lehigh Railroad, in 1891. In 1890 the Peach Bottom was sold to a group of Lancaster businessmen and reorganized as the Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railroad.
See also
- List of defunct Pennsylvania railroads
- Maryland and Pennsylvania RailroadMaryland and Pennsylvania RailroadThe Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad , familiarly known as the "Ma and Pa", was an American short-line railroad between York and Hanover, Pennsylvania, formerly operating passenger and freight trains on its original line between York and Baltimore, Maryland, from 1901 until the 1950s...
(successor railroad) - Transportation in Lancaster County, PennsylvaniaTransportation in Lancaster County, PennsylvaniaTransportation in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania has a long and variegated history. An early-settled part of the United States, and lying on the route between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, it has been the site of early experiments in canals, railroads, and highways...