The structures pictured below can be found in southern York County. I've used US Route 30/PA Route 462 (the old Lincoln Highway) as the dividing line between southern and northern York County.
Click on a thumbnail for the full size photo: |
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| Brillhart station - Northern Central Railway One of several station buildings still remaining along the Northern Central Railway's line through York County. This building is believed to have once served as the railroad station in Brillharts Station. Most likely, the station was in a small portion of this building. |
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| Brogueville station - Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad You're looking at a trackside view of the former Brogueville station, store, post office and residence. This building is currently under renovation by a private individual, who will be restoring a portion of the first floor to look like an old store/post office/station, and will be using the remainder as a private residence. There is very little evidence that the Ma & Pa Railroad once ran through here. |
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| Brownton station - Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad The foundation seen in this photo is all that is remaining of the Maryland & Pennsylvania's Brownton station. The tracks passed this station at the far end, where the right-of-way is still visible in this photo. A photo of this station is not known to exist. |
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| Delta Station - Peach Bottom Railway This is the old Peach Bottom Railway station in Delta, which is now being used as a private residence. You are looking at a trackside view of the station. It was also used by the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad, as well as several of it's predecessor lines. |
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| Wye trestle - Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad Nestled in the woods in Delta is the Wye trestle, so named for the wye trackage nearby to turn trains. It is also identified on old post cards as the Parke Hill trestle. This structure is showing it's age, and falling trees have inflicted some damage to the trestle. |
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| Fawn Grove station - New Park & Fawn Grove Railroad This is the old station in Fawn Grove, which is now being used as a private residence. The New Park and Fawn Grove Railroad once ran through here, but there is very little remaining evidence that a railroad was ever here. |
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| Felton freight warehouse - Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad Attached to the rear of a three-story former general store building, this freight warehouse was served by the Maryland & Pennsylvania railroad in Felton. There are even rails still hidden amongst the weeds here, but the railroad has been gone for years. This is a trackside view of the building. |
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| Glenville station - Western Marylany Railway This is Glenville, along the Western Maryland's Old Dutch Line, now used by CSX. This building, with Glenville Station on the end of it, is in obvious need of repair. Hopefully it'll be restored some day rather than bulldozed. |
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| Hanover station - Pennsylvania Railroad In Hanover, this station is in use by a local insurance agency. The tracks are still active here, as a CSX empty rock train passed through while we were here. Formerly Western Maryland and Pennsylvania trackage, the Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad and CSX cross each other just east of the station. |
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| Hanover freight depot - Western Maryland Railway Next stop in Hanover, is the old Western Maryland Freight station. The building is currently used by the CSX railroad, and seems to have had activity around it each time we have visited it. |
| The building is obviously of Western Maryland descent, as it is still covered with WM markings. There's an interesting historical marker at the street end of the building along the sidewalk regarding President Lincoln's visit to the area. |
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| Hanover Junction station - Northern Central Railway This is the Hanover Junction station, along the former Northern Central Railway, which is now a rail trail. The Rail Trail Authority and the county parks system has restored this station for use as a museum and rail trail facilities. |
| The Hanover Junction station served the Northern Central Railway, which became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad. At Hanover Junction, there was an interchange with the Hanover Connecting Railroad (I may have this name wrong) which allowed trains to move from this line to the Western Maryland's line which then went on to Hanover. |
| In this photo, you can somewhat see where the Hanover Connecting Railroad beared off to the left of the station. The station sat in the middle of the wye, serving both lines. The restoration of this station has not yet begun in these three photos, taken in 1999. |
| In this photo, taken in September 2001, you can see how well the restoration work has progressed. The roof line has been restored to it's Civil War era design. The building now houses a museum with some small displays about the history of the station. |
| This photo was taken from the York County Heritage Rail Trail, which runs along the track side of the station. The rail trail parallels the Northern Central trackage through most of it's 21 mile run. |
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| Laurel station - Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad Along the old Ma & Pa right-of-way, this old station still stands in Laurel, but I'm not sure of it's current use. It appears to be either a residence, a business or both. |
| Steel bridge - Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad Just railroad north of the old Laurel station, this abandoned steel bridge still spans the Muddy Creek. This view is looking railroad south. The Laurel station building can be seen in the distance through the trees. |
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| New Freedom station - Northern Central Railway This is the recently restored New Freedom train station. The original station was disassembled, and reassembled piece by piece to the exact same dimensions. The original station was about ready to collapse, and the new version is quite nice. Construction crews were working on the platform/porches when we visited. |
| New Freedom was the high point on the Northern Central Railway between Baltimore and York. At one time, this was a major railroad town on the Northern Central's route, with helper engines stationed here. There is also an interchange here with the Stewartstown railroad, which runs from New Freedom to it's namesake town of Stewartstown. |
| New Freedom is now the home base of the Northern Central Railway, which operates dinner and excursion trains over the line from New Freedom to just outside of York. The restoration of the station really improved the area, and the railcars and locomotives really add atmosphere to this setting. |
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| Ore Valley station - Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad This station is showing it's age. This is the former Ore Valley station along the Ma & Pa Railroad on Springwood Road south of York. The station portion of the building was accessed through the track level doors in what would be considered the basement of the building. Just above the "2" in the date stamp you'll find one of the few remaining telegraph poles along the old Ma & Pa right-of-way. |
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| Red Lion station - Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad This is Red Lion at the old Ma & Pa Railroad station. In early 2001 this building was purchased by the Red Lion Historical Society, who is planning on using the building for some historical purpose. The building has been well preserved over the years, and should make a nice facility, hopefully a museum. |
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| Taylor's trestle - Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad Hidden amongst the trees on the outskirts of Red Lion is Taylor's trestle. It is very difficult to find in the summer when the trees are full, and not necessarily easy to find in the winter unless you know where it is. |
| In this view from the top of the trestle, you can see that it is actually a curved trestle. As steam gave way to diesel, this trestle was strengthened by the addition of steel I-beam stringers. Although some of the wood has deteriorated, it is still in fair shape. |
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| Relay station - Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad Located between the Ore Valley and Yoe stops on the Ma & Pa, this residence once served as the Relay station. The station was called Relay as freight was relayed over the hill to Dallastown from this area until the Dallastown brach of the railroad was built. The Ma & Pa mainline would have run through where the wood deck currently sits. |
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| Hungerford (Shrewsbury) station - Stewartstown Railroad This station is located in Shrewsbury, along the Stewartstown Railroad right-of-way. Someone is obviously trying to maintain this station, as the roof has been partially replaced, and the doors are secured with padlocks. Believe it or not, there are still rails in there amongst the weeds, but obviously the Stewartstown hasn't been through here any time lately. |
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| Smyser (Seven Valleys) station - Northern Central Railway This station is located in Seven Valleys, and was originally known as Smyser. It is situated along the York County Heritage Rail Trail, and is currently used as a general store. |
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| Springvale station - Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad This building was formerly the Springvale station on the Maryland & Pennsylvania. It is currently a private residence, which is why a distant photo was taken. The tracks would have passed behind the rear of the building. |
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| Stewartstown station - Stewartstown Railroad This is the Stewartstown station. This 1914 depot is still used by the railroad, and the interior is as it was during the steam era. The Stewartstown runs excursion trains over a portion of their original trackage. The rermainder rarely sees and traffic due to the condition of the rails. |
| Stewartstown engine house - Stewartstown Railroad A short walk down the road was in order to capture this shot of the Stewartstown's 1906 engine house, still in use by the Stewartstown to house it's power. This engine house is located right along Route 851 as you come into town from the west. |
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| Strawbridge station - New Park & Fawn Grove Railroad Sitting out along the edge of a field in southern York County is this old building, once the Strawbridge station on the long gone New Park & Fawn Grove Railroad. It has seen better days, as the tree in the foreground is slowly taking over the site. |
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| Wiley station - New Park & Fawn Grove Railroad Another station almost lost is this building in Wiley, believed to have been the station for the New Park & Fawn Grove Railroad. Behind this station is reported to be some remnants of a trestle, which were overgrown when this photo was taken. A wintertime visit to this area is planned. |
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| Woodbine station - Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad This is the old Woodbine station building. It appears to be a private residence. The building does appear to be in pretty decent shape, although we didn't get out to look around since it seems to be someone's home. |
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There are other buildings remaining in southern York County that I need to photograph. There is an old Stewartstown Railroad station in Tolna that I still haven't identified, but I know is being used as a private residence. And there are still old stations along the old Northern Central route that I need to identify and get photos of.