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The Atglen and Susquehanna Branch is an abandoned branch line of the Pennsylvania Railroad that ran between Lemoyne and Atglen, Pennsylvania. A portion of the line is now the Enola Low Grade Trail.
The Atglen and Susquehanna (A&S) Branch was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) between 1902 and 1906. The branch was built to relieve congestion on the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line and the railroad's Columbia & Port Deposit (C&PD) line. With freight service on the Main Line hampered by relatively steep grades, the A&S Branch—which was specifically designed with minimal grades and curves—was often known simply as the "Low Grade".
During construction of the A&S Branch, the existing C&PD stone bridge at the Conestoga River washed out. Rather than rebuild, the C&PD bridge was combined with the A&S bridge to form a unique two-line, two-level steel viaduct known as the Safe Harbor Trestle. This bridge at the Conestoga carried the C&PD line over the river, while the A&S ran parallel and approximately 100 feet (30 m) above.
Construction was completed and the line opened by July 1906. [1]
When combined with the railroad's Trenton Cutoff and Philadelphia & Thorndale Branch, the new line permitted the PRR to operate a low-grade bypass between Morrisville, Pennsylvania (just south of Trenton, New Jersey) and Harrisburg. This allowed freight trains to avoid the congestion of the eastern seaboard and the steep grades of the Main Line. [2]
The line flourished with freight traffic until the decline of northeast railroads and overall reduction in traffic made the line redundant. The line survived PRR's short-lived successor Penn Central (1968–1976) and into the era of the PC's successor, Conrail. Conrail downgraded the line, removing the overhead catenary and later rerouting traffic over the former Reading Company's line between Harrisburg and northern New Jersey. The last train ran on the line in 1988. Conrail petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon the line in 1989 and track was removed around 1990.
While the track had been removed prior to the 1999 breakup of Conrail by the Norfolk Southern (NS) and CSX, the right-of-way was retained due to disputes over the historical nature of the line's bridges and passed to NS. A group called Friends of the Atglen–Susquehanna Trail proposed using the line as a rail trail, which was opposed by local residents and ultimately failed. In July 2008, NS sold a portion of the abandoned line to eight municipalities, [3] charging each $1 and supplying a total of $1.4 million in grants for bridge removal or repair.[ citation needed ] NS also contributed $1.25 million to Manor Township to develop their portion of the right of way. [4] After being abandoned, much of the right of way had been overgrown with heavy brush, and while the rail and ties had been removed, a rough surface of loose track ballast remained.
The portion of the right of way that was transferred to the Lancaster County municipalities is now a 29-mile (47 km) rail trail named the Enola Low Grade Trail. [5] The eight municipalities have opened their sections at varying rates, with the first opening in September 2011. The portion in Manor Township opened in 2013, [6] while Martic and Conestoga townships opened their improved portions in the first half of 2017, and a pedestrian bridge over U.S. 222 north of Quarryville opened in April 2018. The Safe Harbor Trestle opened in June 2022 after a multi-year overhaul, and in October 2022, a trestle in Martic Township reopened (it had first opened for trail users in 2015 but burnt down in 2018), forming a continuous 19 mi (31 km) improved segment between Manor Township and Quarryville. [7] [3] [8]
Of the remaining 10 mi (16 km) of unimproved trail, the portions in Eden and Bart townships are expected to be improved in 2023–24, while funding is being sought to improve the final, easternmost segment through Sadsbury Township to Atglen, including a connection with the Chester Valley Rail Trail. [9]
Amtrak, which received ownership of PRR's electric traction system, operates a power transmission line along the right of way under easement. Its two 138 kV lines supply electricity from Safe Harbor Dam to Amtrak's Parkesburg traction substation. In 2011, Amtrak moved the line's cables from the old Pennsylvania Railroad catenary supports to new monopoles, [10] upgrading the surface to crushed stone at the same time.
The Rockville Bridge is the longest stone masonry arch railroad viaduct ever built, at 3,820 feet (1,160 m). It has 48 70-foot spans.
The Conestoga River, also referred to as Conestoga Creek, is a 61.6-mile-long (99.1 km) tributary of the Susquehanna River flowing through the center of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States.
The Keystone Corridor is a 349-mile (562 km) railroad corridor between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that consists of two rail lines: Amtrak and SEPTA's Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg main line, which hosts SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale Line commuter rail service, and Amtrak's Keystone Service and Pennsylvanian inter-city trains; and the Norfolk Southern Pittsburgh Line. The corridor was originally the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Whitford station is a commuter rail and former intercity passenger rail station located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia at South Whitford Road and Spackman Lane, Exton, Pennsylvania. It is served by most SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale Line trains and until 1998 some of Amtrak'sKeystone Service trains.
The Northern Central Railway (NCRY) was a Class I Railroad in the United States connecting Baltimore, Maryland, with Sunbury, Pennsylvania, along the Susquehanna River. Completed in 1858, the line came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1861, when the PRR acquired a controlling interest in the Northern Central's stock to compete with the rival Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O).
Transportation 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. Before all these, at least ten Native American paths crossed parts of the county, many connecting with the Susquehannock village of Conestoga.
Shocks Mills Bridge carries tracks of the Norfolk Southern Railway over the Susquehanna River between Marietta, Pennsylvania and Wago Junction, Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Route 372 is an east–west highway in York, Lancaster, and Chester counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Its western terminus is at PA 74 in Lower Chanceford Township north of Delta and west of Holtwood, and its eastern terminus is at PA 82 in Coatesville. PA 372 heads east from PA 74 in York County and crosses the Susquehanna River on the Norman Wood Bridge. The route continues through Lancaster County, intersecting PA 272 in Buck, U.S. Route 222 and PA 472 in Quarryville, and PA 896 in Georgetown. PA 372 crosses into Chester County and intersects PA 41 in Atglen and PA 10 in Parkesburg before continuing to Coatesville. PA 372 is a two-lane undivided road throughout its length.
The Lurgan Branch is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and Maryland. The line is part of the NS Harrisburg Division and runs from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania southwest to Hagerstown, Maryland along former Reading Company and Pennsylvania Railroad lines. Its northeast end is at a junction with the Harrisburg Line, Pittsburgh Line, Royalton Branch, and Amtrak's Keystone Corridor ; its southwest end is at the beginning of the Hagerstown District. At Lemoyne it intersects the Enola Branch.
The Enola Branch is a railroad segment of the Port Road Branch and was a rail line. The Enola Branch railroad segment and the rest of the Port Road Branch is owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The railroad segment runs from Washington Boro northwest to Marysville and it is a former Pennsylvania Railroad rail line. Its south end is at a former junction with the Atglen and Susquehanna Branch, where the main segment of the Port Road Branch continues southeast. Its north end is at the Pittsburgh Line. Along the way, it meets the York Secondary at Wago Junction and goes under the Lurgan Branch at Lemoyne. Norfolk Southern labels the Enola Branch as part of the Port Road Branch, officially ending the Enola Branch's existence as a rail line, the main segment of the Port Road Branch runs from Marysville south to Perryville, Maryland. The line goes through the Enola Yard.
The Schuylkill Branch was a rail line owned and operated by the former Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in Pennsylvania. The line ran from the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line at 52nd Street in Philadelphia north via Norristown, Reading, and Pottsville to Delano Junction, about 2.5 mi (4.0 km) northeast of Delano. From Delano Junction, the PRR had trackage rights over the Lehigh Valley Railroad's Hazleton Branch and Tomhicken Branch to Tomhicken, where the PRR's Catawissa Branch began.
The Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad was a rail line in Pennsylvania connecting Philadelphia with Pittsburgh via Harrisburg. The rail line was split into two rail lines, and now all of its right-of-way is a cross-state corridor, composed of Amtrak's Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line and the Norfolk Southern Railway's Pittsburgh Line.
Pennsylvania Route 324 is a 13.3-mile-long (21.4 km) state highway located in the western part of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at State Route 3038 in the community of Pequea along the east bank of the Susquehanna River in Martic Township. The northern terminus is at U.S. Route 222 /PA 272 in Lancaster. PA 324 heads northeast from Pequea parallel to the Pequea Creek. The route continues north to New Danville, where it has a concurrency with PA 741. From here, PA 324 runs parallel to the Conestoga River to its northern terminus in the southern part of Lancaster. The northern portion of PA 324 follows the Lancaster and New Danville Turnpike, a 19th-century turnpike. PA 324 was designated in 1928 to run from PA 124 at Penn Grant Road north to PA 124 in New Danville, while PA 124 was designated on the remainder of the road between Lancaster and Pequea, where it crossed the Susquehanna River on a bridge towards York. By 1930, PA 324 was paved and the PA 124 bridge over the river was removed. PA 324 was extended to its current length in the 1930s.
Safe Harbor is an unincorporated community located within Conestoga Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States.
52nd Street is a closed train station that was located at the intersection of North 52nd Street & Merion Avenue in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) at the junction of its Main Line and its Schuylkill Branch. Today, these lines are the SEPTA Regional Rail Paoli/Thorndale Line and Cynwyd Line, respectively.
Enola Yard is a large rail yard located in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, along the western shore of the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The Safe Harbor Bridge also known as the Safe Harbor Trestle, Port Road Bridge and the Enola Low Grade Line Steel Trestle is a steel deck truss trestle that spans the Conestoga River at Safe Harbor, Pennsylvania near the Susquehanna River for the Port Road Branch and the former Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad along the Susquehanna River.
The Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad (C&PD) was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It operated a 34-mile long (55 km) main line between Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Port Deposit, Maryland, generally along the eastern shore of the Susquehanna River. It later acquired a branch line to Perryville, Maryland. The C&PD was subsequently purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and, since the 1999 breakup of Conrail, is owned by Norfolk Southern Railway.
The Pittsburgh Line is the Norfolk Southern Railway's primary east–west artery in its Pittsburgh Division and Harrisburg Division across the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is part of the Keystone Corridor, Amtrak-Norfolk Southern's combined rail corridor.
The Conestoga Trail System is a 65.8-mile (105.9 km) linear hiking trail in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The system connects several relatively short and discontinuous footpaths with walks on paved roads. About 53% of the network's distance is made up of road walking, and those segments are intended to showcase the rural scenery of Lancaster County, utilizing three covered bridges and passing numerous Amish and Mennonite farms, as well as some urban and suburban neighborhoods in and around Lancaster. The footpath segments offer wilderness scenery of the type that can be found in many of Pennsylvania's forested areas, plus some walks alongside farm fields.