The Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Railroad is a defunct American railroad that operated passenger service from Broad Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Franklin City, Virginia in the late 19th Century and most of the 20th Century. At the latter city, steamship connections could be made to Chincoteague, Virginia on the Atlantic Ocean-side exterior islands.
It was formed from the merger of three railroads on the Delmarva Penninsula. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) took control of it following a bankruptcy. It passed to Penn Central and was then broken up among multiple owners following Penn Central's bankruptcy.
Much of it is still in operation, but most of the branch towards Rehoboth has been turned into a trail and the line south of Snow Hill was abandoned in 1956.
The railroad was formed in 1883 through a consolidation of the Junction and Breakwater Railroad, the Breakwater and Frankford Railroad and the Worcester Railroad.
The Junction and Breakwater Railroad (J&B) was a 38 mile long railroad, built between 1858 and 1878 that ran between Harrington, Delaware and Lewes with a spur to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
The Breakwater & Frankford Railroad (B&F) built a connection, which opened on May 22, 1874, to the J&B at Georgetown that ran from Georgetown to the Maryland line at Selbyville. [1]
By 1876, the Worcester Railroad had built an extension of the B&F line to Franklin City, Virginia and Chincoteague Bay for the purpose of transporting oysters and other shellfish to Philadelphia. [2]
All three of these lines were owned by Old Dominion Steamship. [3]
In March 1891, the DMVR approached default on two mortgages totaling $600,000 and so the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&BR) took control of the company. The Delaware General Assembly met with DMVR directors and those of the PW&BR in order to avoid the default and keep the rail lines open. [4] DMVR shareholders remained minority owners of the line until 1919, when they were unable to meet financial obligations, and the minority shares were sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad. [5]
By the 1910s the Pennsylvania Railroad had leased out or purchased the railroad, appearing on the Pennsylvania Railroad tables of the PRR section of the Official Guide of the Railways of North America. [6] By the end of the 1920s the line was among those rail lines throughout the Delmarva Peninsula that the PRR fully acquired.
In 1934 the DMVR bought the Milton Industrial Track, part of the Queen Anne's Railroad between Ellendale to Milton after the Queen Anne's went bankrupt.
The Pennsylvania Railroad passenger trains operated along the route until the late 1940s, stopping at towns just a few miles inland from resort towns on the eastern coast of the Delmarva Peninsula. Frequency along the route dwindled from three trains in each direction in the early 1910s to one train a day in each direction in 1941.
Service across the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal in Rehoboth was eliminated in the 1940's. [7]
Passenger service along the lines was eliminated by 1949.
In 1956, the PRR abandoned the tracks between Snow Hill, Maryland and Franklin City, Virginia. [8]
In 1968, the PRR and its longtime rival New York Central Railroad merged to form the Penn Central Railroad and the former DMVR became part of that entity.
Eventually the DMVR trackage was broken up into four pieces: The Delmarva Secondary Line (owned by Norfolk Southern and operated by Delmarva Central Railroad), the Milton Industrial Track and the Lewes Industrial Track (both owned by DelDOT and operated by the Delmarva Central) and the Snow Hill Branch Line (owned and operated by MDDE). All but the portion of the Lewes Industrial Track east of Harbeson, DE are still in operation.
The historic Milford train station is still in use, but as office space.
The abandoned right-of-way from Fischer Road on the east side of Harbeson to just west of Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes was converted into the Lewes-Georgetown Trail and there are plans to extend it west to the end of the track in Harbeson.
The Harbeson Railroad Station privy, built in 1870, was donated to the Lewes Historical Society and moved to their campus by 2022. [9]
The old Lewes-Rehoboth Canal bridge, and the date stone from the west abutment, are on permanent display along the Lewes-Georgetown Trail at American Legion Road in Lewes. The bridge was a hand-cranked swing bridge that was originally built in 1869 and modernized by PRR in 1916. The bridge was reconstructed in 1997. After DelDot decided it was unsafe in 2016, leading to the rail line east of the canal being shut down, it was removed on Feb. 15, 2022 and the canal was restored over the next year. [10] [11] [12]
Some of the abandoned right-of-way from Lewes to Rehoboth Beach is used for the Junction and Breakwater Trail.
The Rehoboth Beach Train Station which was built in the late 1800s currently serves as Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center. It was in service until the 1920s. After that it served as offices, small shops and a restaurant until it was sold in 1950. It was donated to the city and the Rehoboth Railroad Station Preservation Society and moved to its present location at 501 Rehoboth Avenue in 1987. [11]
From Georgetown to Snow Hill several old stations remain including the one at Queponco Road in Newark, DE, which is now a museum.
The right-of-way from Snow Hill, MD to Franklin City, MD was abandoned and all the tracks have been removed. The stations at Snow Hill and Girdletree, MD; the depot at Franklin City and a couple of vintage RR crossing signs in Girdletree where the line used to be are the only remnants of the section south of Snow Hill. In 2020, the Federal Government announced that it wanted the Franklin City Depot removed and began looking for people to take it. [13]
The noteworthy towns along the route, south of Wilmington, Delaware consisted of: [14]
The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a large peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the vast majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Eastern Shore of Virginia.
Sussex County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware, on the Delmarva Peninsula. As of the 2020 census, the population was 237,378, making it the state's second most populated county only behind New Castle and ahead of Kent. The county seat is Georgetown.
Lewes is an incorporated city on the Delaware Bay in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 3,303. Along with neighboring Rehoboth Beach, Lewes is one of the principal cities of Delaware's rapidly growing Cape Region. The city lies within the Salisbury, Maryland–Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lewes proudly claims to be "The First Town in The First State."
Georgetown is a town and the county seat of Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town is 6,422, an increase of 38.3% over the previous decade.
Rehoboth Beach is a city on the Atlantic Ocean along the Delaware Beaches in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. As of 2020, its population was 1,108. Along with the neighboring coastal town of Lewes, Rehoboth Beach is one of the principal cities of Delaware's rapidly growing Cape Region. Rehoboth Beach lies within the Salisbury metropolitan area.
U.S. Route 113 (US 113) is a U.S. Highway that is a spur of US 13 in the U.S. states of Maryland and Delaware. The route runs 74.75 miles (120.30 km) from US 13 in Pocomoke City, Maryland, north to Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) in Milford, Delaware. In conjunction with DE 1, US 113 is one of two major north–south highways on the Delmarva Peninsula that connect Dover with Pocomoke City and the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The U.S. Highway is the primary north–south highway in Worcester County, Maryland, where it connects Pocomoke City with Snow Hill and Berlin. US 113 is one of three major north–south highways in Sussex County, Delaware, where it connects Selbyville, Millsboro, and Georgetown with Milford. While US 113 does not pass through Ocean City or the Delaware Beaches, the U.S. Highway intersects several highways that serve the Atlantic seaboard resorts, including US 50, Maryland Route 90 (MD 90), US 9, DE 404, DE 16, and DE 1. US 113 is a four-lane divided highway for its whole length.
The New Castle and Frenchtown Turnpike and Rail Road (NC&F) was opened in 1831, was the first railroad in Delaware and one of the first in the United States. Approximately half of the route was abandoned in 1859; the rest became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) route into the Delmarva Peninsula and is still used by Norfolk Southern Railway. The abandoned segment from Porter, Delaware, to Frenchtown, Maryland, the New Castle and Frenchtown Railroad Right-of-Way, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company is a Class III short-line railroad, formed in 1977 to operate several branch lines of the former Penn Central Railroad in both Maryland and Delaware, United States. These branches were omitted from the system plan for Conrail in 1976 and would have been discontinued without state subsidies. As an alternative to the higher cost of subsidizing Conrail as the operator of the branch lines, the Maryland and Delaware governments selected the Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company (MDDE) to serve as the designated operator.
The Connecting Railway was a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, incorporated to build a connection between the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad and the PRR in the city of Philadelphia.
Delaware Route 18 (DE 18) is a state highway located in Sussex County, Delaware. It runs from Maryland Route 318 (MD 318) at the Maryland border east of Federalsburg, Maryland, east to U.S. Route 9 (US 9) in Georgetown. DE 18 runs concurrent with DE 404 from its intersection with that highway southeast of Bridgeville to the eastern terminus, where DE 404 continues eastward to Five Points on US 9. The route passes through rural areas of western Sussex County. What would become DE 18 was built as a state highway in stages during the 1920s and 1930s. By 1936, DE 18 was designated to run from the Maryland border east through Georgetown to Lewes. In 1974, the route east of Georgetown was replaced by US 9 and US 9 Business. DE 404 was designated concurrent with the eastern portion of DE 18 by 1987.
The Queen Anne's Railroad was a railroad that ran between Love Point, Maryland, and Lewes, Delaware during the late 19th and early 20th Century. It connected to Baltimore via ferry across the Chesapeake Bay, to Cape May, New Jersey via a ferry across the Delaware Bay and to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware via another railroad. It was the last major railway built on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The rail line changed owners several times during its history. In the 20the century, the railway struggled to compete with the automobile and service was cutback. Over time, sections of the railroad were abandoned.
The Delaware Coast Line Railroad was a short-line railroad located in Sussex County, Delaware. The company operated two lines on track owned by the State of Delaware: one running from Ellendale east to Milton and another running from Georgetown east to Cool Spring. The railroad interchanged with the Delmarva Central Railroad in Ellendale and Georgetown. It was owned by Dan Herholdt. Part of the rail lines were taken over by the Delmarva Central Railroad.
The New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad was a railroad line that ran down the spine of the Delmarva Peninsula from Delmar, Maryland to Cape Charles, Virginia and then by ferry to Norfolk, Virginia. It became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system.
The Baltimore, Chesapeake and Atlantic railroad, nicknamed Black Cinders & Ashes, ran from Claiborne, Maryland, to Ocean City, Maryland. It was chartered as the Baltimore and Eastern Shore Railroad in 1886 and began operation in 1890, at which time it purchased the Wicomico & Pocomoke Railroad Company, merging it into its own operations. Over the following 100 years, it struggled to remain profitable, changed names and ownership several times and abandoned most of its rail line. The only portion that remains in service today is the 3.65-mile long Willards Industrial Track, the 0.65-mile Mardela Industrial Track and the 0.6-mile Mill Street Industrial Track - all in Salisbury, Maryland - operated by Delmarva Central Railroad on track owned by Norfolk Southern Railroad. Track, bridges and right-of-way remain across Delmarva and at least one portion has been turned into a rail trail.
The Delmarva Central Railroad is an American short-line railroad owned by Carload Express that operates 188 miles (303 km) of track on the Delmarva Peninsula in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The railroad operates lines from Porter, Delaware to Hallwood, Virginia and from Harrington, Delaware to Frankford, Delaware along with several smaller branches. The DCR interchanges with the Norfolk Southern Railway and the Maryland and Delaware Railroad. The railroad was created in 2016 to take over the Norfolk Southern Railway lines on the Delmarva Peninsula. The DCR expanded by taking over part of the Bay Coast Railroad in 2018 and the Delaware Coast Line Railroad in 2019.
The Delaware Railroad was the major railroad in the US state of Delaware, traversing almost the entire state north to south. It was planned in 1836 and built in the 1850s. It began in Porter and was extended south through Dover, Seaford and finally reached Delmar on the border of Maryland in 1859. Although operated independently, in 1857 it was leased by and under the financial control of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad. In 1891, it was extended north approximately 14 miles (23 km) with the purchase of existing track to New Castle and Wilmington. With this additional track, the total length was 95.2 miles (153.2 km).
The Del-Mar-Va Express was a named passenger train of the Pennsylvania Railroad that at its peak went from New York City to the southernmost point of the Delmarva Peninsula, Cape Charles, Virginia. Initiated in 1926, the train's north–south passage through Delaware stood in contrast with the main passenger traffic through Delaware being a brief passage through cities in the upper reach of Delaware, mainly Wilmington. Most importantly, the train served as a more direct path from New York City and Philadelphia to Norfolk, Virginia, by way of a ferry from Cape Charles across the Chesapeake Bay to Norfolk, a path that bypassed Baltimore and Washington, D.C. This saved time in comparison to travel over PRR, Atlantic Coast Line and Norfolk & Western trains through Washington to Norfolk. The Del-Mar-Va trip, including ferry travel was 11 hours from New York; and the longer all-land route through Washington was 13 hours and 40 minutes.
The Junction and Breakwater Railroad was a 38 mile long railroad that ran between Harrington, Delaware and Lewes with a spur to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware during the late 19th and early 20th Century. It passed though Milford, Ellendale and Georgetown. In 1883, it merged with the Breakwater and Frankford Railroad and the Worcester Railroad to become the Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Railroad which was eventually purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad
The Lewes-Georgetown Trail is an 11 mile long rail trail built on the right-of-way of the abandoned portion of the Junction and Breakwater Railroad between Georgetown, Delaware and Lewes, Delaware. It currently exists in three segments: a 0.7 mile rail-with-trail section between Parsons Lane and Airport Road in Georgetown, a 7.5 mile rail-to-trail section from Fischer Road on the east side of Cool Spring, Delaware, to the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal in Lewes, and a 1.6 mile rail-to-trail section from the canal to Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes.
The Delmarva Division is the set of railroads on the Delmarva Peninsula of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia that were part of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) through most of the 20th Century. The lines were built by several different companies and then eventually consolidated under the control of the PRR and later the Penn Central Railroad. Throughout the 20th Century some of the rail lines were abandoned and following the bankruptcy of Penn Central and break-up on Conrail ownership changed many times.