Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail

Last updated
Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail
NCR Trailbed.jpg
The trail's crushed limestone surface
Length19.7 mi (31.7 km)
LocationNorthern Baltimore County, Maryland; continuing to York, Pennsylvania, via York County Heritage Rail Trail
Established1984
Trailheads Cockeysville
New Freedom
UseHiking, biking, horseback riding, fishing, pet walking
DifficultyEasy, level, ADA accessible
SeasonYear-round
MonthsYear-round
Surface Crushed limestone
Right of way Northern Central Railway
Website https://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/central/tcb.aspx
Trail map

Contents

M.P.
[1]
BSicon fCONTg.svg
becomes York County Heritage Rail Trail
19.7
BSicon fSTR+GRZq.svg
Information icon.svg Mason–Dixon line
18.6
BSicon fHST.svg
Parking icon.svg Toilets unisex.svg Information icon.svg Freeland
BSicon fSTR.svg
BSicon RP2q.svg
MD Route 409.svg MD 409 Freeland Rd
15.5
BSicon fHST.svg
Parking icon.svg Information icon.svg Bentley Springs
BSicon fSKRZ-Bu.svg
I-83.svg I-83
BSicon RP2q.svg
BSicon fTUNNEL2.svg
MD Route 45.svg MD 45 York Rd
12.9
BSicon fHST.svg
Parking icon.svg Information icon.svg Parkton
10.8
BSicon fHST.svg
Parking icon.svg Information icon.svg White Hall
7.2
BSicon fHST.svg
Parking icon.svg Toilets unisex.svg Information icon.svg Monkton
BSicon fSTR.svg
BSicon RP2q.svg
MD Route 138.svg MD 138 Monkton Rd
3.8
BSicon fHST.svg
Parking icon.svg Information icon.svg Sparks
2.0
BSicon fHST.svg
Parking icon.svg Information icon.svg Phoenix
0.5
BSicon fHST.svg
Parking icon.svg Information icon.svg Paper Mill
BSicon fSTR.svg
BSicon RP2q.svg
MD Route 145.svg MD 145 Paper Mill Rd
0.0
BSicon fKBHFe.svg
Parking icon.svg Information icon.svg Ashland Rd

The Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail (TCB), formerly and popularly known as the Northern Central Railroad (NCR) Trail, is a rail trail that runs along a former Northern Central Railway corridor in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The trail extends 19.7 miles from Ashland Road in Cockeysville to the Mason–Dixon line, where it becomes the York County Heritage Rail Trail and continues to York, Pennsylvania. [2]

The trail is 10 feet (3.0 m) wide with a stone dust surface. The majority of the trail runs along the Gunpowder River and Beetree Run. [2] Popular activities on the trail include horseback riding, jogging, walking, hiking, fishing and biking. It is open to the public from sunrise to sunset on all days of the year. The trail is also pet-friendly as long as the pet is on a leash.

The TCB makes up a segment of the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000 mile long system of trails connecting Maine to Florida.

Historical development

Zero mile of the trail NCRsign.jpg
Zero mile of the trail
Monkton Station MonktonPlace.jpg
Monkton Station

Historical significance

The Northern Central Railway, built in 1832, ran between Baltimore, Maryland, and Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and was one of the oldest rail lines in the country. The railway serviced the growing Baltimore, York and Harrisburg industries, had 46 stops, 22 of which were in Maryland, and operated for 140 years. It carried passengers, people vacationing at Bentley Springs, and freight between Baltimore and York or Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. During the Civil War, the Pennsylvania Railroad-controlled Northern Central served as a major transportation route for supplies, food, clothing, and material, as well as troops heading to the South from Camp Curtin and other Northern military training stations.

Already in financial trouble, the NCR ceased operations between Cockeysville and York in 1972 after Hurricane Agnes caused extensive damage to its infrastructure. The Penn Central then petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission to allow it to abandon the railroad south of York; the Maryland section of the abandoned line was purchased by Baltimore County in the mid-1970s. [3]

The former railroad bed, was converted to a rail trail in 1984. Historical markers can be found along the trail, such as the former Monkton station, which now serves as a museum, gift shop, and ranger station.

History and evolution

In the early 1980s when it was proposed[ by whom? ] to place the trail in the place of the train tracks, a contentious battle raged between property owners and the state. The owners contended that the property was taken under eminent domain for the purpose of train tracks, and that once the property was no longer to be used for a train the property rights should revert to the previous land owners.

The state prevailed in its fight for the property and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources converted the corridor into a trail which opened to the public in 1984. The trail is used by hundreds of people daily by bicycle, foot and horse. The trail also provides access to the Gunpowder River and Loch Raven watershed. In honor of Natural Resources Secretary Torrey C. Brown's support for the trail, it was renamed the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail in 2007.

Trail development

Design and construction

The majority of the trail is 10 feet wide with a smooth surface of crushed limestone. The trail is wheel-chair accessible. Mile 0 of the Trail is located just off Maryland Route 145 (Ashland Road). A larger parking lot is located less than a mile north of Mile 0 on Paper Mill Road, and additional parking lots exist along the length of the trail. [2]

Warning signals, mileage markers, signals, and railroad signs are placed throughout the trail to warn and ensure the safety of trail goers.

Amenities along the trail include drinking fountains, picnic tables, benches, and portable restrooms. Within a mile of the trail, there are hotels and motels and there is easy access to a bike shop that rents and repairs bikes. In addition to the renovations to the Monkton Station, there is also the Sparks Bank Nature Center, in Sparks, Maryland.

Community

Trail supporters

The Torrey C. Brown Trail is managed and maintained by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, a state government agency. The Maryland Park Service's volunteer program is in charge of recruiting volunteers to invest their time in the many trails throughout the state of Maryland. The trail receives state and federal funding as well as donations.

Special events

There are different events hosted every month put together by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, as well as from outside institutions. Topics include local archaeological and plant-life investigations, night-time bike-rides, inner tubing, and a marathon.

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References

  1. "NCR Trail Snails" . Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Maryland Trails Program: Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail". Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  3. Gardiner, Joe (6 December 1981). "'Rails to trails' concept for bikeways is derailed by critics in Maryland: Wheeling". The Baltimore Sun.