Delaware Coast Line Railroad

Last updated
Delaware Coast Line Railroad
DCL logo.jpg
Overview
Headquarters Georgetown, Delaware
Reporting mark DCLR
Locale Sussex County, Delaware
Dates of operation1982–2018
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length23 mi (37.0 km) [1]
Other
Websitenone

The Delaware Coast Line Railroad( reporting mark DCLR) 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. [2] It was owned by Dan Herholdt. Part of the rail lines were taken over by the Delmarva Central railroad.

Contents

History

Historic railway station in Georgetown, Delaware, located along track formerly used by Queen Anne's Railroad Georgetown Station.jpg
Historic railway station in Georgetown, Delaware, located along track formerly used by Queen Anne's Railroad

The rail lines operated by Delaware Coast Line Railroad (DCLR) were part of the former Queen Anne's Railroad (QA), which began providing rail service between Queenstown, Maryland, and Lewes, Delaware, in 1894, and extended its track to Love Point, Maryland, in 1902. [3] [4]

Through a complex chain of acquisitions in 1905, the track previously owned by QA became part of the Maryland, Delaware & Virginia Railway Company (MD&V), a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). MD&V was consolidated with another subsidiary in 1923 to form the Baltimore & Eastern Railroad (B&E), which incorporated in Maryland on June 13, 1923. [4] [5] Passenger service on the B&E was discontinued in October 1931. [3]

The lines passed from PRR to Penn Central in 1968 and Conrail in 1976. In 1981, Conrail announced plans to abandon the railroad lines between Ellendale and Milton and between Georgetown and Lewes. The same year, a group of private investors led by Mike Herholdt of Milford purchased the two lines, saving them from abandonment. [6] DCLR incorporated in Delaware on June 23, 1982, [7] and began operating the Ellendale-Milton and Georgetown-Lewes segments of the former QA under contract with the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), current owner of these segments.

The Maryland & Delaware Railroad (MDDE) assumed operation of the two rail lines in 1994 when it was awarded a five-year contract by Delaware. MDDE did not seek renewal of the Delaware contract and operation of the two lines was returned to DCLR in 1999. [3] [8]

As of 2015, DCLR was led by Dan Herholdt, the son of founder Mike Herholdt. The railroad hauled approximately 550 cars per year. The sole customer along the Ellendale to Milton line was a propane distributor. Customers along the Georgetown-Lewes line included two propane distributors along with Mountaire Farms, for whom the railroad hauled dry distiller's grain that is used in chicken feed. DCLR also served SPI Pharma, a manufacturer of chemical components for antacids, at the end of the line near Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes. DCLR was based in out of a shop at the Sussex County industrial park in Georgetown and had eight employees who performed multiple duties for the railroad. [6] The railroad maintained tracks, signals, and sidings for private companies throughout the Delmarva Peninsula and also offered railcar storage. [9]

DCLR crossed over the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal in Lewes on a historic, anachronistic swing bridge that had to be hand-cranked in order to reach SPI Pharma. [6] The swing bridge was originally built in 1869 and modernized by PRR in 1916. The bridge was reconstructed in 1997. [10]

In September 2016, the swing bridge was found to be structurally unsound, having dropped 7-8 inches due to settlement in the canal and seeing some pieces of timber split. As a result, the bridge was closed to rail traffic by DelDOT. [11] The only customer beyond the bridge was SPI Pharma, who had averaged two to three railroad transports a month. As a result of the bridge closure, SPI Pharma began shipping by truck. Three tank cars remained stranded at SPI Pharma. In 2017, DelDOT determined that repairs to the swing bridge would be too costly and the line will be abandoned from Lewes to Cool Spring. Originally the tank cars were to be transported across the swing bridge, but due to the instability of the bridge it was later decided to transport the tank cars by truck across the canal and reassemble them onto the tracks on the other side for them to be hauled by rail to Georgetown. [12] The three tank cars were trucked out of SPI Pharma in November 2017. [13] A train pulled the tank cars out of Lewes on December 15, 2017, ending train service to Lewes. [14]

In October 2016, the first phase of the Georgetown-Lewes Trail, a rail-with-trail, opened between Savannah Road and Gills Neck Road in Lewes. [15] In December 2017, the Lewes city council voted in favor of preserving a section of the railroad line between Kings Highway and Adams Avenue. [14] The swing bridge over the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal will also be removed. DelDOT will retain ownership and railroad rights along the roadbed. The trail was slated to reach Minos Conaway Road by fall 2018. [16]

In early 2018, DCLR was informed by the State of Delaware that its contract would not be renewed. The Delmarva Central Railroad won the bid to take over the contract and extended its existing operations to include the DCLR's tracks effective January 1, 2019. DCLR exited the railroad business and sold off its equipment. [17]

Engine roster

Locomotive
Number		ModelLocation
2 ALCO RS-36 Georgetown, Delaware
19 ALCO T-6 Georgetown, Delaware
23 ALCO RS-1 Georgetown
182 MLW RS-18 Georgetown
4024 GE B23-7 Millsboro, Delaware
4054GE B23-7Georgetown
44 GE 44-ton switcher Georgetown

Source: [18]

Note: No. 2 has been put up for sale on the Sterling Rail website, [19] No. 23 was scrapped years ago, [20] No. 44 was sold to a new owner in West Virginia, and a new addition to the roster is No. 1982, a GE 65-ton centercab. By January 2020 DCLR president Dan Herholdt stated that, with the exception of No. 182 receiving power assembly repair, all of the locomotives had either been sold and departed the property or were spoken for.

Major clients

CustomerLocation
Baker Petroleum Milton, Delaware
VFL Industries Indian River (Delaware)
H & KIndian River
Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT)Georgetown

Source: [1] Note: There is no spur into Atlantic Concrete and DCLR President Dan Herholdt has stated that the company is not a customer.

Related Research Articles

Delmarva Peninsula Large peninsula on the East Coast of the US

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 regions of Maryland and Virginia. The peninsula is 170 miles (274 km) long. In width, it ranges from 70 miles (113 km) near its center, to 12 miles (19 km) at the isthmus on its northern edge, to less near its southern tip of Cape Charles. It is bordered by the Chesapeake Bay on the west, Pocomoke Sound on the northwest, the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east.

Sussex County, Delaware County in Delaware, United States

Sussex County is located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware, on the Delmarva Peninsula. As of the 2010 census, the population was 197,145. The county seat is Georgetown.

Lewes, Delaware City in Delaware, United States

Lewes is an incorporated city on the Delaware Bay in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population is 2,747. 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."

Dewey Beach, Delaware Town in Delaware, United States

Dewey Beach is an incorporated coastal town in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town is 341, an increase of 13.3% over the previous decade. It is part of the rapidly growing Cape Region and lies within the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 2011, the NRDC awarded Dewey Beach with a 5-Star rating in water quality. This award was given only to 12 other locations, one being neighboring Rehoboth Beach. Out of the 30 states with coastline, the Delaware Beaches ranked number 1 in water quality in 2011.

Ellendale, Delaware Town in Delaware, United States

Ellendale is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. The population was 381 at the 2010 census, an increase of 16.5% since 2000. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ellendale is the "Gateway to Delaware's Resort Beaches" because it is the town located on U.S. Highway 113, the resort area's westernmost border, and Delaware Route 16, the resort area's northernmost border with the eastern border being the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean and the southern border being the state line with Maryland.

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware City in Delaware, United States

Rehoboth Beach is a city on the Atlantic Ocean along the Delaware Beaches in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 1,327, reflecting a decline of 161 (11.2%) from the 1,488 counted in the 2000 Census. Along with the neighboring coastal city 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.

NJ Transit Rail Operations Commuter rail division of NJ Transit

NJ Transit Rail Operations is the rail division of NJ Transit. It operates commuter rail service in New Jersey, with most service centered on transportation to and from New York City, Hoboken, and Newark. NJ Transit also operates rail service in Orange and Rockland counties in New York under contract to Metro-North Railroad. The commuter rail lines had an average weekday ridership of 306,892 from June 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, making it the second-busiest commuter railroad in North America as well as the longest by route length. This does not include NJ Transit's light rail operations.

Maryland and Delaware Railroad

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 operator of the branch lines, the Maryland and Delaware governments selected the Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company (MDDE) to serve as the designated operator.

Bay Coast Railroad

The Bay Coast Railroad operated the former Eastern Shore Railroad line between Pocomoke City, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia. The railroad interchanged with the Delmarva Central Railroad in Pocomoke City and Norfolk Southern in Norfolk; the interchange in Pocomoke City had been with Norfolk Southern prior to December 2016, when the Delmarva Central Railroad leased 162 miles (261 km) of Norfolk Southern track on the Delmarva peninsula.

The Junction and Breakwater Trail is a 6-mile (9.7 km) long rail trail located on the southwestern side of Cape Henlopen State Park connecting Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, United States. It is the third rail trail built in Delaware and it is the longest in the state. It partially follows the former Pennsylvania Railroad Rehoboth Beach branch that once transported passengers to several Methodist resort camps along the Atlantic coast. The line was abandoned by the Penn Central in the early 1970s.

Delaware Route 14 State highway in Kent County, Delaware, United States

Delaware Route 14 (DE 14) is a state highway in the southern part of Kent County, Delaware. The route runs from the Maryland state line near Burrsville, Maryland, where the road continues as Maryland Route 317 (MD 317), east to DE 1 in Milford. The route passes through Harrington, where it intersects U.S. Route 13 (US 13), and passes to the north of Houston before coming to Milford, where it intersects DE 15, US 113, and DE 1 Business. DE 14 has a truck bypass of Harrington known as DE 14 Truck.

Delaware Route 18 State highway in Sussex County Delaware, United States

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 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 along the eastern portion of DE 18 by 1987.

Queen Annes Railroad

The Queen Anne’s Railroad was a railroad that ran between Love Point, Maryland and Lewes, Delaware and was connected to Baltimore via ferry across the Chesapeake Bay. The Queen Anne's Railroad company was formed in Maryland in 1894, and received legislative authorization from Delaware in February 1895. The railroad's original western terminus was in Queenstown, Maryland, and was moved via a 13-mile (21 km) extension to Love Point in 1902, which shortened the ferry trip to Baltimore.

U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a U.S. highway in the northeast United States, running from Laurel, Delaware north to Champlain, New York. In Delaware, the route runs an east–west path through Sussex County. Even though US 9 is signed north–south for the remainder of its route, the segment in Delaware is signed east–west. The highway runs from its western terminus at US 13 in Laurel east to the Cape May–Lewes Ferry terminal in Lewes, where the ferry carries the route across the Delaware Bay to North Cape May, New Jersey. US 9 passes through rural areas and serves the communities of Laurel, Georgetown and Lewes. US 9 intersects Delaware Route 20 (DE 20) in Hardscrabble, US 113 and DE 18/DE 404 in Georgetown, DE 30 in Gravel Hill, DE 5 in Harbeson, and DE 1 at the Five Points intersection in Nassau. Between Georgetown and Five Points, US 9 runs concurrent with DE 404.

Nassau, Delaware Unincorporated community in Delaware, United States

Nassau is an unincorporated community in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. It lies just off Delaware Route 1 west of Lewes and northeast of the town of Georgetown, the county seat of Sussex County. Its elevation is 26 feet (8 m). It has a post office with the ZIP code 19969.

A total of at least three special routes of U.S. Route 9 exist and at least three have been deleted.

The New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad was a railroad line that ran down the spine of the Delmarva Peninsula from Wilmington, Delaware to Cape Charles, Virginia and then by ferry to Norfolk, Virginia. It became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system.

Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Railroad

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. At the latter city, steamship connections could be made to Chincoteague, Virginia on the Atlantic Ocean-side exterior islands. The railroad was formed in 1883 through a consolidation of the Junction and Breakwater Railroad and the Breakwater and Frankford Railroad. The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad took control in March 1891 after the Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Railroad approached default on two mortgages totaling $600,000. The Delaware General Assembly met with Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Railroad directors and those of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad in order to avoid the default and keep the rail lines open. The Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Railroad 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.

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 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.

References

  1. 1 2 "Welcome to the Delaware Coast Line Railroad Info Page!!". Delmarva Rail Fan Guide. TrainWeb. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Freight railroad service to every county". Delaware Economic Development Office. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 "Queen Anne's Railroad". State of Delaware, Delaware Public Archives. October 31, 2007. Archived from the original on July 21, 2010.
  4. 1 2 Richard Parks (August 15, 2009). "History of the Baltimore and Eastern Railroad" . Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  5. ↑ Christopher T. Baer (December 2009). "PRR Chronology 1923" (PDF). A general chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Pennsylvania Technical and Historical Society. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 MacArthur, Ron (October 9, 2015). "Riding the rails in coastal Sussex". Cape Gazette. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Entity search results for Delaware Coast Line Railroad". Delaware Department of State: Division of Corporations. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  8. ↑ "History". Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company (February 2, 2010). Retrieved 2010-06-04
  9. ↑ Forney, Dennis (March 17, 2017). "Railroads, indigestion, and America's crumbling infrastructure". Cape Gazette. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  10. ↑ Roth, Nick (July 11, 2017). "Cool Spring to Lewes railroad to be decommissioned". Cape Gazette. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  11. ↑ MacArthur, Ron (September 28, 2016). "Swing bridge over canal closed for repair". Cape Gazette. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  12. ↑ MacArthur, Ron (August 27, 2017). "Era or train travel over Lewes-Rehoboth Canal ends". Cape Gazette. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  13. ↑ Roth, Nick (November 1, 2017). "SPI Pharma rail cars to leave Lewes". Cape Gazette. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  14. 1 2 Roth, Nick (December 15, 2017). "Last train from Lewes". Cape Gazette. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  15. ↑ Murray, Molly (October 19, 2016). "New connector trail opens in Lewes". The News Journal. Wilmington, DE. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  16. ↑ Roth, Nick (November 21, 2017). "Future of railroad at crossroads in Lewes". Cape Gazette. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  17. ↑ Laepple, Wayne (August 22, 2018). "Delaware Coast Line shuts down after 36 years". Trains. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Delaware Coast Line RR Co Photographic Roster". RR Picture Archives .net. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Sterling Rail - Locomotive For Sale". www.sterlingrail.com. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  20. ↑ "DCLR 23 nearing the end..." www.rrpicturearchives.net. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.