Stewartstown Railroad

The Stewartstown Railroad is a heritage railroad that operates in Stewartstown, Pennsylvania. Chartered in 1884 by local interests in the Stewartstown area, and opened in 1885, the Stewartstown Railroad survives today in very much original condition, and retains its original corporate charter.

Stewartstown Railroad

Overview
Headquarters	Stewartstown
Locale	Stewartstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Dates of operation	1885–present
Technical
Track gauge	4' 8 1/2
Length	7.4 miles
Other
Website	stewartstownrailroadco.com
Route map NP&FG terminus 1906-1935 hidden section Fawn Grove New Park Strawbridge Wiley Gimmel Maple Hill Anderson Manifold Stewartstown Zeigler Reimold Orwig Astine Tolna Kenny Turnpike New Freedom Northern Central Railway

The rail line was first organized in 1884 when a group of local citizens organized to connect their town and its agricultural base with the Northern Central Railway's Harrisburg-to-Baltimore route at nearby New Freedom. The 7.4-mile length posed many obstacles, including steep grades and sharp curves, and took nearly a year to complete. By 1885, passengers and agricultural products traveled on the Stewartstown line that connected points north and south at New Freedom. In the early years, six trains daily ran the route. By 1906, the New Park & Fawn Grove line connected with the Stewartstown's eastern terminus, adding nine miles of track to the eastern end of the older line. (There were local efforts in 1906, 1909,[1]^: 10–11 and again in 1924[2] to finance an extention to the slate and marble quarries in Delta but this never materialized.) The Stewartstown Railroad finally took over this route in 1923 and operated it until 1935. The years of the Great Depression took their toll on the Stewartstown Railroad Company, with revenues dropping sharply. The end of the steam locomotive era marked the introduction of a gasoline powered combination car that provided both passenger and express service. Passenger ridership plummeted from the mid-1920s onward and officially ceased in 1952.[1]^: 70

In 1972, Hurricane Agnes temporarily halted the Stewartstown Railroad's service. Destroying a section of the old Northern Central line between Harrisburg and Baltimore, the hurricane severed the Stewartstown Railroad's links with the rest of the country, forcing it to close. Not until 1985 did the line from York to New Freedom reopen, and only then did the Stewartstown Railroad renew operations. It carried both excursion passengers and occasional freight and connecting at York with what was then Conrail and the Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad. In the interim, trackage south to Baltimore was removed.

Stewartstown then ran as a heritage railroad but again ceased operating in 2004. Up to that point former president and shareholder George M. Hart had advanced the railroad his personal funds to keep it afloat. After Hart died in 2008 his will stipulated that his executors should collect the debt, over $350,000USD, owed to his estate. While the railroad agreed that his contributions were loans, they also believed that the debt would be forgiven after his death.[3] The Bucks County Historical Society, a beneficiary of Hart's estate, demanded immediate payment while the railroad proposed a five-year repayment plan.[4] In July 2011 the estate filed an Adverse Abandonment application with the Surface Transportation Board, which was granted in November 2012.[5] This allowed the estate to start foreclosue proceedings on the railroad and sell its assets.[6] Eventually donors came forward to pay off the debt in 2013.[7]

In 2006, when the railroad had been dormant for two years, a Friends group organized to help restore service. By 2008 the Stewartstown station was reopened for visitors and limited excursion service was restored later that year.[8] The rail line's reactivation was not without some opposition: the local newpaper applauded preservation of the historic buildings but argued that conversion to a rail trail would be more cost-effective and draw more users.[9] By 2015 the railroad had a crew of volunteers working on operations. Currently, passenger and tourist trains operate out of the 1914 Stewartstown Railroad Station, for either Coach rides or Caboose rides, approximately a mile down the line and back. Former Reading Railroad coach 1341 was returned to service in December 2016 and in June 2018 a new open air car owned and built by the Friends of the Stewartstown Railroad, Inc. was available. In January 2021 it acquired a former Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad maintenance car that it was adapting for handicap access.[10]

Motorcar rides operate out of the Stewartstown Railroad Station and run the entire length of the 7.4 mile line. Approximately one weekend a month motorcar trains run from Stewartstown to New Freedom, and return.

The Railroad offers holiday specific trains, such as Easter Bunny Trains, Fall Foliage Runs, Halloween Trains, and Santa Trains.

The Shrewsbury Railroad Station, Stewartstown Railroad Station, and Stewartstown Engine House at Stewartstown are listed on the National Register of Historic Places in York County, Pennsylvania. Also listed are the Deer Creek Bridge, Ridge Road Bridge, Stone Arch Road Bridge, and Valley Road Bridge.[11][12]