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56-459: The Milton Industrial Track operated by Delaware Coast Line Railroad (DCLR) was 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. The Georgetown to Lewes branch was part of the Junction and Breakwater which formed in 1857 with a 38-mile line from

112-635: A complex series of acquisitions, Queen Anne's Railroad ceased to exist and its assets became the property of the Maryland, Delaware and Virginia Railway Company (MD&V), a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad created for the purpose of acquiring the QAR, on January 28, 1905. Two days later it was placed under the control of the Baltimore, Chesapeake and Atlantic Railway (BC&A) and

168-651: 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. 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

224-675: A junction to the Delaware Railroad in Harrington to the Delaware Breakwater. It added the Georgetown-to-Lewes spur in 1870. 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

280-460: A marketing and business unit to improve customer service and operating efficiency as well as attract customers on its trackage in Delaware and eastern Maryland. The Delmarva Business Unit consisted of 191 miles (307 km) of trackage running between Newark, Delaware and Edgemoor Yard in Wilmington, Delaware , Wilmington and Pocomoke City, and Harrington and Frankford. The business unit, which

336-561: A museum. The railroad still legally exists between Queenstown and Queen Anne's but that track has mostly been removed. There is still a trestle over the Wye East River. Between Queen Anne and Denton the railroad is owned by MDOT, but much of the rail has been removed. For a time in the 1990s this section was operated by the Cheseapeake Railroad . This section includes extant railroad bridges over Tuckahoe Creek and

392-585: A museum. An 700-foot section of the rail right-of-way in Milton, DE was converted into the Milton Rail Trail in 2009 and extended west by 1600 feet, including a trestle over Ingram Branch , in June 2020. On the west side of Milton another trestle, over Pemberton Branch, is also extent. A Delaware state historical marker in Milton and another in Ellendale's historic Railroad Square district commemorate

448-671: A roundhouse in Northumberland, Pennsylvania for years, it was used to run excursion trains on the Strasburg Rail Road outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania starting in 1965. In 1989 it was removed from service and put on static display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania outside of Strasburg. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. No. 1223 is the only surviving example of

504-541: A subsidiary of the BC&;A. It sold the eastern portion, from West Denton to Lewes, to the Maryland and Delaware Coast Railroad at the same time. In 1928 the BC&A was merged into the B&;ER. Passenger service was terminated in 1931 and replaced by bus service and sections of the railroad were abandoned throughout the intervening years. In 1934, the B&E purchased the small section from West Denton to Denton from

560-738: Is a subsidiary of Carload Express, a shortline operator based in Oakmont, Pennsylvania that also owns the Allegheny Valley Railroad and the Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad . Local management of the DCR is based in Harrington while freight operations are based in Dover, Delaware , Harrington, Seaford, and Delmar, Delaware . The DCR consists of 30 employees. The mainline of the DCR between Porter and Delmar

616-629: The Delmarva Peninsula and also offered railcar storage. 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. The swing bridge was originally built in 1869 and modernized by PRR in 1916. The bridge was reconstructed in 1997. In September 2016, the swing bridge was found to be structurally unsound, having dropped 7-8 inches due to settlement in

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672-603: The Maryland and Delaware Railroad . The rest of the line is in some state of non-use, abandonment, removal or trail conversion. The company also owned and operated the Queen Anne's Ferry & Equipment Company which consisted of the steamers Endeavor, Queen Anne and Queen Caroline. The following towns were served by the Queen Anne's Railroad: An article appearing in the April 9, 1897 issue of The Morning News announcing

728-507: The "Queen Anne's Railroad," but it had no direct links to the original 1894-1905 railroad. Delaware's 2006 Rail-to-Trail and Rail with Trail Facility Master Plan included a recommendation that the Milton Industrial Spur be evaluated for a rail trail, but that was prior to use being restarted in 2010. The Milton-Lewes Line was not studied but the report notes broad opposition to its conversion, further noting that ownership of

784-631: The 3.65-mile (5.87 km) Willards Industrial Track in Salisbury, Maryland , the 0.65-mile (1.05 km) Mardela Industrial Track in Salisbury, the 0.6-mile (0.97 km) Mill Street Industrial Track in Salisbury, and the 1.2-mile (1.9 km) Crisfield Industrial Track in Kings Creek, Maryland . The DCR also has trackage rights on Norfolk Southern Railway tracks from Porter to Tasker near New Castle, Delaware . The DCR interchanges with

840-566: The Baltimore & Eastern Railroad (B&E), which incorporated in Maryland on June 13, 1923. Passenger service on the B&E was discontinued in October 1931. 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

896-544: The Choptank River. The Choptank River bridge was once operated by a hand-cranked turnstile. The bridge was rotated 90 degrees and vessels could pass to either side of the central island, which supported the turnstile bridge. Between Denton and Ellendale the railroad has been abandoned as has the section between Milton and Lewes. The original railroad station in Sudlersville is still in existence and serves as

952-570: The DCR include grain trains to Allen Harim Foods near Seaford and Mountaire Farms in Frankford and Princess Anne, Maryland , and aggregate stone trains to H&K Group's Dagsboro Stone Depot in Dagsboro. The Delmarva Central Railroad provides freight service to over 50 customers. The Delmarva Central Railroad operates with 14 locomotives, consisting of EMD GP38-2 , EMD MP15AC , and EMD SD40-2 models. The DCR had EMD GP11 locomotives on

1008-621: The DCR took over operations from the Bay Coast Railroad on trackage owned by the Canonie Atlantic Corporation between Pocomoke City and Hallwood after the Bay Coast Railroad ceased operations on May 18, 2018. The DCR took over the portion of the Bay Coast Railroad between Pocomoke City and Hallwood in order to continue rail service to the remaining customers along the line. On January 1, 2019,

1064-614: The DCR took over operations from the Delaware Coast Line Railroad between Ellendale and Milton and Georgetown and Cool Spring, having won the bid to operate the lines under contract from the State of Delaware. On March 18, 2020, DCR announced that they were awarded a federal grant of $ 18.8 million to refurbish three moveable bridges (the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal Lift Bridge near Middletown, Delaware ,

1120-891: The Dagsboro Industrial Track to Snow Hill, Maryland. From the Indian River Subdivision, the Milton Industrial Track branches east from Ellendale, Delaware to Milton, Delaware and the Lewes Industrial Track branches east from Georgetown, Delaware to Cool Spring, Delaware . Smaller lines operated by the DCR include the 0.4-mile (0.64 km) Oxford Industrial Track in Clayton, Delaware , the 2.3-mile (3.7 km) Cambridge Industrial Track in Seaford, Delaware ,

1176-474: 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 DCR operates on 188 miles (303 km) of trackage on the Delmarva Peninsula in the states of Delaware , Maryland , and Virginia . The DCR's main line runs 113.79 miles (183.13 km) from Porter, Delaware south to Pocomoke City, Maryland on

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1232-747: The Delmarva Subdivision, with the section leading into Pocomoke City called the Pocomoke Industrial Track. The main line trackage continues south 14.8 miles (23.8 km) from Pocomoke City to Hallwood, Virginia on the Delmarva Industrial Track. A branch line runs 39.0 miles (62.8 km) from a junction with the Delmarva Subdivision in Harrington, Delaware to Frankford, Delaware on the Indian River Subdivision to Dagsboro, Delaware and then on

1288-627: The Draper-King Cole Cannery located just east of Chestnut St in Milton. In 1994 the Delaware Transit Corporation (DTC) was formed and took control of the line. At that time the MDDE was awarded a five-year contract to operate the line. After Draper went out of business in 1999, Norfolk Southern leased the line to store grain cars on it for Purdue and operations returned to DCLR. DCLR restarted operations on

1344-622: The ICC the next year and started running both freight and excursion trains in 1995. The railroad struggled and never used the Denton Branch. In 1998 the state terminated the CHRR's operating agreement and a few days later a final run was made to clear equipment from the track. 18.75 miles of the right-of-way and trackage from Wye Mill, MD to Denton is still owned by the state of Maryland. The Maryland and Delaware Coast Railroad (M&DCR)

1400-607: The Milton Industrial Track in 2010 for use by a propane facility on the west side of Milton but the portion of track between Gravel Hill Road/MD-30 and downtown Milton was abandoned. In early 2018, DelDOT decided not to renew its contract with DCLR and the Delmarva Central Railroad won the bid to take it over effective January 1, 2019. In the 1990s, a dinner train operated on the original trackage of Junction and Breakwater Railroad between Lewes and Nassau, Delaware with locomotives and passenger cars branded as

1456-741: The Norfolk Southern Railway in Clayton for mixed freight and Tasker for unit trains. There are also interchanges with the Maryland and Delaware Railroad in Townsend, Seaford, and Frankford. Products carried by the railroad include grain, propane, building materials, and bulk products. The railroad occasionally operates unit coal trains to the Indian River Power Plant operated by NRG Energy near Millsboro, Delaware , running as needed. Other unit trains operated by

1512-535: The PRR until it became part of Penn Central in 1968 and stayed with Penn Central through the their bankruptcy and the Conrail merger ; but it was omitted from the system plan for Conrail . As a result of the bankruptcy, the Milton Industrial Track was sold to DelDOT. Once DelDot became owners of the Milton Industrial Track, they licensed the Delaware Coast Line Railroad (DCLR) to operate freight traffic on it to serve

1568-629: The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) which had its own Cape May service. The goal of the railroad was to create a link from Baltimore to Centreville and the Atlantic Coast. Construction began on June 27, 1895. It began operating between Queenstown, MD and Denton, MD on July 15, 1896. It was extended east to Greenwood, DE - where it connected to the Delaware Railroad - on January 1, 1897. It was extended further east to Milton, DE by August 29 of that year. On March 1, 1898, service

1624-420: The Pennsylvania Railroad's D16sb class. Other parts of the right of way have been turned into Love Point Road, US-50, other roads and utility corridors; and several culverts remain. Delmarva Central Railroad The Delmarva Central Railroad ( reporting mark DCR ) is an American short-line railroad owned by Carload Express that operates 188 miles (303 km) of track on the Delmarva Peninsula in

1680-465: The Rehoboth Beach boardwalk ) "into an elaborate welcome center for the resort visitors who used the Queen Anne's trains." This welcome center included 100 bathhouses, a 40 foot by 40 foot dance floor, bowling alley, shuffleboard, electric lights, and accommodations for 1,000 excursionists and was located one block from the Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia railroad station in Rehoboth Beach that

1736-426: The canal and seeing some pieces of timber split. As a result, the bridge was closed to rail traffic by DelDOT. 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

Delaware Coast Line Railroad - Misplaced Pages Continue

1792-534: The company is not a customer. Queen Anne%27s Railroad 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

1848-495: The failed Maryland & Delaware Seacoast Railway. The bus that started in the 1931 was gone from the schedule by 1941, as the company dropped all passenger operations. The opening of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in 1952 dealt the B&ER a further blow as more travelers chose to drive. Conrail took control of the B&ER rail corridor on April 1, 1976, and the section from Queenstown, MD to Queen Anne, MD

1904-633: The following month. As a result of the acquisition, Carload Express purchased 17 additional locomotives. The DCR began operations in December 2016. In December 2016, the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association union filed a protest with the STB over the transaction, claiming that it did not have the resources to safely operate, but the STB dismissed the case in March 2017. In June 2018,

1960-448: The line temporarily, until operations were well underway, and the October 2018 issue of Railpace magazine noted on page 9 that the last two GP11s on the DCR had departed. DCR 2005 and 2007 were interchanged to Norfolk Southern at Clayton on July 25, 2018, for movement back to the home rails of parent company Carload Express. The magazine added that the DCR now has "an adequate number" of MP15s and GP38s to handle local chores. The railroad

2016-482: 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. The three tank cars were trucked out of SPI Pharma in November 2017. A train pulled

2072-664: The opening of the new railway lists the stations, in order, as Queenstown, Bloomingdale , Wye Mills , Willoughby, Queen Anne, Hillsboro , Downes, Tuckahoe, Denton, Hobbs , Hickman, Adamsville, Blanchard, and Greenwood where the line terminated while construction continued to Ellendale. The Queen Anne's Railroad company was incorporated by a group of Centreville businessmen in Maryland on February 26, 1894, to provide transportation between Baltimore and Cape May, NJ. It received legislative authorization from Delaware to build its line to Lewes, DE in February 1895 despite opposition from

2128-778: The rail corridor is unknown and appears to have reverted to private ownership in some cases. The section from Ellendale to MD-30 is the only portion of the original Queen Anne Railroad still in use. In Queen Anne's County, Maryland , the railroad right-of-way from Stevensville to Chester has been turned into part of the Cross Island Trail , a rail trail which is, in turn, part of the American Discovery Trail . The Stevensville Train Depot remains in Historic Stevensville, MD and serves as

2184-580: 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. The railroad maintained tracks, signals, and sidings for private companies throughout

2240-497: The railroad was taken over by the PRR and cut into pieces. The line from West Denton across the river to Denton, which was the source of ~2/3rds of the freight at the time, wound up with the Baltimore & Eastern. The Ellendale to Milton section, known now as the Milton Industrial Track, was sold to the Delaware, Maryland & Virginia Railroad, a PRR subsidiary. The sections from Denton to Ellendale and from Milton to Lewes were abandoned. The Milton Industrial Track remained part of

2296-399: The railroad. The Baltimore, Chesapeake & Atlantic Railway was operating the last three D16 4-4-0 steam locomotives in 1937 when they were scheduled to be scrapped. A PRR officer noticed thus and ordered that #1223 be renovated to almost original condition. It was displayed at a number of railroad fairs in the 1930s-1950s and retired from revenue service in 1950. After being stored at

Delaware Coast Line Railroad - Misplaced Pages Continue

2352-538: The roadbed. 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. Source: Note: No. 2 has been put up for sale on the Sterling Rail website, No. 23

2408-482: 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

2464-534: The tank cars out of Lewes on December 15, 2017, ending train service to Lewes. In October 2016, work began on the Georgetown-Lewes Trail, a rail-with-trail along the railroad right-of-way. In December 2017, the Lewes city council voted in favor of preserving a section of the railroad line between Kings Highway and Adams Avenue. The swing bridge over the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal was removed in 2022. DelDOT retained ownership and railroad rights along

2520-540: The two lines, saving them from abandonment. DCLR incorporated in Delaware on June 23, 1982, 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

2576-545: The two were operated as twins. The "Virginia" in the railroad's name likely referred to the line's steamer routes which operated in Virginia waters. The MD&V lost money every single year except for 1910 and 1911. As a result, the PRR sold it and all of its properties in May 1923 to the E. B. Leaf Company. In 1924 Leaf sold the western portion, from Love Point to West Denton, MD, to the Baltimore and Eastern Railroad (B&ER)

2632-441: Was a locally organized railroad created to preserve passenger rail on the West Denton to Lewes branch in 1924. In 1931 their "gasoline car" was destroyed and they ended passenger rail; freight service continued, but they went bankrupt and were foreclosed on in 1932. It was then reorganized as the Maryland & Delaware Seacoast Railway, but it did no better than the M&DCR and by 1934 it had filed for abandonment. At that point,

2688-458: Was estimated that they needed $ 1 million in repairs. Freight operations ended on February 22, 1983, and the Maryland Department of Transportation abandoned the lines that same year. In the mid-80's the Chesapeake Railroad (CHRR) was formed to resume service with excursion and dinner trains and some freight between Clayton and Queen Anne and from Queen Anne to Denton. They signed an agreement with MTA to do so in 1993, received permission from

2744-463: Was extended 13-mile (21 km) west to Love Point, Maryland and north from Queenstown to Centreville. At Love Point it connected to a ferry line, shortening the ferry trip to Baltimore. . The railroad began operating a summer-only Cape May Express train between Queenstown and Lewes with a connecting steamer across the Delaware Bay to Cape May, New Jersey . The railroad was not as successful as investors hoped and it went bankrupt in 1904. Through

2800-406: Was extended to Lewes, DE where it connected to a terminal that allowed passengers to catch a ferry to Cape May. At Lewes it also connected to the resort of Rehoboth via a line owned by the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad . In 1899, the Queen Anne's Railroad converted a building in Rehoboth Beach at the corner of Rehoboth Avenue and Surf Avenue (now the corner of Rehoboth Avenue and

2856-409: Was headquartered in Wilmington, had its own local management team. In October 2016, the Norfolk Southern Railway selected Carload Express to lease and operate its Delmarva Peninsula trackage between Porter and Pocomoke City and Harrington and Frankford in an effort to turn around the underperforming lines. The DCR filed its application to begin operations with the Surface Transportation Board (STB)

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2912-421: Was originally part of the Delaware Railroad while the mainline south of there was part of the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad . These lines were later acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad and passed to the Penn Central Transportation Company in 1968, Conrail in 1976, and the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1999. On April 1, 2006, the Norfolk Southern Railway established the Delmarva Business Unit as

2968-455: Was scrapped years ago, 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. Source: Note: There is no spur into Atlantic Concrete and DCLR President Dan Herholdt has stated that

3024-415: Was taken out of service. In 1977, the Maryland and Delaware Railroad (MDDE) was formed to operate rural lines that were omitted from Conrail's system plan and it began to operate trains between Queen Anne, where it connected to the Oxford Branch and Denton, hauling freight and running occasional excursions. The Denton and Oxford Branches operated at a loss for years, with declining use and in 1982 it

3080-411: 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 section from Ellendale, DE to Milton, DE is the only portion still in use. It is owned by the state of Delaware and operated by

3136-411: Was utilized by the Queen Anne railroad after the rail lines linked in Lewes. The Queen Anne Railroad planned to construct their own rail line from Lewes to Rehoboth Beach that would have followed the beach, giving a view of the ocean and passing just beside the Great Dune at the Cape Henlopen Light , at the present day Cape Henlopen State Park ,; but the line was never built. In 1901–02, the rail line

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