The Round Top Branch was an extension of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad from the Gettysburg borough across the Gettysburg Battlefield to Round Top, Pennsylvania . The branch ran southward from the terminus of the railroad's main line (its junction with the Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad north of Meade School), west of the school and St. Francis Xavier Cemetery, across the field of Pickett's Charge , south of Cemetery Ridge , east of Weikert Hill and Munshower Knoll, and through Round Top to a point between Little Round Top 's east base and Taneytown Road . In addition to battlefield tourists, the line carried stone monoliths and statues for monuments during the battlefield's memorial association and commemorative eras and equipment, supplies and participants for Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War (e.g., the 1884 Camp Gettysburg , 1913 Gettysburg reunion , 1918 Camp Colt and 1938 Gettysburg reunion ).
16-658: After completion of a 22 mi (35 km) initial survey of Gettysburg along Rock Creek on January 12, 1882, the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Rail Road main line was instead completed into the borough along Oak Ridge with nine stations from Hunter's Run. By July 14, 1882, Ambrose E. Lehman of the State Geological Survey completed the G&;HRR survey for the branch to Round Top, and the HJ,H&GRR (successor to
32-467: A Gettysburg Battlefield guidebook with 1884 images by "the great landscape photographer, Mr. Bell, of Philadelphia". By 1888 the branch's Hancock Station on the battlefield was south of The Angle near the Vermont and Tammany monuments, and on a c. 1900 map, a wye with crossing double spurs was depicted at Round Top Station with a benchmark at 545 ft (166 m) elevation; by 1904,
48-563: Is an 18.9-mile-long (30.4 km) tributary of the Monocacy River in south-central Pennsylvania and serves as the border between Cumberland and Mount Joy townships. Rock Creek was used by the Underground Railroad (at McAllister's Mill , "slaves would slosh through the water to throw off the tracking dogs that were pursuing them") and flows near several Gettysburg Battlefield sites, including Culp's Hill ,
64-1140: The Battle of Monocacy Junction . The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal crosses over the river at the Monocacy Aqueduct , the largest of the 11 aqueducts on the canal. The river rises in Carroll County, Maryland , west of the unincorporated town of Harney at the Maryland - Pennsylvania border. The river is formed by the confluence of Marsh Creek and Rock Creek , which flow out of Adams County, Pennsylvania . Maryland tributaries include Furnace Branch, Tuscarora Creek , Carroll Creek , Linganore Creek and Ballenger Creek in Frederick County and Double Pipe Creek in Carroll County; other Pennsylvania tributaries include Alloway Creek and Toms Creek in Adams County. About 60% of
80-647: The Benner Hill artillery location , and Barlow Knoll . Monocacy River The Monocacy River ( / m ə ˈ n ɒ k ə s i / ) is a free-flowing left tributary to the Potomac River , which empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Chesapeake Bay . The river is 58.5 miles (94.1 km) long, with a drainage area of about 970 square miles (2,500 km ). It is
96-470: The Gettysburg Railroad (1976–1996) and the 1996-2001 Gettysburg Railway . Download coordinates as: 39°49′20″N 77°14′32″W / 39.822214°N 77.242336°W / 39.822214; -77.242336 39°49′19″N 77°14′32″W / 39.821903°N 77.242244°W / 39.821903; -77.242244 Rock Creek (Monocacy River) Rock Creek
112-616: The Environment (MDE) has listed the Monocacy with impaired water quality for nutrient pollution , sediment , and fecal coliform bacteria . A major tributary basin, the Double Pipe Creek watershed, is also impaired by these pollutants. A 2012 MDE report said that fish and other aquatic life in the river were severely impacted by pollution and loss of habitat . Some farmers in the Monocacy watershed participate in
128-490: The G&HRR) survey was begun by engineer Joseph S. Gitt for a competing Round-Top Railroad Company route to Round Top; the latter was never built. Track workers under foreman Coulson were laying rails of 80 lb (36 kg) per yard for the branch in May 1884, and laborer "Blind Davy" Weikert was blinded by a premature dynamite blast. The Round Top Station 's warehouse was completed June 21, 1884. After being surveyed in May,
144-481: The Monocacy watershed is dedicated to agricultural use; about 33% of the watershed is forested . The city of Frederick and its suburbs form the largest urban area within the watershed. The 970 square mile watershed averages a flow of 600 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) at the mouth where it enters the Potomac River. The vegetation of the watershed is very similar to what one would expect to find through
160-477: The Piedmont and valley and ridge regions, with some invasive species that threaten the balance of the ecosystem. The State of Maryland designated the Monocacy as a Maryland Scenic River in 1974. However, it has one of the greatest nonpoint source pollution problems in the state due in large part to runoff from the 3,500 farms, livestock operations, and dairies in the watershed. The Maryland Department of
176-473: The branch to Round Top. Except for special occasions (such as a trip by Bethlehem students in 1958), Reading passenger service to Gettysburg ceased in 1941 and an application to abandon the Round Top Branch was made in 1942 (the rails were removed and a few artifacts remain in place ). The main-line junction is now located at Seminary Ridge west of the original 19th century junction, and was used by
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#1732791244468192-648: The branch's connection to the HJ, H&GRR was being completed on July 22, 1884 "just beyond the Cashman limestone kilns " and a siding along Fairfield Road had been completed along with a switch at the PA National Guard commissary (the 1913 siding held eight carloads of ice). The " dummy " Baldwin steam engine had begun excursions "to the hill" in June 1884 and could carry about 40 passengers (the branch's "dinky" could carry about 10). The G&HRR published
208-593: The largest Maryland tributary to the Potomac. The name "Monocacy" comes from the Shawnee name for the river Monnockkesey , which translates to "river with many bends." (However, another local tradition asserts that "Monocacy" means "well-fenced garden" in an Indian language.) The Monocacy National Battlefield lies alongside part of the river, marking an 1864 engagement during the American Civil War ,
224-400: The national Conservation Stewardship Program operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), designed to help stem pollution due to erosion and pollutant runoff from farming . In the 1990s the watershed was part of a national water quality demonstration project sponsored by USDA, which helped farmers reduce fertilizer usage and reduced discharges of nitrogen and phosphorus to
240-520: The wye was no longer depicted. In 1902, Camp Lawton was headquartered at The Angle with its telegraph and telephone office at the Emmitsburg Rd "junction of the steam and electric roads near the Codori buildings". Through October 1914, a combination arsenal and commissary along the Round Top Branch was used for Pennsylvania National Guard camps at Gettysburg . A special platform on the branch
256-495: Was built for 1913 Gettysburg reunion veterans to disembark directly into their camp on the west side of Emmitsburg Road; after addressing the veterans, President Woodrow Wilson departed the Great Camp in his private rail car via the branch. The branch's junction was visible on a June 25 aerial photo of the 1938 Gettysburg reunion camp; on May 7, 1939 a Reading Railroad train from Philadelphia carried 400 excursionists on
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