History
A Short History of the
Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad
Alias “Octoraro” Branch
Written and prepared for the
Oxford Area Transit Services Group
By Ralph Denlinger
Oxford, Pa.
September 21, 2008
"A meeting of the stockholders of the
Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad and of the Baltimore and
Philadelphia Railroad Company, was held at Oxford, Pa., on Tuesday, the
20th of June, 1854, to consolidate the two companies, and to elect a
President and Director for the united company”. And so the ancestor of
today’s railroad through southernmost Chester County was born.
On Wednesday January 3, 1855, the first ground was broken at Isaac
Speakman’s farm (one source says Darwin Painter’s farm) at Painter’s
crossroads. Following a brief speech, Messrs. Quigley and Stone,
contractors, entered immediately upon their work. Expectations were that
they would reach Chadd’s Ford by locomotive within six months.
Facing financial difficulties, construction of the rail line was limited
to construction of the roadbed until circa May 1859 when track was laid
and locomotives ran as far as Concordville. Stage coach service
connected Concordville to Kennett Square at that time. In mid November
1859 trains began crossing the Brandywine Creek . Train service arrived
at Kennett Square on December 17, 1859 amid great fanfare. A schedule
for December 24, 1859 shows two trains from Kennett Square and two
passenger trains to Kennett Square were in operation daily to and from
Philadelphia.
The railroad opened to Avondale January 31, 1860 when the need for 5
bridges within a mile west of Avondale slowed progress. By June 12,
1860, the tracks were only about three quarters of a mile west of
Avondale. Construction continued and a July 3, 1860 schedule shows West
Grove offering two trains to and two trains from Philadelphia daily.
Stage coaches served Oxford from the end of the railroad as of September
1860. Scheduled trains were reaching Elkview by October 28, 1860. While
the trestle over the Elk Creek was being constructed, roadbed and track
was completed to Oxford rather than wait for the bridge to become
serviceable.
December 18, 1860 saw an announcement of a “grand jubilee” to be held at
Oxford at the opening of the railroad to that town. December 22, 1860
indeed saw a “grand jubilee” as the West Chester and Philadelphia
Railroad locomotive “Rockdale” was decorated with flags to pull a six
car train full of dignitaries to Oxford. This marked the last of the
major communities to be reached in Chester County and in Pennsylvania by
the PBCRR.
Ground was broken at Rising Sun, Maryland February 5, 1856, but the
start of the Civil War in April 1861 caused construction to cease. An
article in “The Village Record” dated August 15, 1865 states “The
Baltimore Central Railroad Company have commenced laying the track
beyond Oxford Borough. The cars have been running to Oxford for some
years. The track is now laid one mile beyond Oxford”. The railroad
passenger service reached what is now known as Nottingham circa October
1865 and reached Rising Sun Maryland January 16, 1866. The “opening of
the road” of the Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad to Port
Deposit was celebrated with an excursion on Monday April 12, 1869
marking slightly over 14 years for its completion. This location was
where the Octoraro Creek met the Susquehanna and was where the Octoraro
Station was located, thus it was referred to as the “Octoraro Branch”
and later “Central Division”.
Financial woes from the beginning created a situation whereby the PBCRR
would see itself leased out and essentially operated under the direction
of larger railroads. The PBCRR merged with the West Chester and
Philadelphia in 1881 and came under the Philadelphia, Wilmington and
Baltimore Railroad (PWB) in 1882. In 1916 it was controlled by the
Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington (PBW) which was in effect under
supervision of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). The smaller railroads
were in essence leased by the PRR rather than owned.
Passenger service to Southern Chester County diminished after WW1 and in
April 1921 a single gas car began passenger service between Wawa and
Oxford. April 14, 1935 marked the end of passenger service south of
Oxford and April 30, 1948 saw passenger service on the “Octoraro” end
altogether.
Freight service has continued off and on since 1948. In 1967 the PRR was
merged with the New York Central into the Penn Central. 1972 saw
Hurricane Agnes cut service and the loss of rail service saw some
customers seek other means of transporting goods in and out of the
region. In 1977 limited freight service resumed and the lines such as
the Octoraro, Brandywine Valley, Morristown and Erie and East Penn have
worked to rebuild the physical line itself and to restore profitable
operation of the line.
As the PBCRR approaches its 150th anniversary, the Oxford Area Transit
Services (OATS) group has set its goal on the return of passenger
service to the region. --- R. D.
It appears that we will be having a 150th Year
Celebration of the Octoraro Line's Existence on or around December 18,
2010
The following images are from the collection of Mr. Ralph Denlinger. Copyright © 2008, 2009 by Ralph Denlinger and Oxford Area Transit Services. All Rights Reserved.
Oxford Train Station, ca. 1905
Kennett Square, PA Train Station, March 2007
Morristown & Erie Locomotive # 4231 at Oxford Yard, ca. 2005
Eastbound Freight at Kennett Square, March 2007
PRL Locomotive 2206 west of Lincoln University, PA February 15, 2007
The following newspaper articles were obtained from the estate of Virginia Russell Gregg, first Treasurer (1948) and Charter Member of the Oxford Arts Association. Unfortunately, none of the clippings contained publication references, so proving provenance is nearly impossible for us at this time. If anyone has further information about these clippings, please feel free to email us using the "Contact Us" link, and we will be sure to pass your information on to Jay.
Articles and Photo's supplied by
Jay Eaton
Friends of Lincoln
Used by permission.
Please utilize your browser's "Zoom" feature to read the text of the following articles:
The Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington Railroad (PB&W RR)
Oxford Railroad Station - Old and "New"
More information regarding the History of Railroading in Oxford and Southern Chester County will be posted here as we acquire it. Please check back with us regularly for future updates.
If you have any historical information pertaining to the Octoraro Line (newspaper clippings, old track charts, ticket stubs, etc.) that you would like to see included on this page, please feel free to drop us a line at Contact Us or Webmaster. We would be happy to include your material.
Contact info:
C. John Stevenson, Chairperson <c.john.stevenson@oatrains.org>; M. Walter Saranetz, Vice-Chair <m.walter.saranetz@oatrains.org>
Oxford Area Transit Services, 5 Mt. Vernon Street, Oxford Pennsylvania 19363 (610) 932-9670