 | |
 1895 map of the P&BC, labeled as "PW&B," reflecting its control by thePhiladelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Philadelphia |
| Locale | Pennsylvania andMaryland |
| Dates of operation | 1854–1916 |
| Successor | Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
| Length | 110 miles (180 km) |
ThePhiladelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad (P&BC) was arailroad that operated inPennsylvania andMaryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It operated a 110-mile (180 km) main line betweenWest Philadelphia and Octoraro Junction, Maryland (nearPort Deposit), plus several branch lines.
The P&BC was chartered in Pennsylvania in 1854 and quickly absorbed the Baltimore & Philadelphia Railroad and its Maryland charter.[1] Starting from a connection with theWest Chester & Philadelphia Railroad (WC&P) atWawa, Pennsylvania (formerly called Grubb's Bridge), the initial plan was to build southwest for 78 miles (126 km) to a junction with theNorthern Central Railway, north ofBaltimore. As built, however, the line would reach only from Wawa (where the WC&P line arrived from Philadelphia in 1856) to the northern bank of theSusquehanna River, inCecil County, Maryland, near Port Deposit.
P&BC construction began in 1855 atConcordville, Pennsylvania. The first section of the line, between Wawa Junction andChadds Ford, Pennsylvania, opened in 1859. Rails reachedOxford, Pennsylvania by the following year, and the first train arrived there on December 22, 1860.[2][3]
P&BC reachedRising Sun, Maryland on Christmas morning, 1865. By December 1868, it reached 46 miles (74 km) and its southernmost point at Rowlandsville (4 miles (6.4 km) north of Port Deposit, alongOctoraro Creek), where it connected with theColumbia & Port Deposit Railroad (C&PD).[3] Instead of building its own bridge over the Susquehanna to continue service toward Baltimore,[4][3] the P&BC simply leased the C&PD line for a few miles toPerryville, where trains could proceed south over the newbridge built by thePhiladelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad (PW&B).
In 1881, P&BC absorbed the West Chester & Philadelphia Railroad — both lines were controlled by the PW&B, which was itself controlled by thePennsylvania Railroad (PRR) — extending its main line to West Philadelphia.
In 1916, P&BC was formally purchased by PW&B's successor company, thePhiladelphia, Baltimore & Washington.[5] Subsequently, the line from Wawa south to Rowlandsville was called theOctoraro Branch.Passenger train service from Octoraro to Perryville over the C&PD line ended in 1935, and during or shortly afterWorld War II, passenger service was cut back to Oxford before being ended entirely in April 1948.[6][7]
In 1961, the PRR abandoned the Octoraro Branch south ofColora, Maryland.[8]Tourist operatorWawa & Concordville Railroad leased the line between Concordville and Wawa in 1967 and 1968. The PRR merged with theNew York Central Railroad in 1968 to form thePenn Central (PC), which was bankrupt by 1970.Hurricane Agnes caused several washouts in 1972 and rendered the line unusable north ofBrandywine Creek.[3]
Following the PC bankruptcy, ownership of the line went toConrail, and then to theSoutheastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), which leased the operable section toshort-line freight railroad companies. TheOctoraro Railway provided service between Oxford and Chadds Ford Junction from 1977 to 1994, while also operating the ex-Reading Wilmington & Northern branch through a connection at the latter place.[9] In succession, theDelaware Valley Railway, theBrandywine Valley Railroad, and theMorristown & Erie Railway operated the line between 1994 and 2004. TheEast Penn Railroad bought the line from SEPTA in 2004, and currently operates betweenNottingham, Pennsylvania and Chadds Ford Junction.[10] SEPTA has retained ownership of the derelict Chadds Ford-Wawa section.[11]