The Enola Branch is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway

Norfolk Southern Railway

The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. The line runs from Washington Boro

Washington Boro, Pennsylvania

Washington Boro is an unincorporated community in Manor Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Susquehanna River. The zip code here is 17582...

 northwest to Marysville

Marysville, Pennsylvania

Marysville is a borough in Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,425 in July 2008. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area....

 along a former Pennsylvania Railroad

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

 line. Its south end is at a former junction with the Atglen and Susquehanna Branch

Atglen and Susquehanna Branch

The Atglen and Susquehanna Branch is an abandoned branch line of the Pennsylvania Railroad.-History:The Atglen and Susquehanna Branch was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad between 1902 and 1906. The branch was built to relieve congestion on the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line and the...

, where the Port Road Branch continues southeast. Its north end is at the Pittsburgh Line. Along the way, it meets the York Secondary at Wago Junction (near York Haven

York Haven, Pennsylvania

York Haven is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 709 at the 2010 census. The borough is the home of the Brunner Island coal-fired electrical generation plant, located on the Susquehanna River on Wago Road and operated by PPL.-Geography:York Haven is located at...

) and crosses the Lurgan Branch

Lurgan Branch

The Lurgan Branch is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and Maryland. The line runs from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania southwest to Hagerstown, Maryland along former Reading Company and Pennsylvania Railroad lines...

 at Lemoyne.

History

The York and Cumberland Railroad opened the line from York north to Lemoyne in 1851; this is part of the current Enola Branch north of Wago Junction. The Northern Central Railway

Northern Central Railway

The Northern Central Railway was a Class I Railroad connecting Baltimore, Maryland with Sunbury, Pennsylvania. Completed in 1858, the line came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1861, when the PRR acquired a controlling interest in the Northern Central's stock to compete with the...

 extended the line north to Dauphin in 1858; this extension south of Marysville is now the Enola Branch.

The Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad

Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad

The Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It operated a main line between Columbia, Pennsylvania and Port Deposit, Maryland, generally along the eastern shore of the Susquehanna River. It later acquired...

 opened in 1877, including the Enola Branch south of Columbia. The York Haven and Rowenna Railroad opened the Shocks Mills Bridge

Shocks Mills Bridge

Shocks Mills Bridge carries tracks of the Norfolk Southern Railway over the Susquehanna River between Marietta, Pennsylvania and Wago Junction, Pennsylvania.-Construction:...

 and connecting trackage in 1905, running from Rowenna northwest to Wago Junction. The final piece of the Enola Branch opened in 1906, with the completion of the Atglen and Susquehanna Branch

Atglen and Susquehanna Branch

The Atglen and Susquehanna Branch is an abandoned branch line of the Pennsylvania Railroad.-History:The Atglen and Susquehanna Branch was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad between 1902 and 1906. The branch was built to relieve congestion on the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line and the...

 to Rowenna. The entire line became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

 and Conrail through leases, mergers, and takeovers, and in the 1999 breakup of Conrail it was assigned to Norfolk Southern.