Hanover Branch Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Hanover Branch Railroad Company was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania
in the mid-19th century. The company was incorporated on March 16, 1847 and began operating train
s in 1852. It extended from the connection with the Baltimore & Susquehanna Railroad (later to become the Northern Central Railway
, and then in 1911, the Pennsylvania Railroad
) at Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania
to Hanover
.
Letters patent
for the Hanover Branch Co. were issued in Pennsylvania on October 18, 1849. The company represents the oldest portion of the Western Maryland Railway
. The railroad connected at Hanover to the Gettysburg Railroad
in 1858, just prior to the Civil War
.
, the name Old Branch remained.
The Hanover Branch was used to ship a significant volume of iron ore from local mines. In 1873 the Bachman Valley Railroad
opened with a connection to the Hanover Branch at Valley Junction. The "21st Annual Report (1873) of the Hanover Branch Railroad" states that about 12,000 tons of iron ore were received from the Bachman Valley during a four-month period. This Bachman Valley route eventually became part of the Western Maryland Railroad's Hanover Subdivision
from Emory Grove, Maryland, to Hanover and Gettysburg
.
. It carried the parties of President
Abraham Lincoln
and Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin from Hanover Junction to Gettysburg on November 18, 1863, where President Lincoln delivered the next day his Gettysburg Address
at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery
. The Northern Central Railway
trains carried President Lincoln from Baltimore and Governor Curtin from Harrisburg
, the two groups meeting at Hanover Junction and proceeding together on the Hanover Branch to Gettysburg.
After the Battle of Gettysburg
in 1863, the Hanover Branch provided a route for transportation of wounded soldiers to distant hospitals and cities via Hanover Junction, since this was the only rail outlet available from Gettysburg to the outside world during the Civil War area. The Hanover Branch Railroad facilities at Hanover Junction included a hotel built by the railroad, which also housed the railroad's offices. During the Gettysburg Campaign
of the Civil War, Confederate cavalry
disrupted the telegraph line and destroyed the railroad's facilities at Hanover Junction, except for the hotel.
On April 21, 1865, the nine-car funeral train of President Lincoln left the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) station in Washington at 8:00 a.m., arriving at Baltimore's Camden Station
at 10 a.m. on the B&O. After public viewing of the President's remains in Baltimore, the train departed on the Northern Central at 3 p.m. and passed Hanover Junction at 5:55 p.m., arriving in Harrisburg at 8:20 p.m., after a brief stop at York
. The next morning, the train left Harrisburg for Philadelphia
at 11:00 a.m. It continued on its trip to Springfield, Illinois
, for the burial, via the cities of New York, Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbus, and Indianapolis.
. The new company extended the rail line from Gettysburg west to Marsh Creek in 1884 and to Orrtanna
in 1885. In 1886 the company merged with the Baltimore and Hanover Railroad
to form the Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway
. The Baltimore and Harrisburg was controlled by the Western Maryland Railway, and the WM bought the company in 1917.
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...
in the mid-19th century. The company was incorporated on March 16, 1847 and began operating train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s in 1852. It extended from the connection with the Baltimore & Susquehanna Railroad (later to become 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...
, and then in 1911, 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....
) at Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania
Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania
Hanover Junction is a small unincorporated community in south-central York County, Pennsylvania, United States, near the borough of Seven Valleys...
to Hanover
Hanover, Pennsylvania
Hanover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, southwest of York and north-northwest of Baltimore, Maryland.The town is situated in a productive agricultural region. The population was 15,289 at the 2010 census. The borough is served by a 717 area code and the Zip Codes of 17331-34...
.
Letters patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
for the Hanover Branch Co. were issued in Pennsylvania on October 18, 1849. The company represents the oldest portion of the Western Maryland Railway
Western Maryland Railway
The Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad which operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation. The WM became part of the Chessie System in 1973 and ceased operating its lines...
. The railroad connected at Hanover to the Gettysburg Railroad
Gettysburg Railroad
The Gettysburg Railroad was a railway line in Pennsylvania that operated from 1858-1870 over the 17 mile main line from the terminus in Gettysburg to the 1849 Hanover Junction...
in 1858, just prior to the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
History
The Hanover Branch Railroad, commonly referred to as the "Old Branch", began construction in 1851 and started operation in 1852. Even after the company became part of the Western Maryland RailwayWestern Maryland Railway
The Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad which operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation. The WM became part of the Chessie System in 1973 and ceased operating its lines...
, the name Old Branch remained.
The Hanover Branch was used to ship a significant volume of iron ore from local mines. In 1873 the Bachman Valley Railroad
Bachman Valley Railroad
The Bachman Valley Railroad was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the 19th century. The 13 mile line ran from Valley Junction, Pennsylvania to Ebbvale, Maryland . The railroad was built to transport iron ore to local blast furnaces...
opened with a connection to the Hanover Branch at Valley Junction. The "21st Annual Report (1873) of the Hanover Branch Railroad" states that about 12,000 tons of iron ore were received from the Bachman Valley during a four-month period. This Bachman Valley route eventually became part of the Western Maryland Railroad's Hanover Subdivision
Hanover Subdivision
The Hanover Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The line runs from Baltimore, Maryland west to Hagerstown, Maryland along several former Western Maryland Railway lines...
from Emory Grove, Maryland, to Hanover and Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
.
Civil War era
The Hanover Branch Railroad is associated with historic events during the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. It carried the parties of President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin from Hanover Junction to Gettysburg on November 18, 1863, where President Lincoln delivered the next day his Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery
Gettysburg National Cemetery
The Gettysburg National Cemetery is located on Cemetery Hill in the Gettysburg Battlefield near the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and adjacent to Evergreen Cemetery to the south...
. 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...
trains carried President Lincoln from Baltimore and Governor Curtin from Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, the two groups meeting at Hanover Junction and proceeding together on the Hanover Branch to Gettysburg.
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
in 1863, the Hanover Branch provided a route for transportation of wounded soldiers to distant hospitals and cities via Hanover Junction, since this was the only rail outlet available from Gettysburg to the outside world during the Civil War area. The Hanover Branch Railroad facilities at Hanover Junction included a hotel built by the railroad, which also housed the railroad's offices. During the Gettysburg Campaign
Gettysburg Campaign
The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...
of the Civil War, Confederate cavalry
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
disrupted the telegraph line and destroyed the railroad's facilities at Hanover Junction, except for the hotel.
On April 21, 1865, the nine-car funeral train of President Lincoln left the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) station in Washington at 8:00 a.m., arriving at Baltimore's Camden Station
Camden Station
Camden Station, now also referred to as Camden Yards, is a train station at the intersection of Howard and Camden Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, served by MARC commuter rail service and local Light Rail trains. It is adjacent to Oriole Park at Camden Yards...
at 10 a.m. on the B&O. After public viewing of the President's remains in Baltimore, the train departed on the Northern Central at 3 p.m. and passed Hanover Junction at 5:55 p.m., arriving in Harrisburg at 8:20 p.m., after a brief stop at York
York, Pennsylvania
York, known as the White Rose City , is a city located in York County, Pennsylvania, United States which is in the South Central region of the state. The population within the city limits was 43,718 at the 2010 census, which was a 7.0% increase from the 2000 count of 40,862...
. The next morning, the train left Harrisburg for Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
at 11:00 a.m. It continued on its trip to Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
, for the burial, via the cities of New York, Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbus, and Indianapolis.
Post-war mergers
In 1874 Hanover Branch merged with the Susquehanna, Gettysburg & Potomac Railway (successor to the Gettysburg Railroad) to form the Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg RailroadHanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad
The Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad was a railroad line in Pennsylvania in the 19th century. The 38 mile main line ran from Orrtanna to Hanover Junction where it connected with the Northern Central Railway...
. The new company extended the rail line from Gettysburg west to Marsh Creek in 1884 and to Orrtanna
Orrtanna, Pennsylvania
Orrtanna is a census-designated place in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 173 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Orrtanna is located at ....
in 1885. In 1886 the company merged with the Baltimore and Hanover Railroad
Baltimore and Hanover Railroad
The Baltimore and Hanover Railroad was a railroad that operated in Maryland in the 19th century. The 20 mile main line ran from Emory Grove, Maryland north to the Pennsylvania state line near Black Rock Junction, where it connected with the Bachman Valley Railroad.The B&H was chartered by the...
to form the Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway
Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway
The Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway was a railroad that operated in Maryland and Pennsylvania in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The 59 miles main line ran from Emory Grove, Maryland to Orrtanna, Pennsylvania, with a 6 miles branch from Valley Junction, Pennsylvania to Hanover Junction,...
. The Baltimore and Harrisburg was controlled by the Western Maryland Railway, and the WM bought the company in 1917.
In later years
In the 1920s, the Western Maryland's "mixed" train came into Hanover Junction from Hanover on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at about noon time. On arrival, the engine would be at the head of the train with the engine backing. Then for the return trip to Hanover, the engine would again be at the front of the train headed for its destination. This train could carry passengers to the Junction to make connections for train No. 8021 to York at 12:32 p.m., or Train No. 500 to Baltimore at 1:28 p.m. The Hanover Junction-Valley Junction rails were removed during the period 1928–1934.External links
- Pictures of Hanover Junction - Roger Shaffer