The Chesapeake RR In Clayton, DE

[Engineer James]

Well, of all abandoned rail lines this is my favorite one. The CRR Branch, From Clayton, DE to Easton. There are several things that can be saved!! Such as....

A 44 ton Swtcher (#85)... labeled for the Chesapeake RR.
An RF&P Caboose (No Rd. #)
The Catoctin.... An newer pullman Parlor car.
Battered Conrail Caboose (RD. # Not ledgible)
PRR Caboose (Nicely restored) #477532
The "Defender" Another Pullman Parlor
RF&P Coach (Need of some Restoration)

To see the pictures go to:
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vin ... page5.html

Also, there are new pictures on Abandoned Railroads.com, (However is unavailable) So Google "Abandoned Railroads" and go to "abandonedrailroads.homestead.com" and go to the State of Deleware, and look up "Clayton, DE" on the page. New Pics taken by a Mr. Mike Palmer.

This is my favorite!!!

Is it possibile for a reopening? Has any body been there???

[Pacobell73]

Hey there...I work in this area, and have traced the line from Clayton to
easton. I do not believe anyone has stepped in to resurrect the line. No one has officially abandoned the line, either.

I think that this line needs a "Friends of the Chesapeake RR," like the Friends of the Valley Railroad in Essex, CT. http://photos.nerail.org/show/?byrail:3:Valley_Railroad. This grass roots group has painstakingly cleared the ROW that has been out of service since the eary 70s. They have done amazing work, and can noe hi-rail the entire line. No reason why the Chesapeake (which is in better shape than the upper Valley line) can see some kind of activity.

Pretty amazing.

[BaltOhio]

As far as I know, the Chesapeake RR never really operated. It was a private venture by a onetime B&O/CSX engineer named William Bartosh. He had some grand dreams and a lot of problems, and I don't believe he ever got to the point of revenue service.

The line is actually owned by the State of Maryland, and was originally operated by the Maryland & Delaware, which gave up on it some time before Bartosh came in and tried to revive it. Since then there has been little or no interest, since the potential traffic is thin at best, if not nonexistent.

[Pacobell73]

As far as I know, the Chesapeake RR never really operated. It was a private venture by a onetime B&O/CSX engineer named William Bartosh. He had some grand dreams and a lot of problems, and I don't believe he ever got to the point of revenue service.

The line is actually owned by the State of Maryland, and was originally operated by the Maryland & Delaware, which gave up on it some time before Bartosh came in and tried to revive it. Since then there has been little or no interest, since the potential traffic is thin at best, if not nonexistent.

You are quite right. It never did operate. Bartosh ran a few test trains down as far as Queen Anne's, but that was about it. Yes, Maryland actually owns the line, and really has no interest in operating or removing it. I am sure they would be up for anything at this point.

[MDDE_Fan]

theres talking of turning the whole thing, Atleast the MD part into a trail....
But yeah, its auctaully one of my FAvorite Railroads, And sadly its future is looking extremly bleak.
http://www.town-eastonmd.com/Planning/r2t_history.htm
Theres some more info on its past... Kinda useful, Sadly though Its been in Easton for about 120 years and no one wants to save it...

[Pacobell73]

It is unfortunate. The line is a straight shot, with minimal grades. It would make a great tourist train. Even a train from, say, Wilmington/Newark, DE to Clayton and then Easton, MD (or north of Easton, since the line is a rail trail in Easton proper). Then a shuttle service to St. Michael's. Nice dream, huh?

[MDDE_Fan]

Yeah, that would be Awesome, but sadly it doesnt look like its going to happen.
Also I think in the early 1900s the line did go to Wilmington, im not sure, A map I saw at the libary once had it connected to there.....

Im really intersted in the line though, Infact im really trying to find a pic of the last train to easton in 1982, I belive it would be one of the Maryland And Delaware engines, (RS1, CF7?) I found a pic of a CF7 on the line once, And on another site a RS1 doing a excursion on the line....

[bcosier]

Hi everyone,

I grew up in Easton Md, and I'm actually planning my new HO layout to model this area. The rail line that runs into Easton was founded as the Deleware and Chesapeake RR that ran from Clayton, DE. The line to Easton was completed in 1869, and extended out to Oxford, MD in 1871. The company went bankrupt in 1877 and was acquired by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad in 1882. It became part of the PRR in 1918 and was named The Oxford Branch. Passenger service ended in 1949 and the line between Easton and Oxford was abandoned in 1959. Freight operations continued until 1982.

When I was a kid in the 70's in Easton, there was a train that came through town every once in a while and picked up grain cars at a co-op grain elevator that is still in the middle of town. There was also a publishing company that had a siding against the building. I remember seeing a Conrail loco picking up cars and setting out empties at the loading dock.

I was ust down there last weekend, and took a drive around to get some ideas for the layout. Pretty much all of the tracks that ran through town are gone, it's all been converted to a Rails-to Trails system. I found that the Easton train station had been restored and it looked really nice. There was a display on one end of the station that had some pictures and timetables from the line.

I'll let you know how the layout goes.

[K3CXG]

Back during the days of Maryland & Delaware operations, probably in the late 70's, my wife-to-be and I rode an excursion that covered the entire line, Easton (station) to Clayton, Delaware. The trip was sponsored by the old Chesapeake Division, Railroad Enthusiasts. If I recall, the consist was an RS-1 and 2 or 3 coaches. The trip was pleasant, although it certainly didn’t break any speed records. I think the line has potential as a tourist line, maybe between Easton (“North Easton”) and Queen Anne. With all the traffic on US 50 between BaltiWash and Ocean City, especially between April and October, a “station” could be set up slightly east of route 50; maybe a farmer would lease part of his field as parking. Perhaps an experienced tourist-line or short-line operator could provide the service. I understand that a big problem with the line is the infrastructure, especially bridges. Obviously, local and state government support would be necessary, and corporate sponsorship would be an additional plus. Seems unlikely, but we can dream...

Mike in Frederick, MD

[Pacobell73]

I grew up in Easton MD, and I'm actually planning my new HO layout to model this area. The rail line that runs into Easton was founded as the Deleware and Chesapeake RR that ran from Clayton, DE. The line to Easton was completed in 1869, and extended out to Oxford, MD in 1871. The company went bankrupt in 1877 and was acquired by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad in 1882. It became part of the PRR in 1918 and was named The Oxford Branch. Passenger service ended in 1949 and the line between Easton and Oxford was abandoned in 1959. Freight operations continued until 1982.

What was service like on the line that crossed in Easton that went to St. Michael's? Last train? Abandonment?

[bcosier]

Hi,

The service through Easton was pretty light when I lived there. (My family moved to PA in 1981) Almost everything came into town at night, there was a crossing at Route 50 just north of town, so they probably came in at night to lessen the impact on the road traffic. Now don't quote me on any of this, I'm working strictly on memory. There was a train that came into town regularly about every 2-3 weeks. The line came in at the north end of town, and then through the middle of town. The grain elevators were about halfway through. Then the line ran down to a place that was called Waverly Press, a printing company.(for anyone who knows Easton, the place is called Cadmus now) I do remember seeing a Conrail engine dropping off and picking up cars at the siding next to the building. I never saw any action at the grain elevators, but the cars changed fairly regularly.

Waverly Press sat at the corner of Aurora St. and Dutchman's Lane, the tracks didn't run any farther that this when I lived there. But you can tell where they ran to the south. There are two parallel roads that run south from this point with a large, raised grassy area between, and there's still a part of the bridge that crossed a small creek about 1 mile south. That was the line that ran through Trappe, MD and on out to Oxford, which was the end of the line. According to the Town of Easton website, this was abandoned in 1959, so I'm assuming the tracks were taken up shortly after that. I don't remember any tracks past Dutchman's lane.

BTW, I'm a member at the Schuylkill Valley Model RR Club, located in Phoenixville. Check out our website at http://www.svmrrc.com and take a look at the Open House schedule. We have dates coming up in November and then again in January. We have a great layout with lots to see. If you come for the open house, I run the Philadelphia yard, make sure to introduce yourself.

[RailVet]

The Chesapeake Railroad did indeed operate at one time. Bill Bartosh operated weekend excursions out of Ridgely, MD, using his 1912 Pullman parlor car, the Defender. Later he acquired the Catoctin and had it moved to the CHRR, although I'm not certain he ever actually used it in train service. I don't know how much freight he carried, but I recall he moved tank cars as far south as Queen Anne to a customer there, which I saw for myself. Traffic was never substantial, though, and he sought state assistance to make tens of millions of dollars in repairs to the many deteriorated trestles along the line. The state's position was that state funding wasn't part of the deal, so it wasn't forthcoming. Bill let his operating insurance lapse in mid-1997, making deliveries to customers by transferring tank car contents to a larger tanker truck, and the state solicited inputs from possible other operators as the period of the lease neared. Since most of the traffic was east-west (over the Bay Bridge), the line wasn't going to be very profitable since it simply didn't run where the traffic patterns were, and no one else showed any interest in it. In late 1998 the operating insurance of the MD&DE RR was extended for a couple of days to cover a crew from the MD&DE, operating with CHRR equipment, to clear equipment off the line. Due to the growth of brush, I understand it took them a couple of days to get to the interchange at Clayton. The two Whitcomb 80-ton locomotives (not 44-ton) sat at the interchange for years, becoming severely vandalized, before a rail buff group moved them via TTX flatcars to Topton, PA, where they were eventually scrapped. It's believed that Bill B. never actually had title to the two locomotives and he left them behind when he departed the area. The buff group reportedly had problems paying the bill for the movement and wore out its welcome on the shortline where they were parked in PA. At last report, Bill B. was managing a shortline in NC and had put his two cars into excursion service there, but I don't know if he's still there today.

The RF&P caboose mentioned in an earlier post was RF&P 923, owned by the Chesapeake Railway Association in suburban MD outside of DC. It moved to the Walkersville Southern RR in early 1999 and is nearing complete restoration for excursion service on the WSRR. PRR 477532 is privately owned by John Meise and also moved to the WSRR, where it is occasionally used on chartered trips. The gutted RF&P coach appears to have been scrapped on site. It had friction bearings and it was not likely to be accepted in interchange. The battered Conrail caboose was reportedly trucked out and is now on display somewhere.

[Pacobell73]

Hi Railvet - thanx for the update on this line and the equipment. Hopefully, someday someone will see the toursit potential of this line and get it going.

[chefwrg]

I believe that a branch of that line ran through St. Michaels and went all the way to the ferry dock at Claiborne. I used to live in the area in the late 70's and early 80's and remember the ROW.

[RailVet]

Pacobell73: There is absolutely no way this line will ever become a tourist railroad. The cost of restoring and maintaining it would greatly outweigh any potential revenue. If anything, it will become another trail.

The state of MD owns the line and its fate has been sealed for quite some time. Review the documents on this STB website at your leisure to learn more about it:

http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/ ... &Count=300

chefwrg: The track to Claiborne wasn't just a branch, but was instead a line running from Claiborne, through Easton, Hurlock, and Salisbury to Ocean City. It was the Baltimore & Eastern RR (PRR subsidiary), and earlier the Baltimore, Chesapeake & Atlantic RR. For the best coverage of Delmarva lines, read "Rails Along the Chesapeake" by John Hayman (1979, Marvadel Publishers).