The Shortest Shortline?

What was/is the shortest shortline in history? My vote would go to the Pioneer & Fayette in Ohio, which was less than 1/2 mile of sidings!

Now that the McDonald Avenue part is gone, how much trackage does the South Brooklyn RR have?

MR77100 wrote:What was/is the shortest shortline in history? My vote would go to the Pioneer & Fayette in Ohio, which was less than 1/2 mile of sidings!

I would suggest that we need to make a qualification here-are you looking for the shortest "paper railroad" or for one that actually owned at least 1 locomotive with which to perform switching and moving freight cars?

For example, Krause and Crist's "Lehigh & Hudson River-Volume I: The West End" makes mention of the South Easton & Phillipsburg Railroad, which was actually 2 separate paper railroads, incorporated in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, that maintained ownership of the bridge crossing the Delaware River from Phillipsburg, NJ into Easton, PA. The text states that "Reportedly, the New Jersey company was the smallest railroad in the U.S., with slightly more than 400 feet of track". This paper railroad ceased to exist when the bridge, which gave the L&HR entrance into the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was rebuilt and the 2 bridge companies were incorporated into the L&H.

IMHO, a railroad needs to own (or lease) at least 1 locomotive (or trackmobile) to qualify as a true "shortline".

Probably the shortest common carrier,
carried freight and passengers, not an industrial line:

Marion Carry Railroad.
Adirondack Mountains, NY.
about 0.75 of a mile long:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_River

Scot

Very interesting Scot! That's a new one on me. Your post reminded me of a similar railroad that operated in southern Ontario named the "Huntsville and Lake Of Bays Railway". I first read of this line in the "Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette" years ago. However, the Marion Carry Railroad still qualifies as the shortest line thus far as the Huntsville and Lake Of Bays was a lengthy 1 and 1/8 miles long.

http://www.portageflyer.org/

http://www.steamtrainhuntsville.com/

Aa3rt wrote:

MR77100 wrote:What was/is the shortest shortline in history? My vote would go to the Pioneer & Fayette in Ohio, which was less than 1/2 mile of sidings!

IMHO, a railroad needs to own (or lease) at least 1 locomotive (or trackmobile) to qualify as a true "shortline".

In that case, the Pioneer & Fayette would qualify as the shortest short line, since it owned less than .5 miles of trackage, as well as a 25 ton Plymouth. They served a small grain/feed mill near an N&W interchange.