Eight Railroad Stations along the 12-Miles of Track between Wrightsville and York
This York County section of G. F. Cram’s 1889 map shows 6 Railroad Stations between Wrightsville and York. Likewise O. W. Gray’s 1876 map in my post on Monday showed 6 Railroad Stations between Wrightsville and York. This post will pinpoint the locations of the 6 Railroad Stations noted on these two maps, plus note 2 additional Railroad Stations along the 12-miles of track between Wrightsville and York.
Comparing the 1876 map to the 1889 map, one sees that Railroad Station names occasionally change over their lifetime. These maps show that Hershey’s Station had a name change to Hellam Station and that Turnpike Station had a name change to Stony Brook Station in the 13 years between publications of these two maps.
This 1889 Pennsylvania Map by George F. Cram is also probably the first map to show the Stewartstown Railroad. Shown at the bottom of the map, this railroad was completed in 1885. The Stewartstown Railroad originated at the Northern Central Railroad in New Freedom and extended eastward in southern York County to Stewartstown. This railroad was extended to New Park and Fawn Grove in 1906.
Other posts in this series include:
This post pinpoints locations of eight Railroad Stations along the 12-miles of track between Wrightsville and York, while providing historical background for the Railcar Gold novel installments being posted every Thursday. Last week the main character, a nine-year-old runaway orphan, crossed over the Columbia-Wrightsville Covered Bridge in July 1860 and is traveling westward through the York countryside as a rail stowaway.
In the following 1908 Topographic Map segments, I’ve highlighted, in yellow, the railroad tracks. The numbers (1) Wrightsville Railroad Station through (10) York Railroad Station pinpoint locations of eight Railroad Stations along the 12-miles of track between Wrightsville and York. The other lettered features include:
(A) … Currently Route 462, the Lincoln Highway; at the time of the 1908 Map, this was known as the Wrightsville Pike. Also during 1908, the York & Wrightsville Electric Railroad (Trolley) went down the middle of this road.
(B) … 2nd through 4th Columbia-Wrightsville Bridges. Railroad tracks placed on the second Columbia-Wrightsville covered bridge in 1840. The second, third and fourth bridges on these piers shared rail traffic and non-rail traffic until the present Route 462 Veteran’s Memorial Bridge, dedicated to automobile traffic, opened in 1930.
(C) … 3’ Narrow Gauge Railroad built by the Stony Brook Slate & Brick Company. See my previous posts for details.
(D) … Rail spur to the large quarry west of Hallam, located on the north side of Route 462.
Railroad Stations from Wrightsville to York
(1) … Wrightsville Station
- Railroad Office located along Front Street near Northwest corner of current Chestnut Street
- Railroad Hotel located along Front Street at Northwest corner of Spring Alley
(2) … Ewing’s Station
- Station located at Northeast corner formed where the railroad crossed Cool Creek Road
(3) … Strickler’s Station (also known as Garver’s Station during later 1800s)
- Station located at Southeast corner formed where the railroad crossed Stricklers School Road
(4) … Stoner’s Station
- Station located at Northeast corner formed where the railroad crossed Ducktown Road
(5) … Hellam Station (also known as Hershey’s Station during short period in 1800s)
- Station located at Southwest corner formed where the railroad crossed Yorkana Road
(6) … Campbell’s Station
- Station located east of Northeast corner formed where the railroad crossed Campbell Road
(7) … Stony Brook Station (first known as Turnpike Station during 1800s)
- Station located near Northwest corner formed where the railroad crossed East Market Street
(8) … Heistand Station (also known as Summit Station during short period in 1800s)
- Station located at Southeast corner formed where the railroad crossed current Mt. Zion Road
- This is the highest elevation location on the rail line between Wrightsville and York
(9) … Rockburn Station (a later station, primarily 1900s)
- Station located east of Southeast corner formed where the railroad crossed current North Hills Road
(10) … York Station
- Station located North of North Street near North Duke Street
This is my 119th post. An inventory of the general topics and locations that have been the subjects of my first 100 posts are presented in a 100-tile mosaic that breaks down these posts into seven general categories.
Reading the Headlines: A Quick Index to All YorksPast Posts
