Mystery of Glen Rock-area’s Narrow Gauge Road deepens
The origin of the narrow gauge that lays behind a Glen Rock-area road sign is up in the air. The term narrow gauge often refers to railroads – often branch lines – whose tracks were closer together, thus supporting smaller locomotives and reducing construction costs. Background posts: Ma & Pa rabbit trains: ‘I hope they thoroughly hosed out the cars’, York County railroading: ‘Something that gets into your blood’ and Northern York area strawberry part of Neapolitan county.
Bob Burns (burns@nfdc.net) is 59 years old and has lived on Narrow Gauge Road in southern York County all his life. And he’s not aware of a railroad ever running in that area.
An e-mailer – a railroad enthusiast – raised the prospect that the road took its name from an old railroad as described in the York Town Square post: : Is mystery railroad the old Shrewsbury narrow gauge?… .
The e-mailer had walked what appeared to be an old rail roadbed in that area.
But here’s what Bob Burns wrote:
From Route 216, my wife and I live in the first house on the right back Narrow Gauge Road. I am 59 years old and built my home on my Grandfather’s land. Grandfather moved here in 1921. My Grandmother was born in 1899 and grew up not far
up the road from Narrow Gauge Road on Fair School Road.
I have never heard any talk about a railroad on Narrow Gauge Road. The road was named I believe in the late 1970 period.
I asked the Codorus Road supervisor who built the road about seven years ago why it was named Narrow Gauge Road. He told me that down near the end of my Grandfather’s property the road when it was dirt narrowed down at a small bend in the road.
That is why it was they named it Narrow Gauge Road.
The Honey Town Mill was located very close to that spot and my Grandfather often talked about the old mill. Grandfather displayed the mill stone that he moved to the corner of Narrow Gauge and Fair School Road. The stone is still there today. However, the mill had burned down before Grandfather moved here in 1921.
I would enjoying hearing anything else that you find out.
Ditto, if anyone has any more insight into this mystery, comment below.
