The Chesapeake RR In Clayton, DE

Main girder removal, MD 404 railroad bridge near Tuckahoe Creek. Photos courtesy SHA District 2.

Main girder removal, MD 404 railroad bridge near Tuckahoe Creek. About 28 tons estimated.

Thanks,

Does SHA have a web site detailing the progress of the MD-404 widening project that these and other pictures might be seen at?

MD 404 info will be posted here... http://www.marylandroads.com/WebProject ... o=CO323515

You can find info for major SHA projects statewide by going to http://www.roads.maryland.gov, then clicking on the "projects & studies" tab on the left. Then click the "SHA projects page" link.

Feel free to contact me directly if I can help in any way regarding state roads...

Many thanks!
Bob Rager
SHA District Community Liaison
410-841-1020
[email protected]

The latest on the fate of the Chesapeake Railroad:

http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/ ... 234782.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Next month will be 15 years since the line was cleared and the trees and brush took over. It appears the line is slated to become a hiker-biker trail, although that has been talked about for years and it still hasn't happened.

Too bad....at least the DCL was able to preserve the line to Milton from Ellendale and drum up business. Love the DCL....

This is straying from the original topic line, but I have hope to revive some conversation and the history and future of this branch. First, I am the architect and co-operative project manager to the Ridgely Station Railroad Interpretive Center/Museum and its caboose display located in Ridgely, Maryland. I have returned the design of the building to its c. 1894 appearance, inside and out, and when the construction is complete being the building will be like being in the P.R.R. Station experience. Record of my involvement in the project can be found in public record and in the Times-Record Newspaper, July/Aug 2014, in invitation to public meeting.

Although my work at Ridgely Station is on-going, with the co-operation of the Caroline County Historical Society, I became the head of a planning committee whose goal is the restoration and rehabilitation of the P.R.R. Station in Goldsboro, MD. No official dates for meeting of the committee are arranged yet, but at present I am looking for input on the project. Specifically, building history, pictures, provenance, etc. Also, I am looking at potential funding opportunities like grants.

After reviewing the tax records I discovered parcel 0110 on map 11A of the Maryland SDAT indicates the ROW of the track, although owned by the Maryland Dept. of Transportation, it is still listed as the Chesapeake Railroad Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. I'm sorry to say it is unlikely that in the near future the line will be reopened, I am therefore considering the possibility of including in the proposal a 'Rails to Trails' package, as was done in Ridgely (not by me) in an effort to preserve the ROW for future use.

I would appreciate anyone's help and opinions for Goldsboro, I've never head a committee like this before and am overwhelmed with where I need to begin.

-Ed Bombaro (Architect and AIA Member)

P.S. - I am a life-long rail-fan and would be willing to post my P.R.R. Ridgely Station blueprints, in some part, for public view if the members of this form express and interest and I figure out how to get it on the fourm.

I live in Henderson and often wondered where the line that branches off the main went.................its right past the old auto salvage yard and I imagine it went to a cannery or grain house.............sad that the line couldn't be restored.....I also remember the short time when they tried to get it running again they had cleared the track all the way to Easton but I don't think the train ever made it that far.....I did go on a short ride one day...it was five bucks and the train went from Goldsboro to about halfway to Greensboro then backed back up..............I was thinking that Easton has a lot of attractions that maybe people would like to see with the theater and all and a train from Delaware running down to Easton on a Saturday would be a nice trip..............never happen I know because the bridge over 404 is gone and Maryland dot would have a cow if the train stopped traffic on rt 50 in the summertime

As I recall, the track was never cleared south of Queen Anne. The goal was to reach Easton but the state didn't want any blockages, such as grade crossings, between the bay bridges and the beaches that would impede the traffic flow. Also, the mayor of Easton was not supportive, as he wanted to turn the old right-of-way into a trail. He won, although I've heard of people being mugged along the trail so I'm not sure how great a victory it really was.

In the end there was too much railroad to repair, too much expense involved, and a dearth of business along the line to justify it all.