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Existing Railroad Structures in York County

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York City

Southern
York County

Northern
York County

Muddy Creek
Forks

Existing Railroad Structures in York County

These pages started out as a reserach project to fulfill a request for photographs of existing freight and passenger railroad stations. Dan West, who maintains the Pennsylvania Railroad Stations Past & Present web site, has set for himself the goal of compiling a photo database for all stations (existing and gone) in Pennsylvania and Ohio. After disovering his Pennsylvania web site, and finding a single photograph of a York station, I volunteered to gather some additional photos for his site.

I have since traveled all over York County taking photographs of railroad buildings that still remain. Some are still used by railroads or railroad related businesses, whereas others have taken on totally different uses. In some cases, the railroad tracks themselves are long gone, and the buildings are barely recognizable as railroad buildings. I've since added photos of additional structures, such as trestles, etc., to the site.

This page shows existing railroad structures within the boundaries of the City of York. Additional pages display images of structures in southern York County, northern York County and a page devoted to the Muddy Creek Forks historical area.

Click on a thumbnail for the full size photo:

York's Northern Central/Pennsy stationIf you ask a Yorker where the train station is, this is where they're going to send you. This is the biggest of the train stations in York. It was originally built by the Northern Central Railway. It has also served the Pennsylvania Railroad and if memory serves me correct, it served the York Hanover & Frederick Railway. It sits in the first block of East North Street, at the intersection of North Duke Street. It currently houses several businesses, including the Greyhound/Trailways bus station. There are still active tracks here, with the Maryland & Pennsylvania using most of the trackage.

Rail Freight Transfer WarehousesAcross the parking lot from the above station, you'll find these freight transfer warehouses. They all had spurs where freight cars were unloaded, and eventually transferred onto street vehicles. There is still some freight transfer done in some of these buildings, but most have been converted to other uses.

York interlocking towerTraveling east from the freight transfer warehouses, you'll find the interlocking where the Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad connected with the Northern Central Railway. The old interlocking tower still stands at this location. At the very bottom of the photo are the Ma & Pa tracks, which merge with the tracks visible behind the tower off frame to the left.

Maintenance of way shedJust east of the interlocking tower pictured above is this old maintenance of way shed. This would have most likely been the Northern Central's MOW building. I'm not sure who currently owns the building or what it's present use is, but it is still a railroad facility of some sort.

Maryland & Pennsylvania stationTucked into a little hole in the 400 block of East Market Street is the old Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad's freight and passenger station. The "Ma & Pa" was a short line between York and Baltimore, which was kept alive for many years by it's mail contract with the USPS. This station was just a few blocks from the end of their line, an interlocking with the Pennsy/Northern Central about two blocks east of the Northern Central station pictured above. The Ma & Pa is still alive and well, but they don't use too much of their original trackage, but still pass by this station, which is now used by a roofing company.

Around the corner from the big Northern Central station is the old Western Maryland freight station. It is located on North George Street at Arch Street. This building was recently rehabbed as part of a George Street beautification project. The old Western Maryland sign was repainted on the side of the building, with the addition of "Yorkrail, Inc." on the sign, whose trackage now abuts the building, now used as a grain transfer facility. It the background, a truck is loaded with grain from a covered hopper car. Across the street was the location of the Western Maryland's passenger station, long since gone.

On the west side of town, you can find this old Western Maryland freight station, in the 200 block of Roosevelt Avenue (formerly West York Avenue). It is located across the tracks from the sprawling former York International plant, now redeveloped as the York City Industrial Plaza. This little station was most recently used as a fruit store, primarily oranges. Years ago, they'd actually get a carload of oranges delivered to the spur alongside the building, but that happens no more. Yorkrail and Ma & Pa's joint trackage passes along side this building.

I just found this structure this past spring during a fire response. This switchman's shanty stands along the old Northern Central's right-of-way between King and Princess Streets in downtown York. It's a little worse for wear, and it seems as though it is a popular dumping place.

In the left foreground you can see the pile of debris that was on fire when I originally discovered the shanty.


In the area of Arch Street and Loucks Mill Road, near the end of what was previously the Western Maryland Railway, standing this old wooden coal trestle. It appears as though there was once a second trestle at this site. Occasionally you would find a small covered hopper spotted on this trestle, but I haven't seen any spotted here recently. I realize this isn't the best photograph ... I hope to get a better photo in the future.

Go to the:
Southern York County page
Northern York County page
Muddy Creek Forks page
Railroads of York home page

This page maintained by Greg Halpin.
This page last updated on 8/20/2002
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