The Enola Branch is a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

segment of the Port Road Branch and was a rail line. The Enola Branch railroad segment and the rest of the Port Road Branch is owned and operated by the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (3 ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

. The railroad segment runs from Washington Boro northwest to Marysville and it is a former

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

rail line. Its south end is at a former junction with the Atglen and Susquehanna Branch, where the main segment of the Port Road Branch continues southeast. Its north end is at the

Pittsburgh Line The Pittsburgh Line is the Norfolk Southern Railway's primary east–west artery in its Pittsburgh Division and Harrisburg Division across the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is part of the Keystone Corridor, Amtrak-Norfolk Southern's combin ...

. Along the way, it meets the York Secondary at Wago Junction (near York Haven) and goes under the Lurgan Branch at Lemoyne. Norfolk Southern labels the Enola Branch as part of the Port Road Branch, officially ending the Enola Branch's existence as a rail line, the main segment of the Port Road Branch runs from Marysville south to Perryville,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

. The line goes through the Enola Yard.

History

The York and Cumberland Railroad opened the line from

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

north to Lemoyne in 1851; this is part of the current Enola Branch railroad segment north of Wago Junction. The

Northern Central Railway The Northern Central Railway (NCRY) was a Class I Railroad connecting Baltimore, Maryland with Sunbury, Pennsylvania, along the Susquehanna River. Completed in 1858, the line came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1861, w ...

extended the line north to Dauphin in 1858; this extension south of Marysville is now the Enola Branch railroad segment. The Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad opened in 1877, including the Enola Branch railroad segment south of

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

. The York Haven and Rowenna Railroad opened the Shocks Mills Bridge and connecting trackage in 1905, running from Rowenna northwest to Wago Junction. The final piece of the Enola Branch railroad segment opened in 1906, with the completion of the Atglen and Susquehanna Branch to Rowenna. , March 2005 Edition The entire Enola Branch property became part of the

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and th ...

and Conrail through leases, mergers, and takeovers, and in the 1999 breakup of Conrail it was assigned to Norfolk Southern.

References

{{Susquehanna Valley Railroads Norfolk Southern Railway lines Pennsylvania Railroad lines Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Railroad Through-freight Lines