The New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad was a railroad line that ran down the spine of the

Delmarva Peninsula The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a large peninsula and proposed state on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the vast majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore regions of Maryland and Virginia. ...

from Wilmington, Delaware to

Cape Charles, Virginia Cape Charles is a town / municipal corporation in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,009 as of the 2010 Census. History Cape Charles, located close to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, on Virginia's Eastern Shore, ...

and then by ferry to Norfolk, Virginia. It became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system.

History

The NYP&N was the vision of

William Lawrence Scott William Lawrence Scott (July 2, 1828 – September 19, 1891) was a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, a prominent railroad executive, as well as a prominent horse breeding ...

, an Erie, Pennsylvania, coal magnate, who wanted to build a shorter railroad route between the coal wharfs of Hampton Roads by utilizing a ferry line across the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

and a railroad line up the Delmarva Peninsula to the industrial north. Scott enlisted engineering help from Pennsylvania Railroad Vice-President, Alexander J. Cassatt, who saw the merits of the plan and took a hiatus from PRR to work on the new line. Cassatt surveyed the line on horseback, designed ferries and wharfs, acquired other railroads, most notably the Eastern Shore Railroad (1853), and the line was ready for operation in 1884. The line was financed by many PRR interests and was officially merged into the PRR in 1921.Staufer, Alvin F., Edson, D. William, and Harley, E. Thomas. Pennsy Power lll. Staufer.

Passenger service

Through the first half of the 20th century, several trains a day ran along the train line. From the 1920s to the 1950s, the PRR operated the day train, the '' Del-Mar-Va Express,'' and the night train, the ''Cavalier.'' At peak levels in the mid-1940s, the company also operated southbound, the ''Furlough,'' and an additional night train, the ''Mariner,'' in addition to unnamed local trains. Northbound the PRR added the ''Sailor,'' the ''Mariner'' night train, and an unnamed local train. By 1957 the named trains were gone, and all that remained was a once-a-day

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

–Cape Charles train. In 1958, the route was shortened: from Philadelphia to

Delmar, Delaware Delmar is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States, on the Maryland border along the Transpeninsular Line. Its motto is "The Little Town Too Big for One State." The population was 1,597 at the 2010 census, an increase of 13.5% over t ...

at the Delaware–Maryland border. The last train was a Wilmington–Delmar train, ''Blue Diamond,'' ending in 1965.

Ferry service

The original ferry crossing was 30 miles, which was later reduced to 26 miles when the terminals were relocated. Both passenger and freight ferries existed. Up to 30 freight cars could be loaded on flat barges pulled by a

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

for the trip. The original passenger ferries, ''Cape Charles'' & ''Old Point Comfort'', side-wheeler paddle steamers, could hold an entire train on their two tracks. In 1889 the ''New York'' the first propeller driven ship, 200 feet long, 31 feet beam was built for the run to Norfolk, and in 1890 the ''Pennsylvania'', a larger vessel (260 feet long, 36 feet beam) was added. In 1907 the ''Maryland'' was built with the same dimensions, and the last ship was the ''Virginia Lee''.

Demise

Because most of the route served a rural area, revenue expectations were never met. Branches were abandoned and the final remnant of passenger service, a shuttle between

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and

, was discontinued in the mid-1960s. NYP&N’s identity was lost with the Penn Central merger and the formation of Conrail. With the breakup of Conrail many short-line railroads acquired parts of the route – freight service between Pocomoke City, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia was operated by the

Eastern Shore Railroad The Eastern Shore Railroad, Inc. was a Class III short-line railroad that began operations in October 1981 on the former Virginia and Maryland Railroad line on the Delmarva Peninsula. The line ran between Pocomoke City, Maryland, and Norfol ...

between 1981 and 2006 and the

Bay Coast Railroad The Bay Coast Railroad operated the former Eastern Shore Railroad line between Pocomoke City, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia. The railroad interchanged with the Delmarva Central Railroad in Pocomoke City and Norfolk Southern in Norfolk; the int ...

between 2006 and 2018. The section north of Pocomoke City was operated by Norfolk Southern Railway as its Delmarva Secondary. In 2016, the

Delmarva Central Railroad The Delmarva Central Railroad is an American short-line railroad owned by Carload Express that operates of track on the Delmarva Peninsula in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The railroad operates lines from Porter, Delaware to Hal ...

took over operations from Norfolk Southern and the line is now part of the Delmarva Central Railroad's Delmarva Subdivision. In 2018, the Delmarva Central Railroad took over operations from the Bay Coast Railroad between Pocomoke City and Hallwood, Virginia while the line between Hallwood and Cape Charles was abandoned.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New York, Pennsylvania and Norfolk Railroad (NYPandN) Predecessors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Defunct Virginia railroads Defunct Maryland railroads Defunct Delaware railroads

History

Passenger service

Ferry service

Demise

See also

References