The Round Top Branch was an extension of the

Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad (G. & H. R. R.) was a railway line of Pennsylvania from Hunter's Run southward to Gettysburg in the 19th century. The north junction was with the South Mountain RR, and a crossing with the Hanover Jun ...

from the Gettysburg borough across the

Gettysburg Battlefield The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first shot & at Knoxlyn Ridge ...

Round Top, Pennsylvania Round Top is a populated place in Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, near Little Round Top. It is notable for two Battle of Gettysburg hospitals, the 1884 Round Top Station, and several battlefield commemorative era attractions ...

. The branch ran southward from the terminus of the railroad's main line (its

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (2012 film), an American film * ''Junction'' (2024 film), an American film * ''Jjunction'', a 2002 Indian film * ''Junction'' (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (E ...

with the

Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad The Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad was a List of defunct Pennsylvania railroads, railroad line in Pennsylvania in the 19th century. The 38 mile (61 km) main line ran from Orrtanna, Pennsylvania, Orrtanna to Hanover Junctio ...

north of Meade School), west of the school and St. Francis Xavier Cemetery, across the field of

Pickett's Charge Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault on July 3, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg. It was ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee as part of his plan to break through Union lines and achieve a decisive victory in the North. T ...

, south of

Cemetery Ridge Cemetery Ridge is a geographic feature in Gettysburg National Military Park, south of the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that figured prominently in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to July 3, 1863. It formed a primary defensive position for t ...

, east of Weikert Hill and Munshower Knoll, and through Round Top to a point between

Little Round Top Little Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—the companion to the adjacent, taller hill named Big Round Top. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left ...

's east base and Taneytown Road. In addition to battlefield tourists, the line carried stone monoliths and statues for monuments during the battlefield's memorial association and commemorative eras and equipment, supplies and participants for

Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War were used by the Pennsylvania National Guard, Civil War veterans, the US Marine Corps, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary la ...

(e.g., the 1884 Camp Gettysburg, 1913 Gettysburg reunion, 1918 Camp Colt and 1938 Gettysburg reunion).

History

After completion of a initial survey of Gettysburg along Rock Creek on January 12, 1882, the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Rail Road main line was instead completed into the borough along Oak Ridge with nine stations from Hunter's Run. By July 14, 1882, Ambrose E. Lehman of the State Geological Survey completed the G&HRR survey for the branch to Round Top, and the HJ,H&GRR (successor to the G&HRR) survey was begun by engineer Joseph S. Gitt
1982 Out of the Past commemoration)
/ref> for a competing Round-Top Railroad Company route to Round Top; the latter was never built. Track workers under foreman Coulson were laying rails of per yard for the branch in May 1884, and laborer "Blind Davy" Weikert was blinded by a premature dynamite blast. The Round Top Station's warehouse was completed June 21, 1884. After being surveyed in May, the branch's connection to the HJ, H&GRR was being completed on July 22, 1884 "just beyond the Cashman limestone kilns" and a siding along Fairfield Road had been completed along with a switch at the PA National Guard commissary (the 1913 siding held eight carloads of ice). The " dummy" Baldwin steam engine had begun

excursion An excursion is a trip, usually made for leisure, education, or Physical exercise, physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other (typically work-related) purposes. Public transportatio ...

s "to the hill" in June 1884 and could carry about 40 passengers (the branch's "dinky" could carry about 10). The G&HRR published a

guidebook with 1884 images by "the great landscape photographer, Mr. Bell, of Philadelphia". By 1888 the branch's Hancock Station on the battlefield was south of The Angle near the Vermont and Tammany monuments, and on a map, a wye with crossing double spurs was depicted at Round Top Station with a

benchmark Benchmark may refer to: Business and economics * Benchmarking, evaluating performance within organizations * Benchmark price * Benchmark (crude oil), oil-specific practices Science and technology * Experimental benchmarking, the act of defining a ...

at elevation; by 1904, the wye was no longer depicted. In 1902, Camp Lawton was headquartered at The Angle with its telegraph and telephone office at the Emmitsburg Rd "junction of the steam and electric roads near the Codori buildings". Through October 1914, a combination arsenal and commissary along the Round Top Branch was used for Pennsylvania National Guard camps at Gettysburg. A special platform on the branch was built for 1913 Gettysburg reunion veterans to disembark directly into their camp on the west side of Emmitsburg Road; after addressing the veterans, President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

departed the

Great Camp __NOTOC__ The Great Camps of the Adirondack Mountains are often grandiose family compounds of cabins that were built in the latter half of the nineteenth century on lakes in the Adirondacks. The camps were summer homes for the wealthy, sites ...

in his private rail car via the branch. The branch's junction was visible on a June 25 aerial photo of the 1938 Gettysburg reunion camp; on May 7, 1939 a

Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railr ...

train from Philadelphia carried 400 excursionists on the branch to Round Top. Except for special occasions (such as a trip by Bethlehem students in 1958), Reading passenger service to Gettysburg ceased in 1941 and an application to abandon the Round Top Branch was made in 1942 (the rails were removed and a few artifacts remain in place). The main-line junction is now located at

Seminary Ridge Seminary Ridge is a dendritic ridge that served as an area of military engagements during the Battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War, which was fought between July 1 and July 3, 1863 in and around Gettysburg, Pennsy ...

west of the original 19th century junction, and was used by the

Gettysburg Railroad (1976–1996) The Gettysburg Railroad was a short-line heritage railroad that operated in Pennsylvania from 1976 to 1996. The 23.4 mi (37.7 km) line ran from Gettysburg to Mount Holly Springs. The railroad shipped freight for local companies and ...

and the 1996-2001 Gettysburg Railway.

Route

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

1884 G&HRR timetable"Adams County Railroads", ''Gettysburg Compiler'', February 19, 1884Gettysburg area topographical mapGettysburg relief map"The New Railroad". ''Gettysburg Compiler'', April 29, 1884
Defunct Pennsylvania railroads Railway lines opened in 1942 Railway lines opened in 1884 1884 establishments in Pennsylvania

History

Route

See also

References

External links