Northern Central Railway

The need for a railroad

Farmers and producers in central and southern Pennsylvania were eager to sell their grain, coal, lumber, and other products, and the cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia both wanted access to this potentially rich trade. But the ridges and valleys of the Piedmont and Appalachians blocked any easy trade routes from central Pennsylvania to markets on the coast. The upper Susquehanna River provided an important, navigable route throughout central Pennsylvania, but the Conewago Falls and other hazards below and southeast of Middletown made travel to Chesapeake Bay difficult; upstream traffic from the bay was impossible. Shippers tried to move cargoes using rafts, flatboats, or disposable “arks” that were flimsily built and loaded upstream, then dismantled at the river’s mouth in Havre de Grace, Maryland. But many craft were damaged or wrecked on the trip downstream.

Traffic that did successfully maneuver through the rapids typically went to Baltimore, the closest city to the river’s outlet on Chesapeake Bay. This was not appreciated by merchants in Philadelphia: although in 1802 Pennsylvania and Maryland had agreed on building a canal from the Delaware River to Chesapeake Bay, that project had foundered, so Philadelphia had no direct water access to the Susquehanna. Beginning in 1826, Pennsylvania committed to building a network of canals to ease navigation, the "Main Line," specifically opening up routes for trade to Philadelphia. But mountainous terrain made it difficult to build and operate canals, and slow travel times, inconvenient locations, and winter closures made the canals difficult to use.

The Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad

In 1827, a group of toll-road owners in York County, Pennsylvania, requested help from businessmen in Baltimore to explore building what eventually became the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad Company (B&S). The turnpike owners and farmers were frustrated by the difficulties of getting products to Philadelphia, where some felt exploited, forced to accept what merchants in Philadelphia were willing to pay. When surveys showed that building a railroad would be feasible, the York County group asked the General Assembly of Maryland to grant a railroad charter. This was approved on February 13, 1828, with an initial stock outlay of $800,000. The B&S was the second designated rail system in the state, given authority to construct a railroad from Baltimore northeast to York Haven, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River.

George Winchester, president of the new railroad company, made repeated requests to the Pennsylvania General Assembly to give their approval to the charter as set up by Maryland, with permission to operate in Pennsylvania. However, the legislators—especially those from Philadelphia—did not want trade from Pennsylvania going to Baltimore. Others wanted any railroad company operating in Pennsylvania to be owned and operated by Pennsylvanians, with profits staying in Pennsylvania. For these reasons, a charter for the B&S company was initially rejected.