*Cumberland Valley Railroad *
South Mountain Branch- Carlisle-Bonny Brook
May 2002
Carlisle. From Atlas of Cumberland County F.W. Beers, 1872. .
Cumberland Valley RR crossing at the Carlisle Barracks Golf Course.
At this crossing looking west is South Mountain Junction. CVRR's new alignment swings sharply to the right as compared to the map above (the map's alignment is when CVRR went down the middle of High or Main Street of Carlisle). The original CVRR line and later the defunct South Mountain goes straight, as marked by the power line. A fellow told me that this branch of the Reading was abandoned in 1972 after Hurricane Agnes.
A late evening shot of the South Mountain Iron Company Railroad depot and freight station. Today it serves as the Estep Electrical Services Co.
Looking closely at the right hand side of this photo, one sees the siding that served Frog & Switch plant, between the station/depot and the warehouse. Ironically, this company which once manufactured frogs and switches no longer makes a product connected with railroads nor is it served by rail.
This building remodeled as a restaurant is the railroad warehouse shown in the map above, near the original South Mountain Junction. Note that all of the property around the warehouse and enginehouse in the 1872 map was owned by C.W. Ahl, the local iron producer who eventually went into competition with the CVRR.
The other side of the railroad building. This location is at the intersection of York Road (Rt 74) and Trindle Road/High Street, at the Hess Station in present day east Carlisle.
Immediately south of I-81, the South Mountain crosses the famous trout stream Letort Spring Run.
On the east side of the right of way between Carlisle and Bonny Brook is the currently operating Union Quarries. I see no evidence of a siding.
The South Mountain/Reading line is crossing a tributary of Letort Spring near the watercress bogs. Note that this bridge was last painted in October 1959.
This photo was shot from at or near the summit between Letort Spring Run watershed and Yellow Breeches watershed looking back towards Carlisle. The South Mountain RR followed the treeline on a grade that calculates approximately 1%.
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Cumberland Valley Railroad Directory
Western Maryland Railway and Related Rail Links
Western Maryland Railway Yesterday and Today
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