Stewartstown Railroad

Buses departed Baltimore at 6:30 a.m. for Stewartstown, Pa., where conventioneers rode behind "Mighty Mo" No. 9 and a 44-ton switcher. The bus arrived at 8a.m. at which time we quickly boarded the train and departed for New Freedom, Pa.

Stewartstown Railroad 44-ton No. 10 is seen at the end of the line, near New Freedom, Pa. on a photo runby.

The Stewartstown Railroad was chartered in 1884. By 1885 the grand opening of the first 7.5 miles of railroad was held. The railroad was constructed for the purpose of connecting with the Northern Central Railway at New Freedom, Pa. Businessmen in the area realized that they must have a railroad connection to prosper economically. The railroad prospered (to varying degrees) until 1972 when Hurricane Agnes destroyed portions of the Northern Central. The Penn Central, which owned the Northern Central at the time, did not make the repairs to the Northern Central resulting in the Stewartstown being cutoff from the American railroad network thus forcing it to cease operations.

It was 12 years before another train ran on the Stewartstown. By 1985, freight and passenger operations had been revived on the Stewartstown and Northern Central only to see operations on the Northern Central terminated once again in 1992. The Stewartstwon however, continues to operate excursion trains over trackage between Stewartstown Station and New Freedom, Pa.

"Mighty Mo" uses a chain-driven mechanism which requires the engineer to shift gears as if driving a heavy truck.

Locomotive No. 10 was built by General Electric for the Coudersport & Port Allegany Railroad. It is a standard 380hp 44-ton locomotive powered by two Caterpillar diesel engines, one under each hood. The locomotive was purchased by the Stewartstown Railroad in 1972 and arrived in York, Pa. one day before Hurricane Agnus shutdown operations. Stranded, it was leased to numerous railroads before making its way back to New Freedom, Pa. in 1985 where it has served the Stewartstown ever since. Locomotive No. 9, "Mighty Mo" is infrequently used on excursion trains. It was built in 1943 by the Fate-Root-Heath Division of Plymouth Locomotive Works and is powered by a V8 gasoline engine.

Muddy Creek Forks

After leaving the Stewartstown, our buses traveled about a half hour west to the Muddy Creek Forks. First we ate a delicous lunch provided by a local church group. After the lunch we were split into three smaller groups to tour the three attractions at Muddy Creek.

Muddy Creek Forks is the location of three sites of interests to railroaders. First is the former mainline of the Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad. Although the MA & PA no longer exists, a volunteer organization runs a tourist operation over the former right-of-way. Conventineers were able to take a ride through about 5 miles of the Muddy Creek Valley. In addition we were given tours of the societies facilities and viewed some of the restoration projects they are working on. The Ma & Pa was established in 1902 as a 77-mile route connecting Baltimore, Md. and York, Pa. During its glory years, the Ma & Pa severed as a vital commercial link to the outside world and was essential to moving good in and out of the Muddey Crrek Valley. By the 1980s the entire line had fallen to competition from other transportation sources and in 1986 the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railrroad Preservation Society was founded.

A runby was performed by the speeders on the former Ma & Pa line.

The second site of interest is the mill. This location was the site of a large commercial mill which milled white flour and buckwheat flour in addition to being the site of a grain elevator. Our tour guide explained the milling process as well as the operations of a grain elevator which in concept operates the same then as they do today. The railroad was very important to the milling operation. Without the railroad there was no way to make a large scale commercial operation out of the mill. The railroads connection with the outside worlds is what allowed the milling operation in Muddy Creek Forks to thrive for many years.

This is the mill and grain elevator served by the Ma & Pa. A mill has been at this location since 1759, although it is not known if any part of the original mill building is represented in the current structure as the mill went through several rebuildings.

The final site that the groups toured was a 1900 General Store. The General Store was the focal point of commerce in the area. In the height of its operation, the General Store stocked four floors of goods and sold items including clothing, food, farm machinery and cast iron stoves. Also located in the General Stores was a Post Office, ticket office for the railroad and a telegrapher. By 1954 passenger and mail service by rail ended however freight service remained into the 1990s. The Post Office was closed in the 1960's and the store itself closed in 1983. In 1992, the General Store was acquired by the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad Preservation Society which began the slow and tedious task of restoring the Store to its turn of the century appearance.

The General Store was built by A.M.Grove. It was staffed by four clerks and had four full floors of merchandise.		A turn of the century Post Office. Mail arrived via train four times a day and this Post Office handled mail for Muddy Forks and a large surrounding area through two rural routes.