Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railway

Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railway

LO&S Railroad map from 1895. Two planned destinations are also highlighted: Quarryville, PA and Singerly, MD
Locale	Southeastern Pennsylvania
Dates of operation	1912–1918
Predecessor	Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railroad
Successor	None
Track gauge	3 ft (914 mm)
Length	28 mi (45 km)
Headquarters	Oxford, Pennsylvania

The Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railway (LO&S) was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railway that operated in southeastern Pennsylvania between 1912 and 1918, as a successor company following the bankruptcy of the Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railroad. The main line connected Oxford and Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania.

The original line was built between 1872 and 1878 as the Eastern Division of the Peach Bottom Railway. The line began in Oxford, connecting with the Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad, and proceeded roughly westward to Fairmont, then southwest to Peach Bottom, on the eastern shore of the Susquehanna River. The line served passengers and freight from farm communities, but there were no industries on the line, and it was not successful financially. It originally used type 2-4-0 steam locomotives.

In 1881 the Peach Bottom Railway declared bankruptcy and was reorganized as the Peach Bottom Railroad. In 1890 the company went bankrupt again and it was sold to investors who reorganized as the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railroad. These investors hoped to connect Lancaster County to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) by building a branch line from Fairmont, on the existing LO&S line, to Quarryville, as well as an extension from Oxford southeast to Singerly, Maryland (north of Elkton) on the B&O main line. To this end they planned to convert the existing tracks to standard gauge. By 1905 the railroad had six locomotives—the newer models were type 4-4-0—and 24 freight cars.