Walkersville Southern Railroad
| Locale | Frederick County, Maryland |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1995– |
| Predecessor | Penn Central Transportation Company |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 6.72 miles (11 km) |
| Headquarters | Walkersville, Maryland |
| Website | http://www.wsrr.org/ |
The Walkersville Southern Railroad (reporting mark WS) is a 6.72 mile (11 km) heritage railway in Walkersville, Maryland. running from MP 60.0 south of Woodsboro, MD to MP 66.72 just north of Route 26 near Frederick, Maryland (Using PRR Milepost data where mileage ran north to south, and Frederick was at MP 69.0).
The Walkersville Southern Railroad runs track and structures originally built by the Frederick and Pennsylvania Line railroad. This railroad ran from Frederick, Md to the Pennsylvania-Maryland State line, or Mason–Dixon line near Kingsdale,PA. Chartered in 1867, the railroad started construction in 1869 and cost $868,687.50 ($2017=17,367,000). It opened October 8, 1872 and was subsequently leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad from January 1, 1875 and in July of that year, PRR formed a new division, the Frederick division to operate the rail line. In the spring of 1896, it was liquidated in a judicial sale to the Pennsylvania Railroad for 10% of its 1896 book value. Pennsylvania reorganized the railroad in December, 1896 as the Frederick and Northern Railroad Company. In March 1897, this new company was itself merged with other Pennsylvania-controlled railways (Littlestown Railroad and the Hanover and York Railroad Company) into the Hanover and York Railroad Company, chartered under the general laws of Pennsylvania and Maryland. In 1914, this railroad and the newly built Central Railroad of Maryland were then merged into the York, Hanover and Frederick Railway Company which remained a wholly owned stock subsidiary of the PRR into the creation of the PennDel company in December 31, 1953 and then the Penn Central merger in 1968 and then bankruptcy in 1970. The Frederick and Pennsylvania Line segment was transferred to the State of Maryland in 1982 for unpaid taxes.
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