The South Mountain Railroad was an American railroad which operated in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

History

The railroad was incorporated May 5, 1854 by a group of largely local investors. It was to run from

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, a U.S.–based cult under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became internationall ...

, from thence along the south side of Blue Mountain to Rehrersburg and to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. The name was changed to the Harrisburg and Hamburg Railroad on March 17, 1859, but was changed back to "South Mountain Railroad" on May 21, 1873. On April 11, 1868, the South Side Railroad was incorporated to connect the South Mountain Railroad, at the border of Berks and Lehigh Counties (near Hamburg) to the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

, via Lehigh, Moore, or Plainfield Townships in Northampton County. Around 1872, these lines were taken over to become part of the

Poughkeepsie Bridge Route The Poughkeepsie Bridge Route was a passenger train route from Washington, D.C. to Boston, Massachusetts, via Baltimore, Maryland and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The route specifically avoided the Port of New York and New Jersey, Port of New York, ...

. Grading began on the South Mountain Railroad between Rockville and Linglestown, and the corporate enrollment tax was paid for the South Side Railroad in 1873. However, the collapse of the Bridge Route plans in the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "Lon ...

brought work to a halt. On February 16, 1874, President William H. Bell announced that the company would also build a branch from

Strausstown Strausstown is a village and former Borough (Pennsylvania), borough located in Upper Tulpehocken Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, Upper Tulpehocken Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Berks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 342 at ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, via Bernville, and claimed that two-thirds of the line between Harrisburg and Strausstown was complete. However, the financial climate made it impossible to raise significant funds. Further work appears to have been performed, sporadically, by local interests, who hoped to connect the town of Fredericksburg with the Lebanon and Tremont Branch of the

Philadelphia and Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Commonly called ...

at Jonestown. Bridge piers were erected for the crossing of

Swatara Creek Swatara Creek (nicknamed the Swatty) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in east-central Pennsylvania in the United Sta ...

, a cut was excavated to the north of Jonestown, and some culverts were constructed and grading done on the route to Fredericksburg. However, the company was forced to auction off its personal property in October 1877, and in February 1880, "the rights-of-way, leases and passenger cars were sold." The company does not appear to have laid track or operated. The remaining assets of the company were sold to the

Pennsylvania and New England Railroad The Lehigh & New England Railroad was a Class I railroad located in Northeastern United States that acted as a bridge line. It was the second notable U.S. railroad to file for abandonment in its entirety, the first being the New York, Ontario ...

later that year. Another account claims that the charter was sold to the

Harrisburg and New England Railroad The Lehigh & New England Railroad was a Class I railroad located in Northeastern United States that acted as a bridge line. It was the second notable U.S. railroad to file for abandonment in its entirety, the first being the New York, Ontario ...

at a sheriff's sale on November 30, 1888. Despite its financial collapse and dismantling, the shell of the company was reorganized on August 8, 1893 as the Blue Mountain Railroad, on August 12, 1901 as the Harrisburg and South Mountain Railroad, which was inactive by 1912. While the piers and grading west of Fredericksburg are still visible, the cut through Jonestown was used as a garbage dump and later filled to form Swatara Drive. It is rumored that the embankment/trail following the Northkill Creek past Bernville and by the elementary school are also remains of the South Mountain, but it hasn't been confirmed.

External links

John Hower's article on the railroad
* Bridge piers in Swatara Creek: * Culvert over tributary of Little Swarata Creek: * Culvert over tributary of Elizabeth Run:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:South Mountain Railroad Defunct Pennsylvania railroads Predecessors of the Lehigh and New England Railroad Railway companies established in 1854 Railway companies disestablished in 1859 Railway companies established in 1873 Railway companies disestablished in 1880 American companies disestablished in 1859 1859 disestablishments in Pennsylvania American companies established in 1854 American companies disestablished in 1880 1880 disestablishments in Pennsylvania American companies established in 1873