The Queen Anne’s Railroad was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

that ran between

Love Point, Maryland Love Point is the name for the northernmost tip of Kent Island, Maryland, United States and as such, marks the southern point of the mouth of the Chester River. It has served as a major ferry terminal, the western terminus of the Queen Anne's R ...

, and

Lewes, Delaware Lewes ( ) is an incorporated city on the Delaware Bay in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population is 2,747. Along with neighboring Rehoboth Beach, Lewes is one of the principal cities of Delawa ...

, with connections to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

via ferry across the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

. The Queen Anne's Railroad company was formed in Maryland in 1894, and received legislative authorization from Delaware in February 1895. The railroad's original western terminus was in

Queenstown, Maryland Queenstown is a town in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 664 at the 2010 census. Geography Queenstown is located at (38.989086, -76.156645). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total are ...

, and was moved via a extension to Love Point in 1902, which shortened the ferry trip to Baltimore. The Queen Anne's Railroad Company began operating a summer-only Cape May Express between Queenstown and Lewes in 1901 with a connecting steamer across the

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is bordered inla ...

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May is a city located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, and part of ...

. The company owned and operated the Queen Anne's Ferry & Equipment Company which consisted of the steamers Endeavor, Queen Anne and Queen Caroline.

Towns served

The following towns were served by the Queen Anne's Railroad: *

Centreville, Maryland Centreville is an incorporated town in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States on the Delmarva Peninsula. Incorporated in 1794, it is the county seat of Queen Anne's County. The population was 4,285 at the 2010 census. The ZIP code is 216 ...

(via the Centreville Branch) * Chester, Maryland *

Denton, Maryland Denton is a town in Caroline County, Maryland, United States. The population of Denton was 4,418 as of the 2010 United States Census, and it is the county seat of Caroline County. History Denton was established in 1781. It was first called Eden ...

Hickman, Delaware Hickman is an unincorporated community in Kent County, Delaware, United States. Hickman is located along Delaware Route 16 at the border with Caroline County, Maryland and just north of the Sussex County border, northwest of Greenwood. The cit ...

* Queen Anne, Maryland *

Stevensville, Maryland Stevensville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States, and is the county's most populous place among both CDPs and municipalities. The community is the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The S ...

Adamsville, Delaware Adamsville is an unincorporated community in Kent and Sussex counties of Delaware, United States. Adamsville is located at the intersection of Delaware Route 16 and Adamsville Road, northwest of Greenwood Green wood is unseasoned wood. Greenwood ...

* Blanchard, Delaware * Ellendale, Delaware *

Georgetown, Delaware Georgetown is a town and the county seat of Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town is 6,422, an increase of 38.3% over the previous decade. Georgetown is part of the Salisbury, Marylan ...

Greenwood, Delaware Greenwood is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. The population was 973 at the 2010 census, an increase of 16.2% over the previous decade. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The R ...

* Milton, Delaware * Owens, Delaware *

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Rehoboth Beach ( ) is a city on the Atlantic Ocean along the Delaware Beaches in eastern Sussex County, Delaware. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the population was 1,327, reflecting a decline of 161 (11.2%) from the 1,488 counted in the 2000 ce ...

An article appearing in the April 9, 1897 issue of '' The Morning News'' announcing the opening of the new railway lists the stations, in order, as Queenstown, Bloomingdale,

Wye Mills Wye Mills is an unincorporated community in Talbot County, Maryland, United States, located at an altitude of . Wye Mills is located at the intersection of Maryland routes 404 and 662, just south of the Queen Anne's County border. Notable landm ...

, Willoughby, Queen Anne, Hillsboro, Downes, Tuckahoe, Denton, Hobbs, Hickman, Adamsville, Blanchard, and Greenwood where the line terminated while construction continued to Ellendale.

During first half of the 20th Century

Through a complex series of acquisitions in 1905, Queen Anne's Railroad ceased to exist and its assets became the property of the Maryland, Delaware and Virginia Railway Company (MD&V), a subsidiary of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

. Into the 1920s the railroad operated trains from

Love Point Love Point is the name for the northernmost tip of Kent Island, Maryland, United States and as such, marks the southern point of the mouth of the Chester River. It has served as a major ferry terminal, the western terminus of the Queen Anne's Railr ...

on the eastern Chesapeake shore town of

, east to

, to

and then to

. Both the Maryland, Delaware and Virginia Railway Company and the nearby

Baltimore, Chesapeake and Atlantic Railway The Baltimore, Chesapeake and Atlantic railroad, nicknamed Black Cinders & Ashes, ran from Claiborne, Maryland (with steamship connections to Baltimore), to Ocean City, Maryland. It operated of center-line track and of sidings.Interstate Com ...

were merged into the Baltimore & Eastern Railroad in 1928. Already by 1932 the company substituted with bus service replacing train service along the original route of the railway from Queenstown on the Chesapeake shore of eastern Maryland to Greenwood, and then to Lewes. This bus was gone from the schedule by 1941, as the company dropped its passenger operations.

Current status

Much of the railroad's original track has been abandoned, but segments are still used for freight rail service by the

Delmarva Central Railroad The Delmarva Central Railroad is an American short-line railroad owned by Carload Express that operates of track on the Delmarva Peninsula in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The railroad operates lines from Porter, Delaware to ...

. In

Queen Anne's County, Maryland Queen Anne's County is located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,874. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville i ...

, a project has converted much of the railroad right-of-way into part of the Cross Island Trail, a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetca ...

which is, in turn, part of the

American Discovery Trail The American Discovery Trail is a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast hiking and biking trail across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. The coastal tra ...

. The path of the railroad is approximated today by the following roads: * Maryland Route 18 *

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

Maryland Route 404 Maryland Route 404 (MD 404) is a major highway on Maryland's Eastern Shore in the United States. It runs from MD 662 in Wye Mills on the border of Queen Anne's and Talbot counties, southeast to the Delaware state line in Carol ...

Maryland Route 16 Maryland Route 16 (MD 16) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from Taylors Island east to the Delaware state line in Hickman, where the highway continues as Delaware Route 16 (D ...

Delaware Route 16 Delaware Route 16 (DE 16) is an east-west state highway in Delaware, mainly across northern Sussex County, with a small portion near the Maryland border in extreme southwestern Kent County. It runs from Maryland Route 16 (MD ...

Delaware Route 1 Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) is the longest numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. The route runs from the Maryland state line in Fenwick Island, Sussex County, where the road continues south into that state as Maryland ...

* U.S. Route 9 A Delaware state historical marker in Milton and another in Ellendale's historic Railroad Square district commemorate the railroad. The original railroad stations in Stevensville and Sudlersville are both still in existence and serve as museums.
dead link 2008-10-23 -->

References

External links

Queen Anne's Railroad Society (QARRS)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen Anne's Railroad Defunct Maryland railroads Defunct Delaware railroads Predecessors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Queen Anne's County, Maryland Talbot County, Maryland Caroline County, Maryland Transportation in Sussex County, Delaware Railway companies established in 1894 Railway companies disestablished in 1905 1894 establishments in Maryland 1895 establishments in Delaware 1905 disestablishments in Maryland 1905 disestablishments in Delaware