Another rail trail in York County?
DAMON B. BOUGHAMER -- The York Dispatch
Article Last Updated: 02/23/2007 04:56:10 PM EST

Plans are quietly being assembled toward establishing another rail trail for public use in York County -- this one running along the former Ma and Pa Railroad.

Such a path could complement the popular York County Heritage Rail Trail, which runs from the city of York south to the Maryland line. The two trails could even be linked someday, although an advocate says she s proposing to study only a potential segment between Spring Garden Township and the Felton borough line.

York Township Recreation Director Debra Hatley is among those seeking a state grant for a feasibility study. Hatley outlined the project last week for Spring Garden commissioners, who agreed to draft a letter of support.

"It's an exciting idea," Spring Garden commissioner Holly Gumke said. "It would be a nice addition to our township."

York and Windsor townships and Red Lion and Yoe boroughs are also on board; Hatley hasn't yet appeared before the borough council in Dallastown, which would be the only other municipality affected.

The Ma and Pa, or Maryland and Pennsylvania, was abandoned some time ago. It's not clear what kind of shape the line is in, and it's not known whether the property along the railroad is effectively under public or private control.

"A feasibility study would have to help us determine that," Hatley said.

Hatley said the project is at such an early stage that few details are available right now, but a more public rollout can be expected soon.

The stretch between Spring Garden and Felton covers more than 12 miles of the once-productive 77-mile railroad, which meanders from Baltimore northeast to Bel Air, Md., then turns north to Delta and northwest through Red Lion to the York area.

According to the Web site maparailroadhist.org, which is managed by the Bel Air-based Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad Historical Society, the line was conceived and built with hopes of carrying coal but was never built out to any anthracite or bituminous field.

For a while, the tracks did allow for short runs of coal for heating nearby homes. Furniture manufacturers in Dallastown and cigar makers in Red Lion shipped their goods to York and Baltimore over the railroad.



http://www.yorkdispatch.com/local/ci_5290665