The Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad Preservation Society maintains and operates 3.6 miles of the former Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad main line as part of the Ma & Pa railroad Heritage Village (http://www.MaAndPaRailroad.com). The museum focuses on the central role of the railroad in the early twentieth century and includes the village of Muddy Creek Forks, a National Register Historic District.

On August 31st, the village and railroad were struck by a devastating flash flood. A wonderful group of more than 40 volunteers turned out to clean up most of the mud and debris from the village of Muddy Creek Forks on Labor Day, but the north end of the rail line sustained damage at five sites that was far too severe to be handled by volunteers. The most serious damage was at the crossings of three tributary streams to Muddy Creek. One 30 foot plate girder bridge was washed away, there was serious damage at two other bridges, and more than 700 feet of track were destroyed.

To get back in operation Society volunteers held a week long work camp to repair track south of Muddy Creek Forks that was not previously in use for passengers, and by our annual Heritage Day on September 22nd trains were running.

The Society has obtained an Emergency Permit to make necessary repairs to the railroad and has a track contractor and an engineering firm onboard for the work which is now underway. A few pictures of the work in progress were posted today on the Society's Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/MaAndPaRail ... e_internal

Current estimates are that the cost for repairs at all five sites will approach $170,000. This is a staggering sum for an all volunteer organization with limited resources. The area around the railroad was not declared a federal disaster area, and there is no expectation that any government funds will be available to aid the recovery.

The Society has appealed to its members and friends and is investigating other potential sources of funds, but outside support will certainly be needed. A GoFundMe page has been set up to provide a mechanism for community donors to support our recovery efforts.

https://www.gofundme.com/ma-amp-pa-rr-f ... d-recovery

The need for funds is urgent, since work under the Emergency Permit must be completed in just 60 days.

Many small donations can make a big difference in supporting this recovery, so we hope that some of our fellow rail preservationists will want to help. Donations in any amount would be greatly appreciated. I'll try to post updates as the work progresses.

Thanks for your help.

Craig Sansonetti

This is a repost of a Facebook post made back in September, probably for giving Tuesday. See the previous two topics.
http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42453&p=282096&hilit=maryland#p282096
http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42440

With all due respect, to call this a repost is a complete mischaracterization.

None of the information about our recovery efforts, the work now in progress, and the expected cost of track repairs has appeared in RyPN previously.

Perhaps linking to our Facebook page for the progress pictures was not a wise choice. For easier access I will copy below our yesterday's Facebook post that has new pictures of the recovery work in progress.

Craig Sansonetti

Count me impressed, when I first saw the photos of the girder bridge washed up on the shore I thought it was a lost cause for a small all-volunteer group, you have done well already.

What, if any, consideration has been given to raising the height of the bridge(s) and or ROW to prevent further destruction? We all know these "100 year floods" are becoming more routine. What is to say all of your hard work wont get washed away again with the next 3 foot sudden rise in water levels?

I realize there is a substantial cost to that, but if there is a plan for the future, maybe you could obtain funding for those future improvements?

Serious questions here, not being sarcastic or judgmental.

I hope they have been in touch with FEMA for possible disaster relief funding.

The existing rail line runs along the floor of a flood plain nearly its entire length – not springing across the creek from elevated hillside to hillside - raising the entire line and protecting it from erosion would be prohibitively expensive.

The flood plain of Muddy Creek forms a narrow, deep valley, incised into hilly terrane. Valley sides are steep, raising roughly 200-feet or more to either side of the creek. Underlying metamorphic bedrock is geologically old, hard and tight. Water tends to quickly run this stuff rather than soak in. As a result the stream is flashy, as rainfall quickly runs off from the surround hills rather than infiltrate.

Hope this helps - Jim K (Geologist)

The reasons for the MA&PA's charm are the reason for its undoings in many ways.

Sadly that same state seems to vex these valiant preservation efforts. But I'm really happy to see that the outcome is way better.

I visited Muddy Creek Forks last Friday, including the site of the bridge that was washed off its abutments. The power of the water roaring down through the ravine must have been astounding! One wing wall of the bridge was lifted and carried more than 100 feet downstream and deposited on the opposite bank of Muddy Creek itself! I saw a photo of this unnamed stream pre-flood, and it was a mere trickle about a foot wide. Ever since the flood, I was told, the stream has continued to run high and strong, presumably due to almost continuous rain events.

A lot of progress has been made at the site of the most serious damage where a 30 foot plate girder bridge was washed into the creek and the abutments were seriously damaged. After cleaning up debris, the tributary stream was diverted and 16 yards of concrete were poured to underpin and jacket the base of the south abutment. The bridge span was retrieved from the creek, cleaned up, and found to be undamaged. Our contractor, John Nolan, was very resourceful in replacing the bridge on the abutments using only log rollers, tie plates as skids, and the large excavator he had already on site saving about $10,000 on the quoted cost of bringing in a crane.

The bridge is now in place and secured to the abutments, the north and south approaches have been regraded, the stream is again flowing freely under the bridge, stone has been placed to armor the stream banks, and the bridge timbers have been placed on the bridge.

Since the remaining work at this site does not require a permit, Nolan will begin next week to work north from High Rock on the repairs required at our four other damage sites. Relaying of the track will be deferred until spring.

There is also good news on the permit front. The Society has requested and received an extension of our Emergency Permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. With the extension to March 1, we expect that all work requiring a permit for work along Muddy Creek and the tributary streams will be completed barring unusually severe winter weather.

Financial support for this work is still badly needed. Donations can be made through our GoFundMe page

https://www.gofundme.com/ma-amp-pa-rr-f ... d-recovery

or directly by check to the Ma & Pa Railroad Preservation Society at P.O. Box 2262, York, PA 17405-2262.