The Elkton & Middletown Railroad didn’t go far, and it didn’t go fast. But after Sid Bledsoe shared a 1960 photo showing a boxcar on the track, we decided to check out the old right-of-way to see if there were any surviving artifacts from the short line.
Originally discussed in the 1870s, the plan was to serve as a cutoff between the main line in Elkton and the Delaware Railroad in Middletown. But plans lingered until 1894, and by December of that year, the road had been built from the main line to the Big Elk Creek, a distance of about 1/3 of a mile. The corporation spent about $75,000 on its right-of-way.
This short section of track served an industrial area along Big Elk Creek, with spurs into Singerly Pulp and Paper and the Scott Fertilizer.1
Although the route had been acquired south of the creek in the general direction of Chesapeake City, the company never extended construction beyond the creek. It was consolidated into the PB&W Railroad in 1916.
Walking this short line in 2015 with Sid Bledsoe, the grading is still obvious, and a few old rails remain in place. The tracks’ use for delivery to Elkton Supply (now American Home and Hardware) was discontinued in the 1970s.
The High Line (Autumn 2002) has a detailed article on the Elkton and Middletown Railroad Company by John Hall.
For additional photos of the E & M Railroad, see this album on Facebook.
- “Elkton’s New Railroad,” Midland Journal, December 2, 1895, 3[↩]