Visit the ambitious Lancaster County engineering project that killed 200 men and cost half a billion dollars. Traverse the Enola Low-Grade Rail Trail.

Cutting through the southern end like a demarcation line is one of the greatest feats of engineering marvels in Lancaster County—the Atglen & Susquehanna (A&S) Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) or commonly referred to today as the Enola Low Grade. The goal of this ambitious project? Create a low-grade railroad line with no slope steeper than one percent and no curve sharper than two degrees.

Easy on paper.
Difficult in reality. 

Leveling the relatively inaccessible and often rugged terrain of the southern Lancaster countryside, especially along the steep banks of the Susquehanna River, seemed like an improbable venture. Not even the regional canals of the nineteenth century were able to traverse Manor Township’s western edge. Rarely short on confidence, the PRR was ready to meet this challenge with heavy steam-powered equipment, tons of dynamite, and thousands of laborers.

Roughly 1000 men and 150 horses were deployed along the bluffs of the Susquehanna, and hundreds more worked east and west from Quarryville. Many of these men were immigrants from Italy, Turkey, Syria, and other southeastern European countries taken directly from incoming boats to the Lancaster job site.

It also meant dangerous blasting that, in some areas, created valleys 90 feet deep. The dynamite was often hoisted up the cliffs by hand and then detonated. The process was repeated over and over until the route was close to its desired elevation. From there, men finished the work with steam shovels and drills, and finally, with pickaxes and shovels.

All that dynamiting generated 22 million cubic yards of earth and rock, which was used as fill to level the low areas of the route that, in some locations, completely erased valleys and hollows. The project significantly and permanently changed the landscape along its route.

Along the route, approximately 80 beautifully constructed culverts and bridges of both steel and stone, located above and below the railroad to span valleys, streams, and dirt roads, were built. Many of these arches utilized massive 3′ X 3′ X 6′ to 8′ stones.

The High Price of Progress

But great projects like these often come at a high price. The A&S was no exception. For starters, the main priority was completing the job as quickly as possible. Safety was an afterthought. As such, dynamite was a frequent and necessary tool. The persistent use of the explosive made the job much more dangerous, with flying debris and premature detonations killing or injuring scores of men.

Local papers were filled weekly with tragic stories of men killed on the job with headlines that read “Blown Into Atoms His Awful Fate” and “Four Men Torn to Shreds at Highville.” Construction-related obituaries regularly appeared in the papers. All told, the project claimed over 200 lives, including 11 men, when a dynamite factory exploded seven weeks before the dedication. Learn more about the dynamite factory explosion in this Uncharted Lancaster adventure.

The second was the price tag. The Lancaster County portion of the massive three-year project, starting in 1903, cost $19.5 million or $548,000,000 in 2017 dollars.

Dedication

At noon on July 27, 1906, the A&S—which ran from Atglen, Chester County, through Quarryville to the Crewell Station on the Susquehanna River—was officially opened in a dedication ceremony attended by hundreds of people outside of Quarryville in a section called the “Deep Cut.” Prominent Quarryville citizen, hardware dealer, and Groundhog Lodge founder George Hensel hoisted a silver-plated hammer and drove a silver spike into the track with three blows to officially open the line. Many of the men in attendance had spent the past year in this very spot blasting and digging through 90 feet of solid rock.

The historic project created a railroad superhighway, which allowed for the efficient transportation of fuel and food throughout the East Coast for the next 50 years, as well as freeing up the existing heavily used and less efficient lines for passenger use.

Electrification

In April 1930, construction of the Safe Harbor Hydroelectric Dam began, and by the following year, work was complete. Built on the Susquehanna River near the mouth of the Conestoga, the dam was within a stone’s throw of the A&S. On December 7, 1931, the dam began producing power.

With an easily accessible and inexpensive power source, it wasn’t long before the PRR began planning the transition from steam to electric locomotion. Just seven years after the dam was built, the A&S was electrified with an overhead line and paired poles, powered by Safe Harbor power generation, to power the trains.

Even today, Safe Harbor continues to supply electricity to the regional grid via the A&S for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor passenger service. Amtrak continues to upgrade the line. In 2011, Amtrak installed a new generation of catenary monopoles along the route of the A&S.

End of an Era

The A&S proved both popular and profitable for about 50 years. Peak service was in 1941 when the average A&S freight length was 89 cars between 3,500 to 4,000 feet. But after World War 2, railroads nationwide began to experience a decline in service. Eventually, the line became redundant in the 1970s as rail traffic continued to decline and an alternate freight route to Philadelphia gained operational favor.

Conrail eventually took ownership in 1976. They downgraded the line, first removing the overhead catenary and then by rerouting traffic over the former Reading Company’s line from Harrisburg to northern New Jersey.

Just 82 years after its dedication, the A&S saw it’s last train on December 19, 1988. The following year, Conrail petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon the line. In 1990, the track was removed.

Rail to Trail

Over the next 20 years, what remained of the abandoned A&S began to disappear under heavy vegetation. But in July of 2008, Norfolk Southern Railway, which now owned the property, sold what remained of the A&S to the seven townships through which the line passes. In addition to accepting just $1 from each township, Norfolk Southern provided $1.4 million for bridge removal or repair.

Today, the Enola Low-Grade Trail, formerly the Atglen & Susquehanna Branch, is open for nearly 29 miles in disconnected segments between the Susquehanna River and Atglen for hiking and biking.

Click here for a PDF of the map.

Atglen & Susquehanna Photo Gallery

An excavation crew pauses with a rail mounted steam shovel. Steam shovels and air powered drills were initially utilized to excavate the right of way in Manor Township as well as the deep cuts along the line to the east. Kline Collection, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, PMHC

Work near Quarryville had some of the deepest cuts as workers spent an entire year blasting their way through solid rock to maintain the level grade of the A&S. Kline Collection, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, PMHC

This photo displays a Manor Township excavation site for the A&S. The pictured railroad tracks are temporary narrow gauge used to haul 1.3 million cubic yards of debris. Harry P. Stoner photograph, Columbia Historic Preservation Society

Another work site for the A&S inside Manor Township. Chief Engineer, William, H Brown, saw to it that the ablest contractors were employed to complete this challenging work promptly. The Manor section was contracted to Patricius McManus a very accomplished railroad builder and neighbor of Brown. Harry P. Stoner photograph, Kline Collection, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, PHMC

Blasting, the high cliffs and large loose rock along the stretch in Manor Township presented many hazards to the men while constructing the final few miles of the A&S along the Susquehanna River. This photo was likely taken by Lancaster based photographer Harry P. Stoner who was commissioned to document the construction of the A&S. Kline Collection, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, PMHC

Workers pause for a photo with a steam shovel on the job site. Kline Collection, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, PHMC

Steam locomotive on the A&S. David H. Mellinger Collection, courtesy of Scott E. Kriner, Conestoga, PA

Safe Harbor bridge work. David H. Mellinger Collection, courtesy of Scott E. Kriner, Conestoga, PA

Narrow, curved, waters’ edge cut. David H. Mellinger Collection, courtesy of Scott E. Kriner, Conestoga, PA

Susquehanna River at Manor Township

Blasting along the Susquehanna River approaching Safe Harbor in preparation for the A&S Branch. Collection of the Columbia Historic Preservation Society, Columbia, PA

Photo of the Safe Harbor Trestle partially completed. Collection of the Columbia Historic Preservation Society, Columbia, PA.

Photo of the Safe Harbor Trestle nearing completion. Collection of the Columbia Historic Preservation Society, Columbia, PA.

The upper span of this bridge is the 1560 foot long Safe Harbor Trestle located at the Safe Harbor Dam, PA. It is a steel deck truss trestle that spans the Conestoga River at Safe Harbor. Below it is the Port Road Bridge.

The Safe Harbor Trestle built in 1905 for the A&S Branch, also known as the “Low-Grade Branch,” of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

On July 27, 1906, the dedication ceremony was held near Quarryville in an area called the “Deep Cut” officially opening the A&S Branch.

Map of the A&S Low-Grade Freight Line highlighted in gray.

References:

• Remembering Lancaster County by Jack Brubaker
• Atglen and Susquehanna Branch
• Measuring Worth
• Enola Low-Grade Trail
• Enola Low-Grade Trail Trail Access Guide
• The Cost Of Labor | Constructing The A&S
• Workin’ on the railroad / A century ago, a monumental task began along the Susquehanna River
• The Atglen & Susquehanna Low Grade