Pequea Trolley
The Lancaster and York Furnace Street Railway, better known as the Pequea Trolley, operated between the small college town of Millersville and the southern Lancaster County resort of Pequea and York Furnace.
During the summer months, many fishermen and picnickers from as far as Philadelphia would travel to Millersville to take the trolley to the Susquehanna River. Service was every other hour, and it took an hour to cover the hilly 12.5 miles of track that passed through the countryside and wilderness. One of the company officials remarked that our lined started no-where and ended no-where. Its entire route served no settlement larger than several houses clustered at crossroads.
On this bleak December day in 1915, the trolley makes its scheduled stop at Martic Forge along the Pequea Creek. In the distance, the echo of a whistle from a Pennsylvania Railroad 2-8-0 steam locomotive can be heard, and the quietness of the valley is disturbed by the coal hoppers rumbling eastbound over the high bridge.
No one is waiting for the trolley, so the motorman continues his run to Pequea and York Furnace. Hopefully, he will find someone at the station on his return trip to Millersville. A quietness again settles through the valley.
Learn More
You can read more about the Pequea Trolley by clicking here as well as the Enola Low-Grade by clicking here.
Drawing by JA Ruof. See other drawings by JA Ruof here.