For those brave enough to venture below the Enola Low-Grade, scores of beautifully constructed tunnels and culverts await. Dozens of people pass over them every day often without ever knowing. The South Fork Big Beaver Creek flows through this culvert. The last one before reaching Quarryville from the west.
A Brief History
Enola Low-Grade, also known as the Atglen & Susquehanna Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, was one of the greatest feats of engineering marvels in Lancaster County. 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.
Roughly 1,000 men and 150 horses were deployed to build it. Many were immigrants from Italy, Turkey, Syria, and other southeastern European countries taken directly from incoming boats to the Lancaster job site. To learn more about the Enola Low-Grade and its history, click here.
For the exact GPS location of the South Fork Big Beaver Creek Culvert, click here.
The Complete List of Culverts & Tunnels of the Enola Low-Grade
Check out my growing list of the Enola Low-Grade’s tunnels and culverts with GPS locations and photos.
