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26-716: The Atglen and Susquehanna (A&S) Branch was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) between 1902 and 1906. The branch was built to relieve congestion on the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line and the railroad's Columbia & Port Deposit (C&PD) line. With freight service on the Main Line hampered by relatively steep grades , the A&;S Branch—which was specifically designed with minimal grades and curves—was often known simply as

52-623: A longer adjacent section of the New Portage Railroad. A reciprocal trackage rights agreement made March 18, 1854, allowed the PRR to use that section for free. On March 21, 1849, the PRR contracted with Eagle Line, primarily a steamboat company, for through service over the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad . The PRR obtained trackage rights over the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mountjoy and Lancaster Railroad , opened in 1838, on April 21, providing

78-577: A route from Harrisburg to the Philadelphia and Columbia at Dillerville , just west of Lancaster . On September 1, the first section of the PRR opened, with all arrangements in place for service from Philadelphia to Lewistown. In 1853, the PRR surveyed the Lancaster, Lebanon and Pine Grove Railroad from Philadelphia west via Phoenixville to Salunga on the Portsmouth, Mount Joy and Lancaster Railroad. This

104-554: A temporary stagecoach transfer between them via the Southern Turnpike and a short turnpike branch built to Beatty. Part of that gap was filled on July 15, 1852, from Brinton east to Radebaugh , and on November 29 the full line was completed, forming the first all-rail route between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, though still using seven of the original ten planes of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. Plane Number 1 of

130-714: The Allegheny Portage Railroad from Hollidaysburg to Johnstown and the Western Division Canal from Johnstown to the terminus in Pittsburgh . The Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad had one inclined plane at each end; the Allegheny Portage Railroad had ten. The parts that were later included in the PRR main line opened from Philadelphia to Malvern (the end of the West Chester Railroad ) in 1832 and from Malvern to Lancaster in 1834. A short piece of

156-781: The Susquehanna River ). Further extensions opened to McVeytown on December 24, Mount Union on April 1, 1850, Huntingdon on June 10, and Duncansville (west of Hollidaysburg ) on September 16, 1850, taking it to a connection with the Allegheny Portage Railroad on the east side of the Allegheny Ridge . On the other side of the ridge, the main line opened from Conemaugh (on the Portage Railroad east of Johnstown ) west to Lockport on August 25, 1851. On December 10, 1851, sections opened from Lockport west to Beatty (west of Latrobe ) and from Pittsburgh east to Brinton , with

182-680: The "Low Grade". During construction of the A&S Branch, the existing C&PD stone bridge at the Conestoga River washed out. Rather than rebuild, the C&;PD bridge was combined with the A&S bridge to form a unique two-line, two-level steel viaduct known as the Safe Harbor Trestle . This bridge at the Conestoga carried the C&PD line over the river, while the A&S ran parallel and approximately 100 feet (30 m) above. Construction

208-637: The Allegheny Portage Railroad in East Taylor Township and Conemaugh Township , including the Portage Viaduct over the Little Conemaugh River , later became part of the PRR main line; it was opened in 1834. The Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mountjoy and Lancaster Railroad opened from Harrisburg southeast to Middletown and from Lancaster northwest to Rheems in 1836. The next year, the segment from Middletown to Elizabethtown opened, and

234-658: The PRR leased the HPMJ&;L, giving it full control of its main line. In 1904, the New Portage Railroad east of the Gallitzin Tunnels (through the " Muleshoe Curve ") was reopened as the New Portage Branch , a freight bypass line. Conrail closed this line in 1981. Notes Further reading Sadsbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Sadsbury Township is a township in east central Lancaster County , Pennsylvania , United States. The population

260-624: The Portage Railroad was bypassed by the PRR on April 1, 1852. Other planes began to be bypassed by the New Portage Railroad , completed in 1856, but on February 15, 1854 the PRR's new line opened, leaving the old one on the east side of the ridge in Altoona and running west via the Horseshoe Curve and Gallitzin Tunnel , only using a short portion of the old Portage Railroad near South Fork and

286-667: The Township. Station Website According to the United States Census Bureau , the township has a total area of 19.7 square miles (51.1 km ), all land. Unincorporated communities in the township include Simmonstown, Smyrna, and Coopersville. As of the census of 2000, there were 3,025 people, 880 households, and 760 families living in the township. The population density was 153.4 inhabitants per square mile (59.2/km ). There were 899 housing units at an average density of 45.6 per square mile (17.6/km ). The racial makeup of

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312-462: The decline of northeast railroads and overall reduction in traffic made the line redundant. The line survived PRR's short-lived successor Penn Central (1968–1976) and into the era of the PC's successor, Conrail . Conrail downgraded the line, removing the overhead catenary and later rerouting traffic over the former Reading Company 's line between Harrisburg and northern New Jersey . The last train ran on

338-622: The first half of 2017, and a pedestrian bridge over U.S. 222 north of Quarryville opened in April 2018. The Safe Harbor Trestle opened in June 2022 after a multi-year overhaul, and in October 2022, a trestle in Martic Township reopened (it had first opened for trail users in 2015 but burnt down in 2018), forming a continuous 19 mi (31 km) improved segment between Manor Township and Quarryville. Of

364-456: The line as a rail trail , which was opposed by local residents and ultimately failed. In July 2008, NS sold a portion of the abandoned line to eight municipalities, charging each $ 1 and supplying a total of $ 1.4 million in grants for bridge removal or repair. NS also contributed $ 1.25 million to Manor Township to develop their portion of the right of way. After being abandoned, much of the right of way had been overgrown with heavy brush, and while

390-632: The line in 1988. Conrail petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon the line in 1989 and track was removed around 1990. While the track had been removed prior to the 1999 breakup of Conrail by the Norfolk Southern (NS) and CSX , the right-of-way was retained due to disputes over the historical nature of the line's bridges and passed to NS. A group called Friends of the Atglen–Susquehanna Trail proposed using

416-528: The line was completed in 1838 with the opening of the Elizabethtown Tunnel . Pennsylvania Railroad Company was chartered by the Pennsylvania legislature on April 13, 1846 to build a private railroad line from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh . Construction began in 1847, and the first section opened from Harrisburg west to Lewistown on September 1, 1849 (including the original Rockville Bridge across

442-721: The rail and ties had been removed, a rough surface of loose track ballast remained. The portion of the right of way that was transferred to the Lancaster County municipalities is now a 29-mile (47 km) rail trail named the Enola Low Grade Trail. The eight municipalities have opened their sections at varying rates, with the first opening in September 2011. The portion in Manor Township opened in 2013, while Martic and Conestoga townships opened their improved portions in

468-542: The remaining 10 mi (16 km) of unimproved trail, the portions in Eden and Bart townships are expected to be improved in 2023–24, while funding is being sought to improve the final, easternmost segment through Sadsbury Township to Atglen, including a connection with the Chester Valley Rail Trail . Amtrak , which received ownership of PRR's electric traction system , operates a power transmission line along

494-464: The right of way under easement . Its two 138 kV lines supply electricity from Safe Harbor Dam to Amtrak's Parkesburg traction substation. In 2011, Amtrak moved the line's cables from the old Pennsylvania Railroad catenary supports to new monopoles, upgrading the surface to crushed stone at the same time. Main Line (Pennsylvania Railroad) The Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad

520-517: The township was 99.01% White , 0.26% African American , 0.07% Native American , 0.33% Asian , and 0.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.40% of the population. There were 880 households, out of which 44.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 78.5% were married couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.6% were non-families. 11.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.0% had someone living alone who

546-529: Was 3,547 at the 2020 census . In 1744, Sadsbury Township was split into two; the western part was organized as Bart Township and the eastern part remained Sadsbury Township. The Mercer's Mill Covered Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. WNUZ-LP 92.9 FM - Community Radio Station, Based in the Gap area of Sadsbury Township, which is located in the northeastern corner of

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572-456: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.44 and the average family size was 3.75. In the township the population was spread out, with 35.5% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.8 males. The median income for

598-558: Was a rail line in Pennsylvania connecting Philadelphia with Pittsburgh via Harrisburg . The rail line was split into two rail lines, and now all of its right-of-way is a cross-state corridor , composed of Amtrak 's Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line (including SEPTA 's Paoli/Thorndale Line service) and the Norfolk Southern Railway 's Pittsburgh Line . The eastern part of the PRR's main line (east of Lancaster )

624-646: Was built by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as part of the Main Line of Public Works : a hybrid railroad and canal corridor across the state. The system consisted of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad from Philadelphia west to Columbia on the Susquehanna River , the Eastern Division Canal from Columbia to Duncan's Island, the Juniata Division Canal from Duncan's Island to Hollidaysburg ,

650-460: Was completed and the line opened by July 1906. When combined with the railroad's Trenton Cutoff and Philadelphia & Thorndale Branch, the new line permitted the PRR to operate a low-grade bypass between Morrisville, Pennsylvania (just south of Trenton, New Jersey ) and Harrisburg . This allowed freight trains to avoid the congestion of the eastern seaboard and the steep grades of the Main Line. The line flourished with freight traffic until

676-533: Was done in order to show the state that the PRR was willing to build its own alignment around the Philadelphia and Columbia. On August 1, 1857, the PRR bought the whole Main Line of Public Works. The Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad was integrated into its system. Most of the New Portage Railroad , just completed the previous year at a cost of $ 2.14 million, was abandoned, while short sections became local branches. The canals were abandoned, and short sections were filled and covered by rails. On January 1, 1861,

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