Talk:Eastern Shore Railroad

New York, Pennsylvania, and Norfolk Railroad

The Eastern Shore RR seems to be operating on the old NYP&N tracks. There is an oblique mention of the line in the Cape Charles, Virginia article. Someone added a prominent entry about the railroad in the article about William Lawrence Scott, which is the reason for my interest in the subject. The NYP&N doesn't appear in Wikipedia anywhere. It might be best that this article mention the original name. I will create a redirect page from the Scott article's mention of the RR.

The origins of the railroad are discussed at some length in a National Park Service application for listing of a building on the National Register of Historic Places. (Since the contents of the application are property of the USG, the materials can be used in Wikipedia with proper acknowledgment.)

"A railroad was proposed just prior to the Civil War from New York to the Eastern Shore of Virginia with the intention of connecting to Norfolk via steamship at a terminal at the south end of the Eastern Shore peninsula. The goal of the railroad was to provide access to southern markets from the north and ease travel between the north and Norfolk, a major southern port. A map drawn in May 1855 for a proposed New York and Norfolk Airline Railroad shows the railroad terminating at Kiptopeke, the southernmost point of the peninsula, and a harbor on the Chesapeake Bay known as Cherrystone at Kings Creek. This port would later be renamed Cape Charles, which was developed as a major Eastern Shore port town. The proposed railroad followed the inland road or Bayside Road, which was the western north-south land route through Northampton County. There was an east road or Seaside Road that paralleled the Bayside Road.

The Civil War caused the cessation of the development of the proposed rail line until the 1870s. At this point the Pennsylvania Railroad became a large proponent of the creation of the railroad line. The New York, Pennsylvania and Norfolk Railroad was formed and began acquiring land along its proposed route in 1883.

The original plan was to parallel both the Seaside and Bayside Roads, but the placement of the line was roughly between the two roads. In some cases it was oriented to significant 19th century towns, such as Eastville, the Northampton County seat. The route chosen by the New York, Pennsylvania and Norfolk Railroad was the east or seaside route that paralleled the Seaside Road or the present day US Route 13. The reorientation of the railroad and its planned stops produced new villages. Though many villages vied for a stop, in most cases the early towns or villages were not near the railroad line."

Also, take a look at the South-Central Loop of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Heritage Trail. It lists stations and the date of opening of the railroad.

More research is likely required. If the railroad is a short line and is limited to the Delmarva Peninsula, presumably the RR doesn't need to be added to New York and PA lists of RRs despite its name. --Pat (talk) 03:11, 3 March 2008 (UTC)