Cumberland Valley Railroad - Early History

Early History

The Cumberland Valley Railroad Company was chartered by the Pennsylvania Legislature on April 2, 1831, to construct a railroad from Carlisle to a point on the Susquehanna River at or near Harrisburg. This charter expired, but it was renewed on April 15, 1835, allowing the road to be built from the Susquehanna River to Chambersburg. On June 27, 1835, Thomas Grubb McCullough was elected as the first President of the road, and in August, William Milner Roberts was selected as Chief Engineer.

The initial cost of building the road, including a bridge across the Susquehanna, was estimated before construction at $564,064, and the average annual receipts of the road at $284,617.50, calculated at 100 passengers each way per day at 3 cents per mile, and 35,000 tons of through freight and 51,950 tons of local freight, at 4½ cents per ton per mile. $642,000 was raised by local stock subscription and construction began in the Spring of 1836.

The railroad opened for travel from White Hill, near Harrisburg to Carlisle in August, 1837, and through to Chambersburg in November, 1837. The first locomotive, built by William Norris in Philadelphia, had two driving wheels, wooden spokes, and was named "Cumberland Valley,"

The passenger cars carried 14 passengers each and were bought used from the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad, according to the 1887 "History of Franklin County Pennsylvania." The railroad track was constructed of cross ties laid 4.5 feet (1.4 m)apart without ballast, with 5x9 in (127x229 mm) oak stringers serving as rails. Iron bar, 0.625 inches (15.9 mm) thick by 2.25 inches (57 mm) wide, was spiked to the top of the stringers. When service began to Chambersburg, the iron was not laid for the last 3 miles (4.8 km) and the cars were run in on the wooden stringers.

The first Cumberland Valley Railroad Bridge across the Susquehanna was opened for travel on January 16, 1839. The first regular passenger service to Philadelphia, via the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mount Joy and Lancaster Railroad, began on February 1, 1839 with the following schedule:

Leave Chambersburg at 4 o'clock in the morning; Arrive at Harrisburg at 8, at Lancaster at 12, at Philadelphia before 6 P.M. Returning it will leave Harrisburg as soon as the cars from Philadelphia arrived, about 5 o'clock in the evening and arrive at Chambersburg at 10 P.M.