The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1873-06-07
The State Line and Juni0t0 Rail
road Company.
From the West Chester (Pa.) Republican

From the West Chester tPa.) Republican.
This is the name of Charter taken out in
July last, for the purpose of constructing first
class road from Philadelphia to Baltimore, via
Newtown Square, Delaware county, and West
Chester, Chester county, crossing the Brandy
wine below the Junction of the east and west
branches, then by way of Unonville and Oxford
Borough, crossing the Susquehanna at or near
the Mouth of Deer creek, Hartford county, Nd,
following near the bed of that stream until it
reaches Long Green Valley, and traversing the
whole of its length until it crosses the Big Gun
powder stream, into what is called Limestone
Valley. Those two Valleys are hemmed in on
both sides by large hills, resembling very much
the Great Valley in Chester county, Pa. They
have but the one practicable outlet, called STAINS
bury Gap, through which this Company pass
Thence by Towsontown, connecting with the
Northern Central Railroad at Swami Lake. 1.-THE
basin that supplies the city of Baltimore with
water about seven miles from Baltimore, and
near the Junction of the Western Maryland Road
They are operating in Maryland, under the name
and title of the Maryland and Pennsylvania State
Line Railroad Company. In December last they
contracted with the Susquehanna Improvement
Company, to build the Road from Stansbury' g
Gap to the Pennsylvania State line. This Com
pany commenced work with some half dozen
gangs, and have about FIVE miles nearly compile
ted, grading towards the Gunpowder. The for
mer Company have spent in surveys and labor,
over forty thousand dollars, not one dollar of
which came out of the pockets of Maryland peo-
pie all they having asked of them, was the
right of way, which they obtained without cost,
except in very few cases.
In April last some difficulty took place be-
tween the Company and the Susquehanna I'm
provement Company, (who were the contrac-
tors, and the former contracted with the sub
contractors to build that portion of the road be-
tween Towsontown and the Northern Central,
which was not in the hands of the Susquehanna
Company. AS soon as this Company is out of
the way the other part of the road will be re-let
to the Pennsylvania line.
Towsontown is the county seat of Baltimore
county, situated on the York turnpike, about
seven miles from Baltimore city, and was estab-
lished in 1856, by separating herself from Balti-
more and establishing public buildings of her
own. In addition to the horse Railroad that she
now has, she is to have two steam roads, one a
narrow gauge, intended, for passengers only, and
the Maryland and Pennsylvania State Line road,
which is intended to be great through line from
north to south, and is said to be something
shorter from New York TO Baltimore than the
other line. Both these roads are being pushed
vigorously. In 1856 all the passengers were car
ried from Towsontown to Baltimore in two
built, and in 1872 it carried over six hundred
thousand passengers to that place and along the
line of the road.
As stated before, the State Line and Juniata
commenced their road at Stansbury's Gap. This
is the key to all Northern and Southern roads.
1t is the only opening in the hill that can be
made available between Philadelphia and Balti-
more. The Baltimore and Ohio, the Northern
Central, the Great National route, the Baltimore
Central-their surveys north have all been
through this gap, therefore the Maryland and
Pennsylvania, Juniata and State Line, hold the
key to this general enterprise. Limestone Val
ley is entered here, and it has a continuous bed
of about six miles of the best quality of iron ore
lying within q few feet of the surface of the
ground. Large quantities are now shipped to
Baltimore by mule teams The limestone is of
the purest quality and is used principally by
builders, as it Stacks without leaving a particle
of sediment, and will bring twenty cents per
bushel more than any other lime in the market for
building purposes. There is also in this valley
very fine specimen of marble, such as the pat
emit office at Washington is built of. In fact,
there never was railroad attempted to be built
that will disappoint the imaginations of the peo-
pie so much as this road, when completed. In
the place ofpassing through low and fatcoun-
try as you do on the lower Baltimore road, COW
cred with chinquapin bushes and scrubby oaks,
you will see fine rolling, agricultural country,
rich in mineral wealth, and dotted all along the
line with fine houses and barns, well fenced and
cultivated FARMS picturesque and beautiful see
merry, every foot of which will add tribute to
their great enterprise.