page_title: Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad
section_title: 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad / History / 20th century
caption_attribution_description: English: Maryland &amp; Pennsylvania F-20
context_page_description: The Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad, familiarly known as the "Ma and Pa", was an American short-line railroad between York and Hanover, Pennsylvania, formerly operating passenger and freight trains on its original line between York and Baltimore, Maryland, from 1901 until the 1950s. The Ma and Pa was popular with railfans in the 1930s and 1940s for its antique equipment and curving, picturesque right-of-way through the hills of rural Maryland and Pennsylvania. Reflecting its origin as the unintended product of the merger of two 19th-century narrow gauge railways, the meandering Ma and Pa line took 77.2 miles to connect Baltimore and York, although the two cities are only 45 miles apart in a straight line.
  Passenger service was discontinued on August 31, 1954, and the section from Baltimore to Whiteford, Maryland was abandoned in June 1958. Most of the remaining original railroad line was abandoned by 1984. The Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad acquired a former 19-mile Pennsylvania Railroad branch line between York and Hanover in the 1980s, now operated by a successor corporation, York Railway.
context_section_description: Following the merger, the Ma and Pa operated through passenger and freight trains between York and Baltimore, as well as local trains at each end of the line, hauling mail and express, slate, marble, anthracite coal, lumber, furniture, and agricultural products to market. Particularly on the Pennsylvania Division (Delta–York), slate from Delta and manufactured goods from Red Lion and York were mainstays of the railroad's outbound freight traffic in the early years. On the Maryland Division, inbound anthracite coal deliveries accounted for a significant volume of carloadings, along with milk from the many dairy farms in the area. One early morning train from Fallston boarded more than 1,100 gallons of milk daily and was dubbed the "Milky Way". The line was profitable and traffic volume was such that additional locomotives were necessary. 
  The Ma and Pa acquired two 0-6-0 Baldwin switchers in 1913, #29 and #30 (pictured), called "jewels of engines, in some respects the most attractive the road had", by writer George Hilton in The Ma & Pa – A History of the Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad. The next year, three 2-8-0 "Consolidations" by Baldwin were added to the roster, providing more powerful locomotives for the Baltimore–York through freights. At its peak, the railroad had 16 locomotives and 160 pieces of rolling stock, with 573 employees.
  With increasing competition from trucks and automobiles in the 1920s, passenger volume began to decline along with less-than-carload freight, such as milk from the many dairy farms along the Ma and Pa's pastoral route. The Ma and Pa substituted more economical, self-propelled gas-electric passenger cars for steam-powered passenger trains in 1927–1928. Carload freight volume increased in the 1920s, however, as more industries located along the line, and earnings were strong enough for the company to declare dividends in 1930 and 1931. The Ma and Pa's relative prosperity ended with the economic downturn during the Great Depression, which cut the railroad's gross revenues by half from 1932 to 1935.
  In the mid-1930s, the Ma and Pa became an early favorite of railfans, attracted by its hilly, curving line through rural Maryland and Pennsylvania. The railroad offered several popular fan excursions pulled by its elderly steam locomotives.
  Following the end of World War II, the Ma and Pa acquired four diesel locomotives for more economical operations, but traffic declined significantly. When the Ma and Pa's mail contract was cancelled by the U.S. postal service, the railroad discontinued all passenger service on August 31, 1954. One person on the last passenger train recalled that many riders came from as far away as Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., to participate in the historic event, along with members of the National Railway Historical Society. The picturesque line's last steam engine dropped its fire for the final time on November 29, 1956.
  The lack of traffic on the railroad's 44-mile (71 km) Baltimore–Whiteford Maryland Division in the 1950s was particularly acute. One of the last major shipments to occur was Indiana limestone for the construction of Baltimore's Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in 1956. The Baltimore–Whiteford segment in Maryland was finally abandoned altogether on June 11, 1958, leaving only the stone abutments where the tracks crossed York Road in Towson on a steel girder bridge. A local group of history buffs placed a bronze plaque on the west abutment in 1999, commemorating the departed railroad's place in Towson history.
  
  In the 1960s, the Ma and Pa Railroad continued to solicit business along its line for its remaining 34.8-mile (56.0 km) Whiteford–York segment, almost entirely in Pennsylvania. In 1964, it added a siding 905 feet (276 m) long near Red Lion to serve a new cigar box factory. In 1971, the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad was acquired by Emons Industries. 
  Primarily hauling slate from a quarry at Delta, and furniture from a factory in Red Lion, the Ma and Pa's Pennsylvania Division continued in operation until June 14, 1978, when the line was 
caption: Maryland & Pennsylvania F-20 operating in York, Pa.
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