Delmarva Central Railroad
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Founder | Carload Express, Inc. |
| Headquarters | Oakmont , United States |
Area served | Delaware, Maryland, Virginia |
| Products | Freight rail transport (grain, propane, construction materials, bulk goods, coal) |
| Owner | Carload Express, Inc. |
Number of employees | 30 |
| Parent | Carload Express, Inc. |
| Website | www |
The Delmarva Central Railroad is a U.S.-based short-line railroad owned by Carload Express, Inc., operating a network of track spanning the Delmarva Peninsula across the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Its route extends from Porter, Delaware to Hallwood, Virginia, as well as from Harrington, Delaware to Frankford, Delaware, including several additional branches. The DCR connects with both the Norfolk Southern Railway and the Maryland and Delaware Railroad. Founded in 2016 to take over Norfolk Southern's lines on Delmarva, it later grew through acquisitions of segments from the Bay Coast Railroad in 2018 and the Delaware Coast Line Railroad in 2019.
Operations
Operating on the Delmarva Peninsula, DCR manages a track length of . Its primary mainline stretches southward from Porter, Delaware to Pocomoke City, Maryland (known as the Delmarva Subdivision), then continues onward to Hallwood, Virginia via the Delmarva Industrial Track. Another branch runs between Harrington and Frankford (the Indian River Subdivision), extending further to Snow Hill, Maryland. Additional branches include the Milton Industrial Track (linking Ellendale to Milton) and the Lewes Industrial Track (from Georgetown to Cool Spring), alongside several shorter industrial spurs in Delaware and Maryland that total several miles. Moreover, DCR possesses trackage rights on Norfolk Southern rails from Porter to Tasker near New Castle, Delaware.
Interchanges are facilitated with Norfolk Southern at Clayton (for mixed freight) and Tasker (for unit trains), as well as with the Maryland and Delaware Railroad at Townsend, Seaford, and Frankford. The railroad primarily transports commodities such as grain, propane, construction materials, and bulk goods. It also operates occasional unit coal trains destined for NRG Energy’s Indian River Power Plant near Millsboro. Grain shipments serve customers like Allen Harim Foods near Seaford, Mountaire Farms in Frankford and Princess Anne, Maryland, while aggregate stone deliveries are made to H&K Group’s Dagsboro Stone Depot. Overall, DCR supports more than 50 clients.
The locomotive roster includes 14 units comprised of EMD GP38-2, MP15AC, and SD40-2 models. Previous utilization of EMD GP11 locomotives was phased out by 2018 after the current fleet proved sufficient for operational needs.
DCR operates as a subsidiary under Carload Express headquartered in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, which also owns Allegheny Valley Railroad and Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad. Local management offices are situated in Harrington with freight operations centralized in Dover, Harrington, Seaford, and Delmar. The company employs roughly 30 personnel.
History
The mainline between Porter and Delmar originally formed part of the Delaware Railroad, while the southern segment was once under the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad. These routes subsequently transitioned through ownership by the Pennsylvania Railroad, followed by Penn Central Transportation Company in 1968, then Conrail in 1976, and ultimately Norfolk Southern Railway in 1999. On April 1, 2006, Norfolk Southern established the Delmarva Business Unit aimed at improving service quality and operational efficiency across its trackage in Delaware and eastern Maryland. This unit oversaw of track between Newark, Delaware and Edgemoor Yard in Wilmington along with Wilmington City, Pocomoke City, Harrington, and Frankford areas; local management was based out of Wilmington.
In October 2016, Norfolk Southern chose Carload Express to lease and operate its Delmarva Peninsula lines running from Porter to Pocomoke City and from Harrington to Frankford with an objective to revitalize underperforming routes. The DCR submitted filings with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in November 2016 and commenced operations in December following Carload Express’s acquisition of 17 additional locomotives. A union-raised safety concern regarding operations was dismissed by the STB in March 2017.
DCR expanded again in June 2018 by taking over operations from the Bay Coast Railroad on Canonie Atlantic Corporation tracks between Pocomoke City and Hallwood after Bay Coast ceased service. This transition ensured uninterrupted rail service for customers along that corridor. Subsequently, on January 1, 2019, DCR assumed control of operations previously managed by the Delaware Coast Line Railroad between Ellendale–Milton and Georgetown–Cool Spring under a state contract.
On March 18, 2020, DCR received an $18.8 million federal grant aimed at rehabilitating three movable bridges—the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal Lift Bridge near Middletown, Delaware, along with moveable bridges at Seaford and Cassatt in Pocomoke City—upgrading over of mainline track and enhancing nine grade crossings across Delaware and Maryland.