New Castle Turnpike and Railroad Company
| Company type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railroad and turnpike |
| Founded | 1828 |
| Founder | John Randel Jr. (chief engineer) |
| Defunct | 1877 |
| Fate | Merged into Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) |
| Headquarters | New Castle , United States |
Area served | Delaware, Maryland |
Key people | John Randel Jr. (chief engineer) |
| Products | Rail transport, turnpike toll road |
| Parent | Pennsylvania Railroad (after merger) |
The New Castle and Frenchtown Turnpike and Rail Road (NC&F), inaugurated in 1832, linked the Delaware River at New Castle, Delaware with the Chesapeake Bay at Frenchtown, Maryland. As Delaware's pioneering railroad and one of the earliest in the nation, it originally spanned 16.19 miles. In 1857, half of this line was discontinued, while the remaining portion was absorbed into the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) system. Today, this segment is operated by Norfolk Southern Railway, serving the Delmarva Peninsula region.
The section abandoned between Bear, Delaware, and Frenchtown has been recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.
History
Following the completion of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal in 1804, merchants in New Castle aimed to safeguard their commercial interests by establishing the New-Castle and Frenchtown Turnpike Company—chartered in Delaware in 1809 and Maryland in 1810. By 1816, this company had constructed a toll road extending from New Castle west-southwest to Old Frenchtown Wharf on Chesapeake Bay. The easternmost portion was developed beginning in 1812 by the New Castle Turnpike Company.
In 1828, Maryland authorized transforming the turnpike into a railroad under the new name New-Castle and French Town Turnpike and Rail Road Company. Delaware enacted corresponding legislation, and by 1830 both entities merged to form the New Castle and Frenchtown Turnpike and Rail Road Company. Construction commenced that year under chief engineer John Randel Jr.. The railroad officially opened on February 28, 1832, initially utilizing horse-drawn power before switching to steam locomotives within a year. Noteworthy early features included stone sleepers and a double-track segment added by 1837 to facilitate bidirectional traffic.
The NC&F encountered strong rivalry from the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal (operational since 1829) and newly established railroads linking Philadelphia and Baltimore. By 1838, these competing lines had merged into the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B), which bypassed New Castle’s relatively smaller market.
In 1839, PW&B gained majority control of NC&F and fully integrated it by 1843, employing it as an alternative route within its growing network.
At its New Castle terminus, connections were made with the New Castle and Wilmington Railroad in 1852; by 1855, the Delaware Railroad diverged at Bear, Delaware. Steamboat operations ended around this period.
In March 1857, PW&B discontinued service on the Cecil County segment, dismantled facilities at Frenchtown, and redirected southern operations to Seaford, Delaware, reflecting strategic adjustments within its system. The defunct rail corridor was repurposed as a local roadway.
The NC&F was officially merged into PW&B (under PRR ownership) in 1877. Subsequently, in 1891, PW&B sold its New Castle lines to the Delaware Railroad but leased them back to streamline operations.
Sections near New Castle were progressively abandoned between approximately 1903 and 1952. The remaining line—later designated as the New Castle Secondary—passed through ownership by Penn Central (1968), Conrail (1976), and ultimately Norfolk Southern (1999), preserving vital rail access to Delmarva markets.
Remnants
Outside the operational segment of the New Castle Secondary rail line stretching from Bear to New Castle, various vestiges of the original railway infrastructure remain significant for their historical and local relevance.
- Portions of the former rail bed between Bear and Frenchtown are still visible, with some sections converted into roads such as East Lewis Shore Road in Maryland and McDaniel Lane in Delaware.
- The initial culverts spanning Perch Creek and Belltown Run continue to be intact.
- A former ticket office located in New Castle Battery Park has been transformed into a museum, showcasing items including a piece of rail track.
- Granite sleepers (railroad ties) have been preserved and repurposed as paving stones and stair steps around New Castle.
- Umbrella Row in New Castle is built upon a segment of the eastern disused right-of-way.
References
Notes
Bibliography
- Pleasants, Earl.
- PRR Corporate History
External links
- Historic American Engineering Record - New Castle & Frenchtown Railroad
- Historic American Buildings Survey - New Castle-Frenchtown Railroad Ticket Office, Washington Avenue Crossing (the oldest surviving railroad ticket office in the United States)
- Defunct Delaware railroads
- Defunct Maryland railroads
- Companies affiliated with the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad
- Predecessors of the Pennsylvania Railroad
- Pre-freeway turnpikes in the United States
- Railway companies established in 1828
- Railway companies disestablished in 1877
- 1828 establishments in Maryland
- American companies established in 1828
- 1877 disestablishments in Maryland
- American companies disestablished in 1877
- Turnpikes in Delaware
- American companies established in 1829
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment