Baltimore's main line to the north was once the Northern Central Railway, not Interstate 83. Although its tracks have now largely disappeared from Maryland, the railroad not only was a major link between Baltimore and western and northern points, but was responsible for the development of the northern Baltimore County suburban communities.

At almost the same time that Baltimore bankers and merchants were organizing the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) to reach west to the Ohio River, another group had its eyes to the north, looking to link Baltimore with the Susquehanna River basin and central Pennsylvania. They organized their venture as the Baltimore & Susquehanna Rail Road in 1828, just a year after the B&O’s formation, intending to build directly north to the Susquehanna via York, Pennsylvania, through rugged, hilly country.

Construction started the next year, but was beset by financial and political problems, notably Pennsylvania’s unhappiness over seeing its trade diverted to Baltimore. Almost immediately, the railroad felt forced to deviate from its direct route to York with a less threatening line via Owings Mills and Westminster, Maryland. Horse-powered trains finally reached Owings Mills in 1832.

Peace with Pennsylvania came the same year and, leaving Owings Mills on an orphaned spur, construction proceeded north to York, where trains arrived in 1838. There the railroad deviated from plan again; instead of continuing north to the Susquehanna at York Haven, it made an abrupt right turn and headed due east to Wrightsville, across the river from Columbia, Pennsylvania.

The railroad reached Wrightsville in 1840, but afterward it resumed its course directly north from York, and by 1851 was running trains into Harrisburg. But catastrophe hit the financially anemic Baltimore & Susquehanna on July 4, 1854, when a fiery head-on collision near present-day Ruxton, Maryland, killed 35 people--and the company, as well. A new corporation, the Northern Central Railway, emerged from the ashes on New Year’s Day 1855.

The newly formed Northern Central continued northward along the Susquehanna, reaching Sunbury and Williamsport in 1858. By 1866, its tracks extended to Canandaigua, New York, and in a final move, they arrived at Sodus Point on Lake Ontario in 1884.

But by then Northern Central’s status had changed. Already on its way to becoming the largest and most powerful railroad in the East, the Pennsylvania Railroad was expanding into new territories and was especially eager to poach on the Baltimore & Ohio’s sacred homeland. In 1861, Pennsylvania bought a controlling interest in the Northern Central--ironically picking up stock that B&O President John W. Garrett had just sold. Linked to the Pennsylvania’s east-west main line at Harrisburg, the Northern Central became a serious competitor for Baltimore’s western traffic.

It also created and shaped Baltimore’s more rarified northern suburbs. Beginning with Mount Washington in 1852, suburban communities such as Lutherville, Ruxton, and Riderwood sprang up and flourished along the Northern Central, stimulated by frequent train services--known locally as the legendary “Parkton Locals.”

Like the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad to its east, the Northern Central was a critical link in moving troops, equipment, and supplies during the Civil War, and carried Lincoln on his way to Gettysburg in 1863. Two years later it carried him again--this time in a coffin.

The Northern Central disappeared as an operating entity in 1914 when parent Pennsylvania Railroad leased its property, but it continued to serve as an important secondary main line through the mid-twentieth century. Afterward, however, its Maryland section diminished severely in importance. Tropical Storm Agnes delivered the final blow in 1972, when it washed out several sections between Baltimore and York.

Most of the line between Baltimore and the Pennsylvania state line was then abandoned, later to be revived as a popular hiking and biking trail. A short, freight spur remained between Baltimore and Cockeysville; the division was bought by the state in 1988 for rebuilding as the northern end of its new light rail system.

Gunnarsson, Robert L. The Story of the Northern Central Railway. Sykesville, Md.: Greenberg Publishing Co., 1991.

Burgess, George H. and Miles C. Kennedy, Centennial History of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Philadelphia, Pa.: The Pennsylvania Railroad Co., 1949.

Roberts, Charles S. and David W. Messer. Triumph VI: Philadelphia, Columbia, Harrisburg to Baltimore and Washington, DC. Baltimore, Md.: Barnard, Roberts & Co., 2003.