Junction and Breakwater Railroad
The Junction and Breakwater Railroad was a 38 mile long railroad that ran between Harrington, Delaware and Lewes with a spur to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware during the late 19th and early 20th Century. It passed though Milford, Ellendale and Georgetown. In 1883, it merged with the Breakwater and Frankford Railroad and the Worcester Railroad to become the Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Railroad which was eventually purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad
History
[edit]Junction and Breakwater
[edit]The Junction & Breakwater Railroad (J&B) was formed in 1857 as a subsidiary of the Old Dominion Steamship Company to operate in conjunction with steamship service between the Delmarva Peninsula and New York.[1] The line created a "junction" with the Delaware Railroad (DRC) in Harrington, and it was completed and opened for use to Milford, DE on 7 September 1859.[1][2] Work was stalled by the Civil War but resumed in 1867 and the line was completed to Lewes and the Delaware Breakwater, via Georgetown, in 1869 with stations at each end as well as stations in Cool Spring, Harbeson (later called Broadkill) and Nassau.[3][4]It opened a 5 mile extension to Rehoboth in 1878.[3][1] In Rehoboth it eventually built connections to Canneries along the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal and factories along Laurel Street; a passenger station on Rehoboth avenue, and a wye that connected to Henlopen Junction on the west side of the canal.
In 1874, the Breakwater & Frankford Railroad (B&F) built a rail line that ran south from Georgetown, where it connected to the J&B, to the Maryland line at Selbyville. It opened on May 22, 1874.[5] By 1876, the Worcester Railroad had extended the line to Franklin City, Virginia. Both of these lines were also owned by Old Dominion Steamship.[1]
In 1883 the J&B merged with the B&F and Worcester to form the Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Railroad (DMVR) which eventually became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system and then, following the bankruptcy of Penn Central, part of Conrail before being sold to Norfolk Southern and the state of Delaware.
Remnants
[edit]
The line now has several owners and operators. Between Harrington and Georgetown it's owned and operated by Norfolk Southern as part of the Indian River Secondary. The line between Georgetown and Lewes is owned the state of Delaware and the section of it from Georgetown to Harbeson is operated by the Delmarva Central Railroad as the Lewes Running Track. The rest of the line to Lewes and the line to Rehoboth have been abandoned.
The historic Milford train station is still in use, but as office space.
The abandoned right-of-way from Fischer Road on the east side of Harbeson to just west of Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes was converted into the Lewes-Georgetown Trail and there are plans to extend it west to the end of the track in Harbeson.
The Harbeson Railroad Station privy, built in 1870, was donated to the Lewes Historical Society and moved to their campus by 2022.[6]
The old Lewes-Rehoboth Canal bridge, and the date stone from the west abutment, are on permanent display along the Lewes-Georgetown Trail at American Legion Road in Lewes. The bridge was a hand-cranked swing bridge that was originally built in 1869 and modernized by PRR in 1916. The bridge was reconstructed in 1997. After DelDot decided it was unsafe in 2016, leading to the rail line east of the canal being shut down, it was removed on Feb. 15, 2022 and the canal was restored over the next year.[7][8][9]
Some of the abandoned right-of-way from Lewes to Rehoboth Beach is used for the Junction and Breakwater Trail.
The Rehoboth Beach Train Station which was built in the late 1800s currently serves as Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center. It was in service until the 1920s. After that it served as offices, small shops and a restaurant until it was sold in 1950. It was donated to the city and the Rehoboth Railroad Station Preservation Society and moved to its present location at 501 Rehoboth Avenue in 1987.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Ludlow, David (19 February 2020). "Delaware Railroad History". Retrieved 26 November 2024.
- ^ Poor, Henry Varnum (1860). History of the Railroads and Canals of the United States of America, etc. p. 565. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ a b Wilson, William Bender (1899). History of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Henry T. Coates & Company. p. 325. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Ellendale's Railroad Square". Retrieved 27 November 2024.
- ^ Howeth, Harrison (9 May 2019). "BREAKWATER & FRANKFORD RAILROAD 1874". Retrieved 26 November 2024.
- ^ "Lewes Privy". 22 September 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ "Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Blogger Email Share Share: Lewes canal restoration work nears completion". 19 February 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
- ^ a b macArthur, Ron (28 July 2023). "Railroads brought prosperity to much of Sussex County". The Cape Gazette. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ "Lewes railroad association restoring caboose". Cape gazette. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
