Existing comment:
1865 to 1942:
All Aboard!
The Gettysburg Railroad Station:
Tourists sustained railroad passenger service until World War I, but the automobile led to its end in 1942.
The economic recession following the end of the Civil War did not bypass Gettysburg. In 1870, a nearly bankrupt Gettysburg Railroad Company was forced to sell. Numerous changes in ownership and name occurred before it became part of the Western Maryland Railroad system in 1895.
During the 1890s, a surging interest in visiting the battlefield, and a parallel growth in freight traffic, sparked a 25-year recovery. Passenger traffic reached a peak in the years immediately before the first World War.
The post-war period saw dramatic growth in the use of private automobiles, and tourists began driving to Gettysburg in ever increasing numbers. By 1942, there was no longer sufficient demand to support passenger train service.
The end came with little fanfare. At 4:00pm on December 31, 1942, the engineer's pull on the throttle started train No. 44 on its final journey to Baltimore. After 84 years, passenger service on Gettysburg's oldest and most historic railroad line was a thing of the past. |