Delmarva Central Railroad
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Harrington, Delaware |
| Reporting mark | DCR |
| Locale | Delmarva Peninsula |
| Dates of operation | 2016– |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 188 miles (303 km) |
| Other | |
| Website | Official website |
The Delmarva Central Railroad (reporting mark DCR) is an American short-line railroad owned by Carload Express, Inc. that operates 188 miles (303 km) of track on the Delmarva Peninsula in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The railroad operates lines from Porter, Delaware to Hallwood, Virginia and from Harrington, Delaware to Frankford, Delaware along with several smaller branches. The DCR interchanges with the Norfolk Southern Railway and the Maryland and Delaware Railroad. The railroad was created in 2016 to take over the Norfolk Southern Railway lines on the Delmarva Peninsula. The DCR expanded by taking over part of the Bay Coast Railroad in 2018 and the Delaware Coast Line Railroad in 2019.
The DCR operates on 188 miles (303 km) of trackage on the Delmarva Peninsula in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The DCR's main line runs 113.79 miles (183.13 km) from Porter, Delaware south to Pocomoke City, Maryland on the Delmarva Subdivision, with the section leading into Pocomoke City called the Pocomoke Industrial Track. The main line trackage continues south 14.8 miles (23.8 km) from Pocomoke City to Hallwood, Virginia on the Delmarva Industrial Track. A branch line runs 39.0 miles (62.8 km) from a junction with the Delmarva Subdivision in Harrington, Delaware to Frankford, Delaware on the Indian River Subdivision to Dagsboro, Delaware and then on the Dagsboro Industrial Track to Snow Hill, Maryland. From the Indian River Subdivision, the Milton Industrial Track branches east from Ellendale, Delaware to Milton, Delaware and the Lewes Industrial Track branches east from Georgetown, Delaware to Cool Spring, Delaware. Smaller lines operated by the DCR include the 0.4-mile (0.64 km) Oxford Industrial Track in Clayton, Delaware, the 2.3-mile (3.7 km) Cambridge Industrial Track in Seaford, Delaware, the 3.65-mile (5.87 km) Willards Industrial Track in Salisbury, Maryland, the 0.65-mile (1.05 km) Mardela Industrial Track in Salisbury, the 0.6-mile (0.97 km) Mill Street Industrial Track in Salisbury, and the 1.2-mile (1.9 km) Crisfield Industrial Track in Kings Creek, Maryland.[1][2] The DCR also has trackage rights on Norfolk Southern Railway tracks from Porter to Tasker near New Castle, Delaware.[2]
The DCR interchanges with the Norfolk Southern Railway in Clayton for mixed freight and Tasker for unit trains. There are also interchanges with the Maryland and Delaware Railroad in Townsend, Seaford, and Frankford.[3] Products carried by the railroad include grain, propane, building materials, and bulk products.[4] The railroad occasionally operates unit coal trains to the Indian River Power Plant operated by NRG Energy near Millsboro, Delaware, running as needed. Other unit trains operated by the DCR include grain trains to Allen Harim Foods near Seaford and Mountaire Farms in Frankford and Princess Anne, Maryland, and aggregate stone trains to H&K Group's Dagsboro Stone Depot in Dagsboro.[5] The Delmarva Central Railroad provides freight service to over 50 customers.[6]
The Delmarva Central Railroad operates with 14 locomotives, consisting of EMD GP38-2, EMD MP15AC, and EMD SD40-2 models.[7] The DCR had EMD GP11 locomotives on the line temporarily, until operations were well underway, and the October 2018 issue of Railpace magazine noted on page 9 that the last two GP11s on the DCR had departed. DCR 2005 and 2007 were interchanged to Norfolk Southern at Clayton on July 25, 2018, for movement back to the home rails of parent company Carload Express. The magazine added that the DCR now has "an adequate number" of MP15s and GP38s to handle local chores.
The railroad is a subsidiary of Carload Express, a shortline operator based in Oakmont, Pennsylvania that also owns the Allegheny Valley Railroad and the Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad. Local management of the DCR is based in Harrington while freight operations are based in Dover, Delaware, Harrington, Seaford, and Delmar, Delaware.[3] The DCR consists of 30 employees.[7]
