'Bike Through History'
on the
Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail
2019 Activities:
JUNE 5 - Paper Mill Road.. This evening's ride was attended by 17 people on a day with the forecast of showers. In fact, there was a slight drizzle in the area prior to the ride, but we had no rain after we departed, and the sun even shone through for a time. Meanwhile, it was announced that this season's Bike Through History program was being dedicated to Art Wannlund, an avid bicyclist in our program who passed away late last year at the age of 99. (See memoriam, below..) We biked north with a stop for introductions, and then to Sparks where our wonderful naturalist Richard Anderson presented a creature feature on the black bear. We then biked further to Glencoe for a brief narrative about the community, then turned back. At Ashland (the southern point of the trail) Nancy Berger, a participant living in Ashland, told us of the historical import of the town.
JUNE 12 - Bentley Springs.. Twenty-one people attended the ride on a slightly cool evening with the chance of rain. (We had no rain.) We departed on time and headed south to MP-15 for introductions, then returned to Bentley Springs where Richard Anderson presented a show-and-tell on Civil War medicine. We continued north about half an hour later, stopping briefly at Freeland to rest, then we biked to the state line for a responsive reading of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. It was here, at the state line, in 1863, that President Lincoln passed this spot, the symbolic boundary between North and South, and the following day he presented his time-honored address. This activity has become a Bike Through History tradition with members of the group taking turns reciting a brief portion of the address sequentially.
JUNE 19 - Monkton.. There was a forecast of possible showers this evening, but we had no rain. There were 14 people in attendance. We first biked south to Glencoe for introductions, then back to Monkton where we enjoyed the picturesque gardens behind the station. Next we biked north to Blue Mount with a stop at the Little Falls to look for beavers, but we saw none. A short distance further north we stopped again for a glance at the former waiting shelter that had served patrons on the Parkton Local until 1959. It was later moved about 300 feet away where it is now in private use. We then biked north to Hicks-Wilson road, turned back, and stopped at the railroad bridge just south of that point for a discussion on bridge construction. Returning to Monkton, we were off the trail by 9 P.M.
JUNE 26 - Phoenix.. Our ride this evening was attended by 18 people. It was a warm but comfortable evening with no forecast of bad weather. We left from Phoenix on time and biked directly north to Sparks for some reminiscences of the community, its school, and the railroad. Returning to Phoenix, our president Larry Reese told us some of the history of that community. Continuing south, we stopped briefly at the Gunpowder bridge at MP-1 to look for beavers, but we saw none. Next we biked to the end of the trail, MP-0, the community of Ashland, took an eight-minute street tour of the town, and then returned to our starting point, Phoenix.
JULY 3 - Parkton.. It was a warm and muggy evening with a chance of showers, but we had no rain. Eleven (11) people attended. We began by biking south to the Snake Pit (a.k.a. the 'Falls') and then returned to Parkton where Richard Anderson gave us a creature feature on snakes. It was here, too, that we were joined by a local resident named Dottie who has lived in Parkton since 1972. She is one of the organizers of parties atop the road bridge spanning Little Falls which conveyed the old York road and is known as the oldest bridge still in use in the state of Maryland. She updated us on plans to rehabilitate the bridge, a process that will take about five years to complete. In an interesting irony, when asked if she had any first-hand knowledge of the Parkton Local train, which ended service in 1959, she referred us to a particular website she has been visiting. That website, as it happens, is THIS website. (It's a small world after all!) Leaving Parkton we made a sudden stop at Daily road to get a glimpse of a heron. From there we continued north a short distance where we staged our annual ring-around-the-sycamore tree demonstration. This was followed by biking further north, with a stop at one of the bridges north of Walker to watch a couple of kids jumping into a water hole, ending up at Camp Bee Tree where Richard Anderson told us about this site being a Union encampment to watch over and protect the railroad in the early days of the Civil War. We then returned to Parkton.
JULY 10 - Freeland.. This evening's ride was attended by 20 people. We left on time and biked directly to New Freedom, Pa., just north of the state line, where we attended a one hour and 10 minute 'porch talk' at the restored train station. Following that we biked over to Bonkey's for home-made ice cream (a Bike Through History tradition), and then returned to Freeland.
JULY 17 - White Hall.. [Rained out..]
JULY 24 - Sparks.. Twenty-five people attended. We left northbound with 23 people (two others caught up with us later), stopping just north of Glencoe at a restored wayside signal where we discussed the signaling system used on PRR's Northern Central line, and then to the bridge just north of Corbett for reminiscences of the area during the years 1946 to 1959. Next we stopped at Monkton station, and finally to Blue Mount where we looked for beavers, but found none.
_ _ _
'Bike Through History' is conducted by volunteer members of the NCR/Hereford Volunteers Association.. The Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail - formerly the Northern Central Railroad Trail - is located in northern Baltimore County, Maryland, and extends for nearly 20 miles from Ashland to the Pennsylvania state line.. Its route is the former right-of-way of the Northern Central branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad.. Passenger train station stops along the route included Ashland, Phoenix, Sparks, Glencoe, Corbett, Monkton, Pleasant Valley, Blue Mount, White Hall, Graystone, Parkton, Walker, Bentley Springs and Freeland.. The trail is maintained as a portion of the Gunpowder Falls State Park.. Northward into Pennsylvania, the trail is known as the York County Heritage Rail Trail, maintained by York County.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In Memoriam - Art Wannlund:
We are saddened to report that our beloved friend and participant Art Wannlund passed away following complications of pneumonia December 10, 2018. Art, who turned 99 just four months earlier, had been a steady participant in our program for one-half of a decade, and he was an inspiration to all who remember him for his wisdom and vitality. He had lived through the Great Depression, was a veteran of the second World War, and he taught physics as a profession. He was an expert in railroad bridge construction, and fondly shared his knowledge of the different types of bridges along the PRR Northern Central line. He also knew where the original cast-iron mileposts and whistle posts remained intact. He will be missed, but we know he will remain with us in spirit.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Click Here for Program Notes from 2018
Click Here for Program Notes from 2017
Click Here for Program Notes from 2016
Click Here for Program Notes from 2015
Click Here for Program Notes from 2014
Click Here for Program Notes from 2013
Click Here for Program Notes from 2012
Click Here for Program Notes from 2011
Click Here for Program Notes from 2010
Click Here for Program Notes from 2009
Click Here for Program Notes from 2008
Click Here for Program Notes from 2007
Click Here for Program Notes from 2006
Click Here for Program Notes from 2005
Click Here for Program Notes from 2004
Click Here for Program Notes from 2003
Click Here for Program Notes from 2002