Taylor's Trestle

Taylor's Trestle, named after the owner of the adjacent property, is located on the Ma & Pa (Maryland and Pennsylvania) railroad line.  It is located between the towns of Red Lion and Yoe, Pennsylvania, and is a very short distance south of the take-off of the Dallastown spur.  It is close to Springwood Road, near the northern boundary of the Red Lion borough, and is adjacent to the site of the old Red Lion incinerator. The trestle is exactly 68.9 miles north of Ma & Pa's station at North Ave. in Baltimore, which was the southern terminus of the railroad.  Because it is 68.9 miles from the Baltimore station, it is known as trestle #689.  The entire trestle is 261 feet 6 inches long, and 28 feet high at its tallest point.  The trestle rests on the surface of the ground of the underlying ravine; the trestle's supports are not actually drilled into the ground.

The trestle is historically significant because it is a rare example of a still-standing wooden railroad trestle from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is especially unique because it is a curved, rather than straight, trestle.

Taylor's Trestle is believed to have been built about 1895.  The trestle was most likely built of Douglass fir wood, which was one of the best types of lumber that was available for use in railroad trestles at the time. The trestle was designed with the wooden bents (vertical supports) about eleven or twelve feet apart, so that an engine would always be supported on more than one bent while it was on the trestle.  In 1914, the wooden stringers that ran across the top of the trestle, under the track, were replaced by steel I-beams to give the trestle more support, because the Ma & Pa started using Heavy Consolidation 2-8-0 type steam engines.  During the railroad's best years, from about 1901 to the 1940's, the trestle could safely support two of the Ma & Pa's biggest engines coupled together, or nearly 500,000 pounds.

For many decades, children in the community played on the trestle and waved to the passing train crews.  Many locals tell of their "close calls" with unexpected trains while playing on the track. If you got caught in the path of an oncoming train, and couldn't outrun the train to the end of the trestle, you could try to crawl out onto one of the wooden beams that stuck out on the side of the track.  You would tuck your head down, say your prayers, and hope for the best.  As a "right of passage", local boys would dare one another to crawl up to one of the cross-beams that were just beneath the track, lie down flat on their backs, and stay there while the train passed overhead, just inches from their faces. Older boys liked to ride their motorcycles across the trestle.  For the more adventuresome, it was popular to ride the bike onto the trestle ahead of a train, then zoom across the span in front of the engine!

The trestles were also a favorite spot for hobo camps.  In the first half of the twentieth century, these wandering vagabonds traveled around the country, from campsite to campsite, by hitching rides in the box cars of passing trains, and supporting themselves by doing odd jobs for the nearby residents.  Their campfires could often be seen under the trestles at night.

Taylor's Trestle was last used for regular passenger service on August 31, 1954.  On November 23, 1969, the very last passengers crossed Taylor's Trestle aboard an excursion train that was chartered by a company called "Rail Tours, Inc.".  The trestle was last used for freight and full sized trains sometime in the early 1980's.  Taylor's Trestle was abandoned in the mid-1980s, at the same time that all of the remaining Ma & Pa track south of Mt. Rose Ave. in York was abandoned.  In the years that followed, most of the trestles and bridges along the line were dismantled, but Taylor's trestle somehow managed to escape the wrecking crews.

Today, the trestle has become overgrown with brush and trees, and has fallen into some degree of overall disrepair.  During the past three decades, nature has started to take its toll on the once-proud structure.  Vandalism has also damaged parts of the trestle.  Despite all that, the trestle is still a majestic sight to behold.

Our vision is to restore it to its former glory, to serve as a part of the Ma & Pa Greenway Rail Trail.  We hope that the trestle will provide enjoyment for future generations of hikers, bicyclists, history buffs, and railroad enthusiasts, and that it will help preserve memories of the "glory days" of the York County railroads.

An aerial view of the trestle can be found at this link:

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qngwdj8mfdp3&scene=9442633&lvl=1&sty=b

To view the surrounding roads, click on the “road” tab and zoom out.