It did very little construction work, except for a few miles of grading from Relay House, on the Northern Central Railroad, through Towson, Maryland to the Gunpowder River.
It merged with the bankrupt Wilmington and Reading Railroad in 1875, but failed to attract further investment to complete its own line.
[1] Initially promoted by John Dougherty and other industrialists of Huntingdon and Fulton Counties, it attracted little backing and was dropped in favor of other proposals.
[4] The line was largely graded from Relay House, a junction on the Northern Central Railroad, northeast through Towson as far as the Gunpowder River.
[4] On December 7, 1874, the State Line and Juniata, Chester Creek and Brandywine, and Maryland and Pennsylvania were all consolidated as the Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York Railroad.
Leslie ran extensive surveys in Chester and Delaware Counties and obtained releases for right-of-way, representing the Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York as well-capitalized and soon to be completed.
It responded by passing a resolution instructing the Attorney General to begin quo warranto proceedings to revoke the overbroad Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York charter.