The New Castle and Frenchtown Turnpike and Rail Road (NC&F) was opened in 1831, was the first railroad in Delaware and one of the first in the United States.

It opened in 1815 and 1816, providing a turnpike from New Castle in a west-southwest direction to Old Frenchtown Wharf, Maryland, on Chesapeake Bay.

The easternmost section of the road, east of Clark's Corner (under 3 miles), was built in 1812 by the New Castle Turnpike Company, chartered January 30, 1811.

On March 28, 1877, the New Castle and Frenchtown was merged into the PW&B, which was part of the PRR system.

The east half of the old alignment was acquired by Penn Central in 1968, then Conrail in 1976, and most recently Norfolk Southern (1999), which uses it to reach the Delmarva Peninsula.