Oxford Branch (Pennsylvania Railroad)

The state of Maryland has railbanked the corridor all the way to Easton, but only three small segments of trail have been built on it.

[4] In 1890, the Baltimore & Eastern Shore Railroad built a line that crossed and connected with the DCR at Easton, MD.

When Penn Central Railroad stopped operating in 1976, the Oxford Branch was one of three in Delmarva that were omitted from the system plan for Conrail.

To prevent them from being discontinued, the Maryland and Delaware governments selected the Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company (MDDE) - a newly formed railroad, not a successor to the company that built the Oxford Branch - to serve as the designated operator starting in 1977.

[5][6] The line operated at a loss for years, with declining and use and in 1982 it was estimated that it needed $1 million in repairs.

Freight operations ended on February 22, 1983 and the Maryland Department of Transportation abandoned the line that same year.

[11] They signed an agreement with MTA to do so in 1993, received permission from the ICC the next year and started running both freight and excursion trains in 1995.

[14] In 1998 the state terminated the CHRR's operating agreement and a few days later a final run was made to clear equipment from the track.

[15][16][8][17] In 2005, MTA filed intent to terminate service on the line and requested a certificate of interim trail use.

[19] Delaware's June 2006 Rail-to-Trail & Rail-with-Trail Facility Master Plan recommended converting the railroad right-of-way to a rail trail.

[30] The portion of the right-of-way through Easton, including the bridge over North Fork Tanyard Branch, was converted to a rail trail in 1998 and the train station (built circa 1906) next to it, on Pennsylvania Avenue, currently hosts the town's Parks and Recreation Department.

[31][32] Around 2019,[33] the railroad bridge over Tuckahoe Creek in Queen Anne, MD and a short section of the railroad ROW in Tuckahoe State Park were turned into a potion of Anna's Trail and also serves as part of the American Discovery Trail.