Ma & Pa Station - Forest Hill

Ma and Pa Station - Forest Hill. (circa 1914). Railroad service came to Forest Hill circa 1883, when the Maryland Central Railroad laid narrow gauge track from Baltimore to Delta, PA. The MCR suffered financial difficulties and emerged as the Maryland Central Railway Company in 1888. Interested in connecting with anthracite coal carriers, the MCRC acquired control of the York and Peach Bottom railroad. The two railroads were consolidated into the Baltimore and Lehigh Railroad Company in 1891. by 1893, however, financial problems forced them to split into separate entities: The York Southern Railroad and the new Baltimore and Lehigh Railroad Company. In the years that followed both railroads converted from narrow to standard gauge track. , The Maryland and Pennsylvania (Ma and Pa) Railroad was organized in 1901, formed through the consolidation of the Baltimore and Lehigh and the York Southern railroad companies. Although never connecting to the anthracite coal mines of Pennsylvania, its traffic in Maryland consisted of US Mail, milk transport from the local farms, freight and passenger service., Cancellation of the Post Office contract in 1954 effectively lead to discontinued passenger service as well. Completed state road further reduced milk and freight service. The former 77.2 winding rural railroad route between Baltimore and York, PA was now fully accessible by truck and bus service., In 1958, the Ma and Pa ceased rail operations, and the tracks were removed from the railway beds in 1959. However, the Ma and Pa's Forest Hill station remains intact. It continues as a reminder of rural Harford County's history as an agricultural an natural resources region that serviced the Baltimore area.