The Ma & Pa: A History of the Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad

by George W. Hilton

Overview

Affectionately known as the "Ma & Pa," the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad was one of the country's longest running and best known "archaic" railroads, holding on to steam locomotion and other outmoded technologies well into the twentieth century. Connecting Baltimore and York, the line had everything needed to endear itself to local residents and rail enthusiasts: picturesque equipment, marvelous scenery, antique passenger trains, handsome small-scale locomotives, and enough curves—476—for a railroad many times longer than its 77 miles. All this made the Ma & Pa one of the most popular prototypes for model railroaders, George Hilton notes, and thousands of miniature versions of the line became part of model railroads throughout the world. This revised edition of Hilton's classic history includes a new introduction and epilogue in which the author recalls the line's final years of service. He also comments on the continuing interest of modelers, enthusiasts, and all who fondly remember the Ma & Pa.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801862946
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	01/11/2000
Edition description:	Second Edition, Revised
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	666,905
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.66(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

George W. Hilton is a professor emeritus of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles. His many books on railroad and transportation history include American Narrow Gauge Railroads and The Cable Car in America.

Table of Contents

Preface, 1999
Preface to the Original Edition
Chronology of Major Events
Chapter 1. The Peach Bottom Railway
Chapter 2. The Maryland Central Railroad
Chapter 3. The Lancaster Oxford & Southern
Chapter 4. Unification
Chapter 5. The Glory Years
Chapter 6. The Lean Years
Chapter 7. The Postwar Years
Chapter 8. Emons Industries
Epilogue, 1999
Appendixes
Index

Editorial Reviews

George Hilton's affectionate yet complete and accurate account of Ma & Pa is at once all that the short line's host of admirers could ask as well as a model of How To Write Railroad History. Hilton can examine a balance sheet without forgetting the flanged drivers that generated its figures; to the past he can be sympathetic without letting the sentiment become sticky. In eight chapters he moves across the years from 3-foot beginnings to the road's World War I peak and beyond the lean times, amputation, and a 1960 I.C.C. refusal of an abandonment petition. His text is supported by a chronology, all-time engine and equipment rosters, employee timecard, maps, even a dispatcher's train sheet . . . The photo count exceeds 175 and these are supplemented by side and end elevation drawings of several locomotives and doodlebug 62.
—Trains

Probably no railroad in the east has enjoyed more popularity with the model makers than this one . . . Once you have started to read this book, you'll have difficulty in letting it alone. The author is to be congratulated for giving us such a valuable and interesting history.
—Railway & Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin

Hilton's well written history of the Ma & Pa remains an interesting read, taking one back to the glory years of shortline railroading.
—David J. Mrozek, The Michigan Railfan

From the Publisher

Hilton's well written history of the Ma & Pa remains an interesting read, taking one back to the glory years of shortline railroading.

The Michigan Railfan - David J. Mrozek

Probably no railroad in the east has enjoyed more popularity with the model makers than this one . . . Once you have started to read this book, you'll have difficulty in letting it alone. The author is to be congratulated for giving us such a valuable and interesting history.

Railway & Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin

George Hilton's affectionate yet complete and accurate account of Ma & Pa is at once all that the short line's host of admirers could ask as well as a model of How To Write Railroad History. Hilton can examine a balance sheet without forgetting the flanged drivers that generated its figures; to the past he can be sympathetic without letting the sentiment become sticky. In eight chapters he moves across the years from 3-foot beginnings to the road's World War I peak and beyond the lean times, amputation, and a 1960 I.C.C. refusal of an abandonment petition. His text is supported by a chronology, all-time engine and equipment rosters, employee timecard, maps, even a dispatcher's train sheet . . . The photo count exceeds 175 and these are supplemented by side and end elevation drawings of several locomotives and doodlebug 62.

Trains