The railroad was incorporated May 5, 1854 by a group of largely local investors. It was to run from
Harrisburg to
Jonestown, from thence along the south side of
Blue Mountain to
Rehrersburg and to
Hamburg. The name was changed to the
Harrisburg and Hamburg Railroad on March 17, 1859, but was changed back to "South Mountain Railroad" on May 21, 1873. On April 11, 1868, the
South Side Railroad was incorporated to connect the South Mountain Railroad, at the border of
Berks and
Lehigh Counties (near Hamburg) to the
Delaware River, via Lehigh, Moore, or Plainfield Townships in
Northampton County. Around 1872, these lines were taken over to become part of the
Poughkeepsie Bridge Route. Grading began on the South Mountain Railroad between
Rockville and
Linglestown, and the corporate enrollment tax was paid for the South Side Railroad in 1873. However, the collapse of the Bridge Route plans in the
Panic of 1873 brought work to a halt. On February 16, 1874, President William H. Bell announced that the company would also build a branch from
Strausstown to
Reading, via
Bernville, and claimed that two-thirds of the line between Harrisburg and Strausstown was complete. However, the financial climate made it impossible to raise significant funds. Further work appears to have been performed, sporadically, by local interests, who hoped to connect the town of
Fredericksburg with the
Lebanon and Tremont Branch of the
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad at Jonestown. Bridge piers were erected for the crossing of
Swatara Creek, a cut was excavated to the north of Jonestown, and some culverts were constructed and grading done on the route to Fredericksburg. However, the company was forced to auction off its personal property in October 1877, and in February 1880, "the rights-of-way, leases and passenger cars were sold." The company does not appear to have laid track or operated. The remaining assets of the company were sold to the
Pennsylvania and New England Railroad later that year. Another account claims that the charter was sold to the
Harrisburg and New England Railroad at a sheriff's sale on November 30, 1888. Despite its financial collapse and dismantling, the shell of the company was reorganized on August 8, 1893 as the
Blue Mountain Railroad, on August 12, 1901, as the
Harrisburg and South Mountain Railroad, which was inactive by 1912. While the piers and grading west of Fredericksburg are still visible, the cut through Jonestown was used as a garbage dump and later filled to form Swatara Drive. LIDAR and terrain maps can show various parts of the railroad as far westward as Susquehanna Township in Dauphin county, and an old railbed in Bernville can be visible following Northkill Creek on the opposite side of Route 183. ==External links==