Friends of the Pennsylvania Railroad Goldsboro, MD Station

11/18/2024

When I began Friends of Friends of the Pennsylvania Railroad Goldsboro, MD Station's Facebook presence over a decade ago I was a resident of Maryland's Eastern Shore and eager to contribute to railroad preservation and advocacy wherever possible.

I left MES in 2014 returning to my hometown of Philadelphia. In 2015, I joined the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers, an all volunteer public transportation advocacy organization whose over 50 years of dedication have helped advocate for, guide, and influence SEPTA, NJ TRANSIT, and Delaware's DART transit system.

I have served on DVARP's Board of Directors since 2016 and am currently DVARP's vice President.

I invite you all to visit DVARP's Facebook presence (below) or website at www.dvarp.org to see how our advocacy shapes public transit in the Mid-Atlantic region and encourage you to support DVARP.

https://www.facebook.com/PhillyDVARP?mibextid=ZbWKwL

We are a member-supported group that advocates for improved and expanded SEPTA, PATCO, NJ Transit, and Amtrak service in southeastern Pennsylvania, central and southern New Jersey, and Delaware.

11/14/2024

Welcome aboard to Friends of the Pennsylvania Railroad Goldsboro, MD Station!

The wood-frame starion was built by the Delaware and Chesapeake Railway (a Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary company) c. 1890 for the farming community of Goldsboro, MD as a passenger station and community meeting-place. It sat upon the 'Oxford Branch' of the 'Delaware Division' of the Pennsylvania Railroad and was once adjoined by a smaller, wood-frame freight station building (demolished between 1929 and 1949, exact date unknown).

Goldsboro Station was in constant service from c. 1890 until 1949 when diminishing freight and passenger volumes on the 'Oxford Branch' forced the Pennsylvania Railroad to close the station when the last passenger trains were discontinued. The station building was sold, as were others along the branch, during the 1950s and moved from its original location for other purposes.

Since that time the building has been moved several times around Caroline County. In the esrly 1980s it was moved to a neighboring town, Henderson, MD, where it was meant to serve as a gatehouse for a new tract-development residential community. It's long residence in Henderson led to confusion as to what building was actually the original station building in Henderson!

Later, a company planning a new tract-development community in Goldsboro returned the building to Goldsboro to serve as a conctruction office for their community. Engineering and planning issues prevented the construction of the community and the building was turned over to the government of Goldsboro and sits on property they own. The building has since sat derelict and deteriorating with an unsure future.

Friends of the Pennsylvania Railroad Goldsboro, MD Station worked with a local historian in 2011 who provided access to the structure and drawings of the existing structure and ideas for preservation opportunities were discussed informally.

The Friends attempted to form a grass-roots committee to support and advance preservation of the station building at that time; while this Facebook group evolved from those initial ideas, the committee failed to develop public interest and dissolved in 2013.

The founder of Friends has maintained this Facebook presence to show continued support for long-term preservation and rehabilitation of the station building and to help preserve the history of the station for generations to come!

Please remember to thumbs up and like our page to show your support for the history and provenance of this great old station building!

11/13/2024

It has been brought to the attention of administrator of this group that the town of Goldsboro has recently issued an RFP to restore the historic railroad station building at Railroad Park where it will be used for tourism and other community purposes.

While Friends of the Pennsylvania Railroad Goldsboro, MD Station supports this initiative, we have not been asked to consult or provide input of any kind or do we have access to plans or other documents pertaining to the current initiative.

03/31/2024

Friends of Goldsboro Station warmly welcomes the 20 new members/followers of the last two weeks!

I started this group almost a decade ago when I was working to form a committee to preserve Goldsboro Station ans create a railroad around it.

Sadly I was unable to find local support and the project and proposal ceased. I continue to maintain this page as a tribute to the station and its history and upload relevant information as I find it.

I no longer live on the Eastern Shore so I welcome contributions.

01/27/2023

Kids in grades K through 6 will learn and enjoy the Virtual Train Tour: The GP30 on Tuesday, January 31 from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. ET. Guided by an educator, they’ll investigate the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania’s historic GP30 locomotive No. 2233, visit the cab, where the workers control the train, and explore some behind-the-scenes places like the catwalk and maintenance areas. There’s time for Q&A at the end of the program. Admission is by donation. Register today. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-train-tour-the-gp30-tickets-479960674297

12/20/2022

Lewes, Delaware is set to create a memorial park to the historic and recently abandoned railroad service to the city. It has been brought to our attention that a cabin car of Pennsylvania Railroad heritage has been partially restored to its original appearance after its last active use on DCLR and has been moved to a truck for transit to Lewes. We have also heard this is to be joined by a steam locomotive, both for static display, very shortly. At present we do not have confirmed details on the steam locomotive in question except that one exists.

08/03/2021

In the most preliminary of steps in a long shot bid, Democratic Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen said Monday that they have secured language in a massive infrastructure package that would allow the project to be revisited as part of billions of dollars in capital investment grants.

12/11/2020

Creating a unified brand and fare policy for the Washington region's commuter rail systems could help reduce travel times and improve economic development opportunities over the next few decades, according

04/23/2020

Following is a survey regarding public transportation station buildings mixed with other uses. Your participation in this survey is voluntary and without the guarantee of financial compensation or any other reward. Your answers will be confidential and the results used to determine public interest r...

04/08/2020

A study is being conducted regarding expanding passenger railroad services in New Jersey, the survey takes five minutes or less to complete, please take this survey and share your opinion!

A proposal to significantly expand commuter rail passenger services is currently being developed. This service would impact connections to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York, New York and would connect to communities/regions in New Jersey currently under-served or not served by public transit (...