Dates of operation 1890 (1892?)–1893 Locale Pennsylvania | Successor abandoned | |
Track gauge 4 ft 8 ⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | ||
The Delaware River and Lancaster Railroad, known locally as the Sowbelly Railroad, was a short-lived rail line along French Creek between Kimberton and St. Peters.
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Planned interstate line
The railroad was originally chartered on March 24, 1868, to run from a railroad bridge crossing the Delaware River at Point Pleasant, Pennsylvania, to Lancaster, as part of a more or less direct route between New York City and Lancaster. However, the company was unable to raise funds for construction and the charter languished for some time. By 1883, the railroad was still unbuilt; the building contractor refused to construct it until all of the proposed right of way had been secured. Not for another five years was sufficient money raised (and then only enough for a line extending from Phoenixville to St. Peters, and possibly from there to Lancaster).
Local railroad
Control of the company eventually came into the hands of Davis Knauer, a successful local entrepreneur in northern Chester County, Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1889, contracts were let for construction of a short portion of the route, between a connection with the Pickering Valley Railroad (a Reading subsidiary) near Kimberton, at a point called French Creek Junction, to St. Peters, where it connected with the Warwick Branch of the Wilmington and Northern Railroad. Track was laid in 1890 and the first train ran on November 10. The line largely followed French Creek north of Kimberton, passing through Wilsons Corner, Sheeder, Pughtown, Coventryville, and Knauertown before reaching St. Peters, where it connected with the Wilmington and Northern in a switchback via the spur serving Knauer's black granite quarries.
The line was very lightly graded and built, and its undulations gave rise to the local sobriquet of "Sowbelly Railroad". Knauer intended it as another outlet for black granite from his quarries, and to attract residents of Phoenixville to make outings to his hotel in St. Peters. However, it was operated by the Wilmington and Northern, using a leased Reading engine. Although the railroad projected a 30-mile (48 km) extension into Lancaster in 1893, it narrowly escaped a sheriff's sale in May when its president paid off the damages for which it had been attached. Traffic was low, and service ended on December 1, 1893. The rails remained in place for about a year. In July 1894, the Wilmington and Northern reportedly leased the railroad again and sent out work gangs to put the line back in repair. However, service was never restored. The company entered receivership in the spring of 1895. It was dissolved in 1895 and the rails removed to be sold to John T. Dyer, a railroad contractor and quarryman. The timbers were used for a number of local projects. By 1900, only the ballast (gravel) and some concrete abutments remained.
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