Milton-Ellendale segment of Queen Anne’s Railroad still functional

In January 2019, Delmarva Central Railroad took over operation of the railroad spur line between Ellendale - where it joins with the Norfolk Southern network - and Milton. That railroad spur line is the last active segment of the old Queen Anne’s Railroad, which in the late 1800s and early 1900s extended from Love Point on Kent Island on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to the Queen Anne Pier in Lewes.

Under contract with Delaware’s Department of Transportation, Delmarva Central - successor to the Delaware Coast Line Railroad - has recently been making improvements to the Ellendale to Milton section. The railroad transports propane tanker cars to Baker Petroleum, which has a propane depot on Route 30 a mile or so south of the Route 16 intersection.

This photograph from 1901 shows a new passenger and mail car constructed for Queen Anne’s Railroad by the Jackson and Sharp manufacturing facility in Wilmington.