44 miles from Clayton, DE, 10 Miles to Oxford, MD. The Maryland and Delaware Railroad was chartered on May 10, 1854, with the guiding force of General Tench Tilghman, grandson of the Revolutionary War hero. Proposed to connect with the Delaware Railroad main line, construction on the 54-mile line between Smyrna Station (later Clayton), Delaware and Oxford, Maryland commenced on December 27, 1957.

It was proposed to have the entire line completed by the end of 1862. The project was interrupted by the Civil War and construction did not resume until October of 1865. As the railroad approached Easton, residents argued over just where the line should pass. One group wanted the tracks laid right down the main street (Washington Street), while others wanted it built as far from the town center as possible. The surveyors and engineers established the right-of-way east of town which now serves as Easton's Rails to Trails park.

The first train rolled past Mile Post 44 on August 14, 1869. On August 31, 1869 the first freight train departed Easton with peaches headed to markets in New York. Due to poor track conditions on the newly constructed right-of-way, daily passenger service from Easton did not begin until November 15, 1869. The line was completed to Oxford in 1871. The Maryland and Delaware Railroad was sold at foreclosure on December 20, 1877 and later reorganized as the Delaware and Chesapeake Railway Company. In 1882 the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad acquired the railroad. On January 1, 1918 the railroad became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system and was known as the Oxford Branch. Passenger service ended on August 8, 1949 and the track below Easton was abandoned in 1957. In 1968 the ill-fated Penn Central assumed rail operations. Due to bankruptcy, the federally backed Conrail gained control of the little used branch line on April 1, 1976. In 1977 Conrail turned over the Easton line to the Maryland and Delaware Railroad.

The last train departed Easton in 1982, all service was abandoned but the tracks remained intact. In the 1990's the Chesapeake Railroad attempted to reestablish passenger and freight service on the line to Easton, however, no trains operated past Queen Anne, Maryland in 1996 and all service ceased shortly thereafter. The idea of using the rail bed for a trail was first proposed in the Town's 1989 Comprehensive Plan. The first 8/10 of a mile segment was opened in 1997.

By:
Chris Hash