History of Railroading in Salisbury
The first attempt at putting a railroad on the Eastern Shore was when the Eastern Shore Railroad obtained a charter in 1836. They even had money printed and the few remaining examples of this currency are extremely rare today, though some are known to exist. The Panic of 1837 scuttled the plans for the building of the railroad until the economy improved.
The Delaware Railroad had reached Delmar by 1859, and the Eastern Shore Railroad brought the line to Salisbury, but the outbreak of the Civil War delayed extending the line past Salisbury until after the war ended. When the war ended, the Eastern Shore Railroad renewed their original plans and ran track to Princess Anne and then on to Somers Cove, which was then renamed Crisfield in honor of the president of the railroad, John W. Crisfield.
After several profitable years, and the extension of the line to Pocomoke, the Eastern Shore Railroad failed and its lines were taken over by the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad. By 1884, the NYP & N had extended the line down the Peninsula to Cape Charles. Its depot in Salisbury was located on the west side of the tracks between Isabella and Williams streets.
Another venture, the Wicomico and Pocomoke Railroad had incorporated in 1864 and completed its first line in 1868. The first terminals were at Salisbury and Berlin but eventually continued on to Ocean City. This company was eventually sold in 1888 to the Baltimore and Eastern Shore Railroad. Then the Baltimore and Eastern Shore Railroad failed financially and their assets were sold at public auction on August 29, 1894. The Baltimore, Chesapeake and Atlantic was formed by new backers who were closely allied with the Pennsylvania Railroad which acquired a controlling interest in 1902. They had a depot in Salisbury separate from the north-south line of the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk. It was located near where the tracks cross N. Division St.
There were two other stops in Salisbury which are now just a faint memory. One was Fulton Station which was located just north of Rt. 50 on the east side of Mill St.. This was used mainly for the import of large purchases by the leading wholesale dealers in the area. The other was Byrd Siding which was located at the far end of W. Main St. where it connects with Nanticoke Road. This was used mainly for shipping the large quantities of produce grown locally.
As the use of the railroad grew, a new station was erected in 1914 to replace the two smaller ones. This was named Union Station and the first ticket agent was Rollie W. Hastings. He also sold the last ticket when the Pennsylvania Railroad discontinued passenger service in 1958. He also served Salisbury as mayor from 1950-58.
The structure that was Union Station is still standing and is currently owned by brothers Tom and John Knorr who also own The Red Roost in Clara, Boonie’s in Tyaskin and Sobo’s on South Division Street in Salisbury. They planned to restore and put a brew pub in the former Union Station until the impact fees from the city of Salisbury made the project unrealistic.
