More Trains - The Mason-Dixon Line

We hiked the last section of the Heritage Rail Trail today - starting at Mile 3 in Railroad, PA and hiking to mile 0 in New Freedom, PA - a six mile round trip hike.  Mile 0 is at the Maryland/PA border and the Mason-Dixon Line.   All of the trains and the train museum are in New Freedom, PA - nothing in Railroad, PA - go figure - somebody missed a marketing opportunity on that one. 

New Freedom Train Station (and museum) - restored to I believe its 1940's appearance.

Railroad worker Lodging cars equipped with bunks, kitchen, and an office - designed by PRR - from the 30's and 40's.

The Party Caboose

 Railway Office

Restored passenger cars (late 1800's)

An old diesel engine

The Mason-Dixon Line - terminus of the York County Heritage Rail Trail (PA) and the Northern Central Railroad Trail (MD)

York County Heritage Rail Trail Map (Pennsylvania)

Northern Central Railroad Trail Map (Maryland)

Darby in Maryland and Donna in Pennsylvania - which state's leash law is applicable here?  Just a question for a sharp legal mind.   Of course we did the traditional one foot in Maryland and one foot in Pennsylvania dance (now I'm in MD, Now I'm in PA, etc., and, now I'm in the North, now I'm in the South, etc.)  and a reenactment of the Geico, Bristol, VA/TN commercial - now if standing in both simultaneously would I be in Maryvania or Pennsyland?

Glen Rock, PA - Restored Steam Train

We went back to the Heritage Rail Trail this morning to do another section of the trail and just happened to be in Glen Rock when the excursion train came through.  This is one of the nicest restored steam engines I have seen.  

Abe Lincoln Was Here, Birthplace Of Ice Cream, 12 Foot Bicycles

We have been walking different sections of the Heritage Rail Trail that runs from York to the Maryland border - about 21 miles.  We have done 4, 3 mile sections (6 mile walk out and back) so far. I haven't put them on the blog except for the Howard Tunnel section because, although they are nice walking trails, they are for the most part not that remarkable.  The one we walked this morning did have a few points of interest.

We started at Hanover Junction Station that has been restored to its 1860's appearance and is notable as Abe Lincoln changed trains here on his way to Gettysburg in 1863 for the dedication of the National Cemetery. 

Hanover Junction Station

Life size abstract horse and rider at the station. 

About a mile up the tracks in Seven Valleys, PA, we came across the birthplace of commercial ice cream production - who knew? 

A little further up we came to 3 very large bicycles made of scrap materials.

The high wheeler is about 12 feet high.

Darby and me for scale.

Ephrata Cloister - Ephrata, PA

We visited the Ephrata Cloister in Ephrata, PA which was founded by Conrad Beissel in 1732.  This was a religious community with some similarities to the Shakers (some major differences too) but not connected to them in any way.  Click Here for a detailed description from Wikipedia.  We were very impressed with the place - it is definitely worth seeing if you are ever in the area.  Many of the buildings are original with minor restorations and a majority of the contents are original to the community. 

 Welcome Center and Gift Shop

Marker on Conrad Beisel's grave in the on-site cemetery.

 The Saron (Sisters House) and The Saal (Meeting House)

The Saal

The Saron

The Carpenter's House

Inside The Saron

Inside The Saron

 Inside The Saron

Inside The Saron

Inside The Saron

An original copy of the Martyr's Mirror, a book about the sufferings of the Pennsylvania Amish that was printed at the Ephrata Cloister in 1748.   The book had the distinction of being the largest book ever printed in Colonial America.   The book was printed by the Cloister for the Amish community.

 Printing Office

Printing Office

Woodworking Shop

Small Stable

The Bakery

The Weaver's Shop

Cemetery

Haines Shoe House - Hallam, PA

On the way to see Ephrata Cloister (this will be a later post) we stopped to see the Haines Shoe House, just outside of York.  Unfortunately it was closed for the season so we just got a picture from the outside.   

The following is a description from Wikipedia.  

The Haines Shoe House is a shoe-shaped house in Hallam, Pennsylvania, along the Lincoln Highway. Modeled after a work boot, the house was built by shoe salesman Mahlon Haines in 1948 as a form of advertisement. Among his various companies, he owned a company that likes to claim that they raised boots "hoof-to-hoof" because the company did the boot making process starting with raising the cattle. The house, which is 25 feet (7.6 m) tall and contains five stories, was once rented out to couples, and is now open for public tours. It is located on Shoe House Road, next to a shoe-shaped doghouse.  Haines had the building built by handing a work boot to an architect saying, "Build me a house like this. He lived in the shoe house for a short while but ended up moving into a house across the street. The renters were served by a maid and butler and then received free pairs of shoes when they left. A Shoe House vacation contest was held which was won in 1950 and had all expenses paid by Mahlon Haines.    The living room is located in the toe, the kitchen is located in he heel, two bedrooms are located in the ankle, and an ice cream shop is located in the instep. When Mahlon decided to sell the house, it started going to ruin until it was bought by his granddaughter Annie Haines Keller in 1987. The current owners are Jeff and Melanie Schmuck who bought the house in 2015. The house received a small renovation and new paint in 2007. There is also a stained glass panel that shows Mahlon holding a pair of shoes with a message below it that reads, "Haines the Shoe Wizard". During the 2004 opening after the Farabaughs bought the property, boy scouts ran Easter egg hunts there. Mahlon's family told stories about their relative and an author sold copies of his book The Life and Times of Mahlon Haines.

The Shoe House was visited in the eighth season of the reality television series The Amazing Race and was featured on HGTV's What's With That House?. The Farabaughs were happy about the publicity though not permitted to talk about the house's appearance on The Amazing Race until two years later.

Ben Franklin Campground

We arrived at the Ben Franklin RV Park in York, PA on Monday afternoon.  The park doesn't have a lot of amenities but is otherwise quite nice.  It is owned by a young couple (the husband is Ben Franklin - at least that is his first and middle name) who are doing a lot of renovations and improvements and I am sure they will be successful with it.      

The Entrance

Our Site

The new club house under construction

Huge fountain and waterfall - quite impressive with the waterfall running - unfortunately it wasn't running when I took the pics.

One big Pennsylvania lizard

The waterfall comes out over the Panda on this side and out of the urn on the other side. 

One of Punxsutawney Phil's cousins

Life size sow bench