York Railway (YRC/YKR)
The York Railway (YRC) is a Class 3 shortline operating 42 miles of track in and around York, Pa.. It was created in 1999 through a consolidation of Yorkrail, Inc. (YKR) and the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad (M&P), affectionately known by railfans as “The Ma & Pa.” In 2002 the Genesee & Wyoming Inc. gained control of the whole company.
Most of the M&P’s original line from York to Baltimore has long since been abandoned, however a small piece is still operated in York.
The York Railway operates on two parallel main lines that extend southwest from York to CSX interchanges. The M&P’s main line is an an ex-Pennsylvania Railroad line it acquired from the Penn Central Transportation Company in 1976 and it begins at a connection with the Norfolk Southern in York and runs to CSX at Hanover.
The Yorkrail line which runs from a junction with the M&P in York to the CSX at Porters, was opened in 1893 by the Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway (Eastern Extension), a predecessor of the Western Maryland Railway, and sold by CSX to Yorkrail in 1989.