There is a great trail in Baltimroe City called the Jones Falls trail and it is linked into the NCR but not directly.  The NCR is awesome as well as the jones falls Bike path and the jones Falls Bike path takes you around the city in designated bike paths. The NCR is a great 42 mile bike ride starting in Ashland/Cockeysville, Maryland and ending in York Pa with no traffic at all and only a few road crossings that are safe. This time, we started from Glenn Rock but for the blog I will start from the beginning in Ashland, Maryland and take you to York on the NCR and Heritage trail.  The Norther Central Railroad provided an important link between Washington, D.C. and points along the northern path to Lake Ontario and upstate New York. It was built in 1832, ran between Baltimore and Sunbury Pa, passing through York and Harrisburg Pa. and was one of the oldest rail lines in the country. The railway serviced the growing Baltimore, York and Harrisburg industries, had 46 stops, 22 of which were in Maryland, and operated for 134 years. During the Civil War, the railroad was a target of the Confederate Army before the Battle of Gettysburg. The Confederate Army’s troops tried to isolate the Union’s capital by damaging the railroad, telegraph wires and bridges. On November 18 and 19, 1863, President Lincoln traveled on the railroad and stopped at Hanover Junction before giving the Gettysburg Address. His burial schedule is attached further on down.

Increasing truck and automobile transportation marked the decline of the railroad, and in 1972 Hurricane Agnes washed out bridges and made the line impassable. In 1984, the DNR converted the abandoned right-of-way into a multi-use trail. The trail is really nice and is about 10 feet wide with a stone dust surface and the surface allows one to ride after a rain and we listen to great music along the trail and the scene is beautiful below 

 

TODAY: Northern Central Railroad trail or (NCR) starts in Cockeysville and as it crosses the Pennsylvania border is called the heritage trail and it ends in York, Pennsylvania and is about 42 miles or 84 miles round trip. On the Pennsylvania side:  The York County Heritage Rail Trail is located along railroad tracks that operate as a tourist train.  

Cockeysville (the start of the NCR) was named after the Cockey family who helped establish the town.  Joshua Frederick Cockey (1765–1821) built one of the first homes in the area in 1798 and built the first commercial structure, a hotel, in 1810 in what would become the village of Cockeysville. His son, Judge Joshua F. Cockey (1800–1891), was a lifelong resident in the village. As a businessman, in the 1830s he built the train station. The current trail is designated as the “Hall of Fame” for “Rails to Trails”

 

The NCR Rail to Trail, follows the Gunpowder river for much of the way towards Pennsylvania providing beautiful views along the way

While the train operated over those 134 years, it encouraged the growth of small towns such as: Ashland, Phoenix, Sparks, Glencoe, Corbett, Monkton, White Hall, Parkton, Bentley Springs, and Freeland. In Sparks,  John Wilkes Booth (who assented President Lincoln ) went to school at the Milton Boarding school which is now the Milton Inn below

During the Civil War, the Pennsylvania Railroad served as a major transportation route for supplies, food, clothing, and material, as well as troops heading to the South from Camp Curtin and other Northern military training stations. Hundreds of Union soldiers were transported south on the railroad. Abraham Lincoln traveled on the Northern Central on his way to deliver his famous Gettysburg Address, and later his body would be transported to Harrisburg via these same rails after his assassination by John Wilkes Booth 

Also Wallis Warfield Simpson who married King Edward 8th causing the king to abdicate went to school at Oldfields School and that school is still operating in Sparks and is very close. We passed the old Monkton railroad station below.  

 

Those towns had operating businesses and below is a photo of an old bank that operated in Parkton decades ago that is now converted to a home 

The Railroad was a major link in the exchange of goods between these rural communities and the City of Baltimore. These included flour, paper, milk and farm products, coal, and later the U.S. Mail. Because of the rail road there were hotels and guest houses  along the route like the one below that is now a personal home in Monkton

The width of the trial allows for two way bike , hike and horseback riding .

The trail also provides access for fishing, tubing, kayaking and canoeing along the gunpowder.  Here we are kayaking and there is a man fly fishing up ahead

The Pennsylvania Side:  After one crosses into Pennsylvania,  it continues another 20 miles to York Pennsylvania and in Pennsylvania it is called the “Heritage Trail”  and you ride beside rail road tracks (below) that are used today and it continues for another 20 miles 

New Freedom is the first town one rolls into after crossing from Maryland and here one can ride the train. One can take a train ride to Stewartstown or up the track to York and I would recommend this activity . We have taken the train and it is great fun

The train passed us on our last trip above at New Freedom, Railroad and Glenn Rock and we stayed in Glenn Rock Inn and it was located on the tracks/trail so perfect 

The Glen Rock Inn below and dinnig was great and our rooms were great 

We dined at the Glen Rock Inn and the food and ambiance was fantastic

In Glen Rock town there is an art center that has great art

 

The Glen Rock Carol singers (below) are famous here and the entire town participates. The Carol singing tradition has continued in Glen Rock unbroken since 1848 and has a strong following 

Along the way, there are a variety of places to stay along the way like the Jackson house below in Railroad PA. 

From here we rode North along great trails

and passed through  a cool tunnel 90