Editor’s Note: As part of my rethinking of the blog, I decided to create a series dedicated to research. Field Notes will be a place for me to keep resources, notes, maps, and photographs of various topics. My first Field Note post is about the defunct village of Bentley Springs.
Over the next several posts, I will be discussing an imagineered project that I have enjoyed working on over the past few years when I decide to do some Model Railroading. The Northern Maryland Railway was “born” while walking along the NCR Hike and Bike trail in northern Baltimore county in Maryland and Southern York county in Pennsylvania. Bentley Springs, once upon a time a village that contained a passenger and separate freight station, as well as a 40 room hotel and water bottling plant is a short distance to the east of where we live. We usually start our trek from the parking lot and either go north or south from there. Within the area the village once occupied there are three short bridges over Beetree Run and a cut. Beetree Run, Bentley Road, and the NCR/PRR right of way all navigate their way through a rather small stream valley.
Recently Graham wanted to go “ down to the trail” to take pictures of the beaver dam and hopefully the beaver for a science project. I had been wanting to take pictures of the south end of Bentley Springs as well because the cut and first bridge area make for an excellent transition from staging to visible layout. I took a lot of pictures and we have some historical photographs to dig up as well so this first episode will most likely run over several posts.
Let’s start “Railroad South” at the cut and move maybe hundred yard or less to the first bridge. Just south of the cut is a fourth bridge.






Field Notes: Bentley Springs @ January 2021

Field Notes: Bentley Springs @January 2021
By H. Mathews