Hanover Junction

Hanover Junction

Hanover Junction is the second main destination of the NCR line. This station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and the station was reconstructed in 2003. This building also hosts a railroad museum that is managed by the York County Parks Department. This station is known for it’s famous visit of President Abraham Lincoln. 

Hanover Junction was built in 1851 to accommodate the interchange between the Hanover Branch and the Northern Central Railroads. The Hanover Branch Railroad ran from Hanover Junction to the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Hanover Junction itself was very tiny, as it only featured the Passenger Station, a small hotel, and a handful of houses. Passenger Station also served as the freight office for the Hanover Branch Railroad, as well as a telegraph operator training school. Hanover Junction also featured a small railyard with siding and a turntable to allow locomotives to change which way they were facing.

Hanover Junction played a large part in the Civil War. During the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, both soldiers and supplies were transferred from the Northern Central Railroad to the Hanover Branch Railroad at Hanover Junction to complete the journey to Gettysburg. Wounded soldiers were evacuated from the battlefields by rail to hospitals in both Harrisburg and Baltimore. The Northern Central was a target of the Confederate forces during the summer of 1863, with the railroad bridge over the Codorus Creek in Hanover Junction being destroyed, along with the turntable located in the yard. 

When rail service diminished in the latter half of the 20th century, the depot area of the town was abandoned. 

Hanover Junction is located 10 miles the New Freedom Station, one hour one way or two and half hours round trip. Passengers typically have the opportunity to deboard the train at this station to check our the museum and park for a 20 minute layover. NCR has passing tracks just one mile north of the station in Seven Valleys for runaround operations. 

Excursions with the destination of Hanover Junction:

  • Hanover Junction Flyer
  • Hanover Junction Flyer Special
  • Hanover Junction Flyer Aboard the Trail Sisters
  • Fall Foliage Hanover Junction Flyer

Hanover Junction, November 18th, 1863 (Library of Congress)

Hanover Junction, 2021 (Photo by Greg Pawelski)

Hanover Junction, 1880 (Library of Congress)

Hanover Junction, 2021 (Photo by Greg Pawelski)

Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania (Photo by Scott Butcher)