Monkton Train Station and Torrey C Brown Rail Trail

Hours: Dawn to Dusk

Station:

• 9AM to 4PM, Wednesday - Sunday, Memorial Day to Labor Day
• 9AM to 4PM, Saturday and Sunday only in May and September

--  All dogs must be leashed.

The Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail follows 19.7 miles of the former Northern Central Railway (NCR) in northern Baltimore County, Maryland north to the Maryland-Pennsylvania line, passing through historic communities including  Ashland, Phoenix, Monkton, White Hall, Bentley Springs and Freeland. Hikers, joggers, bicyclists, horseback rider and pets on leashes are welcome.  The Torrey C. Trail Brown Trail is ADA accessible. 

The NCR, built in 1832, ran between Baltimore, Maryland and Sunbury, Pennsylvania, 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 140 years. It carried passengers, vacationers, and freight between Baltimore and York or Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. During the Civil War, the Pennsylvania Railroad, controlled Northern Central 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. Also during the war, confederate troops repeatedly damaged parts of the NCR tracks to interrupt Union supplies from reaching Union troops  

After Hurricane Agnes destroyed much of the NCR tracks in 1972, the path of former tracks became a giant trash heap and “recreation - and not the wholesome variety park rangers like to promote.”  And the land remained in this state until the right of way was purchased by the state through the Program Open Space in 1980. It was about this time a national trend was emerging of converting old railroad right of ways into recreational trails.  

The Northern Central Railway (NCR) Trail officially changed its name to the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail in 2007. Change is a hard thing for many folks, and the name of the trail is offering strong evidence.  What is behind the name change? Why is it important we begin to convert our use of its proper name? Perhaps we should take a look behind the name itself to sort it out, and we are confident you will embrace the official name, too.

Torrey C. Brown was one of those visionary folks like Benton McKay, who envisioned what would become known as the Appalachian Trail. A foot path that stretches from Georgia to Maine providing a challenge to the hearty who attempt to tackle its more than 2000 miles; to those who are content to sample smaller segments. Thus was vision for the former rail bed of the Northern Central Railway.

Torrey C. Brown was born in Chicago and earned his undergraduate degree from Wheaton and then began medical school at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He remained at Hopkins for further work and joined the faculty in 1974. Expanding his reach into politics, he won election as a Delegate in 1970.  By 1979 he was chair of the House Environmental Matters Committee. In 1983 Governor Harry Hughes named him secretary of natural resources.  He remained in this position being reappointed by Governor William D. Scheafer in 1986 and 1990.

In the top spot for Maryland’s environmental concerns, Dr. Brown was known for leading courageous battles on behalf of the state’s natural resources. He placed heavy focus on the Chesapeake Bay, strip mining, and the controversial moratorium on harvesting rockfish in 1984.  But, one of his top achievements, in his mind, was Program Open Space. This effort was designed to preserve wildlife and land.

The majority of the trail is nearly 20 miles and is 10 feet wide with a smooth surface of crushed limestone. Mile 0 of the Trail is located just off of Maryland Route 145 (Ashland Road).

About this cache:

You are searching for answers to find: N39 35.ABC W076 36.DEF

Stage 1: North Central Railroad Trail

Question: How many years were there between when the North Central Railroad was completed and when is was converted to a Rail Trail?

Take this number and MINUS 44. This number is ABC

Stage 2: NCR Commemorative Bricks

Question: Record how many bricks have the following engraved in them.

• Bicycles (All representations)  (X)
• Dogs​​​​​​, not paw prints, including sponsors bricks (Y)

Take this two digit number (XY) and ADD 572. This number is DEF.

FINAL

Coordinates: N39 35.ABC W076 36.DEF

Thus cache page does have a certitude checker. It is not showing up on some geocaching apps. Since there is cell service in the list area, we recommend opening this cache page on geocaching.com to access the certitude checker.

The cache is up the trail. Please rehide as well as found or better. Be careful of thorns.

Information about the NCR trail and the Civil War can be found HERE.