Delaware Railroad Co. - Specimen Stock Certificate

Specimen Stock. Printed by American Bank Note Company. The Delaware Railroad served as the principal railway in the state of Delaware, operating from the mid-1850s until 1976 and spanning nearly the entire state from north to south. It commenced operations in Porter and was extended southward through Dover and Seaford, ultimately reaching Delmar on the Maryland border in 1859. Although it functioned independently, the railroad was leased in 1857 to the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad, which subsequently came under the ownership of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1881. In 1891, the line was further extended northward by approximately 14 miles (23 km) through the acquisition of existing tracks to New Castle and Wilmington. It remained integrated within the PRR system and later with Penn Central until 1976, when Penn Central declared bankruptcy, leading to its incorporation into Conrail. 

The inception of the railroad can be traced back to 1836, when John M. Clayton, a former United States senator, secured a charter from the Delaware General Assembly aimed at serving the Delmarva Peninsula. Clayton was apprehensive that a competing proposal in Maryland to construct a railway along the western side of the peninsula would adversely affect Delaware's economy. In response, Delaware took proactive measures by exempting the railroad from taxation for fifty years and offering additional incentives. Clayton, along with William D. Waples and Richard Mansfield, was appointed as commissioners to oversee the project, and a survey of the proposed line was conducted. However, the economic downturn of 1837-1839 hindered investment in the railroad, resulting in the forfeiture of the charter.