Both railroads struggled with light freight traffic and financial difficulties in the 1890s. Because of their narrow gauge construction, the Baltimore and Lehigh Railway and York Southern Railroad could not interchange freight cars with other lines. The two companies finally converted to standard gauge between 1898–1900 and subsequently merged to form the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad on February 12, 1901. The result was the circuitous, "Ma and Pa" route between Baltimore and York, compared to the competing Pennsylvania Railroad's more direct distance between the two cities on its Northern Central Railway division. The completed line had grades up to 2.3 percent and 55 sharp curves of (most mainline railroads seldom exceed six degrees, and even the former Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad's mainline through the Rocky Mountains does not exceed 12 degrees).