Frederick Branch (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad)

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The Frederick Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad runs from Frederick Junction on the west side of the Monocacy River to its terminus at South Street in downtown Frederick, Maryland. The branch officially was opened in December of 1831 with a ceremonial train (pulled by horses) carrying directors of the company and various politicians arriving from Baltimore.

The branch first provided a rapid means for the many mills in the city to ship flour to Baltimore for sale. Over the years outbound freight traffic diversified to include milk, bricks, limestone and some manufactured goods from Frederick. The branch connected with two other railroads within Frederick. The Pennsylvania Railroad connected near East Street and South Street in downtown Frederick and the Hagerstown and Frederick Railway connected near the small B&O Railroad yard and terminal along South Street in downtown Frederick. Passenger service lasted until November of 1949 and the branch gradually fell into disrepair as local customers switched to trucks. As of 2006 the only remaining freight customer on the branch is Wickes Lumber which receives car loads of building materials via a local freight.

In December of 2001 passenger traffic returned to Frederick in the form of MARC commuter trains. The state of Maryland funded upgrades to the Frederick Branch and to the portion of the Old Main Line that ran from Frederick Junction to Point of Rocks. A small yard was also constructed along Reichs Ford Road with capacity for three entire train sets. Two new stations were constructed to handle passengers, one in downtown Frederick near the original branch terminus at South Street and another located behind a shopping center near Frederick Junction.

[edit] Sources

  • Harwood, Herbert. Impossible Challenge II. Baltimore, MD: Barnard Roberts and Co., 1994.
  • Dilts, James D. The Great Road: The Building of the Baltimore and Ohio, the Nation's First Railroad, 1828-1853 Stanford University Press, 1996.
  • The Sentinel The Quarterly Publication of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Historical Society. Vol. 23 No. 4 "Passenger Trains Return to Frederick." [1]
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