Western Maryland Railway

The Western Maryland Railway (reporting mark WM) was an American Class I railroad which operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation. The WM became part of the Chessie System in 1973 and ceased operating its lines in 1983 when it was merged into the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.^[2] The B&O itself was then merged into C&O on August 31, 1987,^[3] before the C&O merged with the Seaboard System Railroad to legally form CSX Transportation on September 2, 1987.

History

Main line: Baltimore to Hagerstown

The original main line began with the chartering of the Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Railroad in 1852, with the intent of building a rail line from Baltimore west to Washington County, Maryland. The Maryland General Assembly changed the name of the company to the Western Maryland Rail Road Company in 1853, and construction began from Owings Mills in 1857.^[1] An existing Northern Central Railway branch line terminating at Owings Mills was used to connect into Baltimore. The railroad was completed to Westminster in 1861 and Union Bridge in 1862. Further expansion was delayed because of the Civil War. Westward construction resumed in 1868, and the line was completed to Hagerstown in 1872. This section became the East Subdivision. The company's first major car shops were established at Union Bridge.^[4]

In 1873 the WM built its own line from Owings Mills to Fulton Junction in Baltimore, and obtained trackage rights from the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad (B&P) for the remaining two miles of the route eastward to Union Station (later called Penn Station). It built a branch east of Union Station to Hillen Station, which opened in 1876 and became the company headquarters. The WM built a connection from Hagerstown to Williamsport, in order to access coal traffic from the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.^[4]

Extensions in Maryland and Pennsylvania

Under the leadership of company president John Mifflin Hood, the railway made its first extension into Pennsylvania by leasing a line from Edgemont, Maryland, to Waynesboro and Shippensburg. This line became the Lurgan Subdivision and was leased from the Baltimore and Cumberland Valley Railroad in 1881, and was connected to the Harrisburg and Potomac Railroad in 1886.^[1]:41

A second route into Pennsylvania, the Hanover Subdivision, was acquired by the WM when it gained control of the Baltimore and Hanover Railroad, and the Gettysburg Railroad, in late 1886. This line connected to the WM main at Emory Grove, proceeded north to Hanover and Gettysburg, then southwest to connect again to the WM at Highfield, Maryland, near the Pennsylvania border. A branch from Porters to York, Pennsylvania was completed in 1893; this became the York Subdivision.^[1]:42

The WM established a connection with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in 1892 with the opening of the Potomac Valley Rail Road (controlled by WM) between Williamsport and Big Pool, Maryland. This connection brought a major increase in through-freight traffic.^[4]:42 Construction of an extension from Hagerstown to Cumberland began in 1903 and completed in 1906. This became the West Subdivision. To service the expanded system, the WM built a major shop complex at Hagerstown in 1909, with a roundhouse, machine shops and related facilities. Rail yards at Hagerstown were also expanded.^[4]

Expansion plans

The Fuller Syndicate, led by George Gould, purchased a controlling interest in the WM in 1902 and made plans for westward expansion of the system.^[1]:42-43

In 1904 the WM completed construction of a large marine terminal at Port Covington, on the Patapsco River in Baltimore, to support the Gould organization's expansion plans. The terminal facilities included coal, grain and merchandise piers, overhead cranes, 11 rail yards, warehouses, a roundhouse, a turntable and a machine shop. In the 1920s rotary dumpers for coal and coke were installed, and a large grain elevator.^[4]:13-14

In 1907 the syndicate acquired several railroad companies, including the George's Creek and Cumberland Railroad (GC&C), which had built a line west through the Cumberland Narrows, and then south to Lonaconing, Maryland.^[1]:47-48 Using the portion of the line through the Narrows, the Connellsville Extension was built west from Cumberland to Connellsville, Pennsylvania, beginning around 1906 and it was completed in 1912. At Connellsville the WM connected with the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE). In 1915 the WM obtained trackage rights on a B&O line from Bowest Junction (2 miles south of Connellsville) to Chiefton, West Virginia, which provided access to coal mines in the area west of Fairmont, West Virginia.

The GC&C line provided the WM with access to mines in the Georges Creek Valley. In 1927 the WM abandoned some of the GC&C track and accessed additional mines in the area through trackage rights on the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad (C&P).^[1]:51 In 1944 the WM purchased the C&P, and formally merged the operations in 1953.^[4]:68

Although never a giant, the Connellsville subdivision of WM handled through midwest fast freight traffic and coal from company-owned mines near Fairmont and Somerset, Pennsylvania.

WM opened a passenger station in Cumberland and one in Hagerstown in 1913. The Cumberland station contained the offices for the Western Division. Today the building is called Canal Place, a facility operated by the National Park Service, and includes the station for the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad and a visitors center for the C&O Canal National Historic Park. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The Hagerstown station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.^[6]

West Virginia coal country

The West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway (WVC&P) began as a narrow gauge line in 1880, its name and gauge changed in 1881 and in the ensuing years it opened a huge swath of timber and coal territory in the Allegheny Highlands of West Virginia. The railroad was directly responsible for the creation of such towns as Davis, Thomas, and Parsons.

In the large valley near the mouth of Leading Creek and the Tygart Valley River, the WVC&P constructed the city of Elkins (named after investor Stephen Benton Elkins). Elkins was home to a large rail yard for the railroad and served as the hub of Western Maryland and Chessie System operations in the region well into the 1980s.

The WVC&P was sold to the Fuller Syndicate in 1902 and was merged into the Western Maryland in 1905. Known as the Thomas Subdivision, the line connected to the Western Maryland mainline at Maryland Junction, south of Cumberland. This line, famous for its Black Water Grade in Blackwater Canyon, became an important part of the Western Maryland's success until its eventual abandonment in the 1970s.

The WVC&P established the Coal and Iron Railway (C&I) in 1899 to reach logging operations and a connection with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O). The route left Elkins and the Tygart Valley River drainage by way of a tunnel under Cheat Mountain, followed the Shavers Fork river upstream and then the West Fork Greenbrier River down from its headwaters to Durbin in Pocahontas County, where it connected with the C&O Greenbrier Division. Construction to Durbin was complete by 1903. With the acquisition of the WVC&P in 1905, the C&I became part of WM and this line became the Durbin Subdivision.^[1]:46-47

In 1927 the WM purchased the Greenbrier, Cheat and Elk Railroad, which ran from Cheat Junction, on the Durbin sub, to Bergoo. This line became the GC&E Subdivision. In 1929, WM's purchase of a line from the West Virginia Midland Railway extended the GC&E sub southward to Webster Springs. While these lines were originally built as logging railroads, the WM also used them for coal operations.^[4]

Twentieth century operations

The Fuller Syndicate, facing competition from the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and others, became financially overextended in its expansion plans, and the WM entered receivership in 1908. A new corporation, the Western Maryland Railway Company, was formed and purchased the WM assets in 1909, and the receivership ended in 1910.^[1]:48

In 1931, the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway (P&WV) reached Connellsville to connect with the WM.^[1] The connection enabled the formation of the Alphabet Route, a partnership involving the WM, P&WV and six other railroads that provided competition with larger railroads including the PRR. Today the P&WV is leased by the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway.

The major rail yards on the WM were Jamison Yard at Hagerstown, capacity 3,000 cars, mainly for west-bound traffic; and Knobmount Yard, capacity 1,600 cars, south of Ridgely, West Virginia, mainly for east-bound traffic.^[7][8]

The WM began using diesel locomotives in 1941 for yard operations,^[1] and for regular line use in 1949. It discontinued use of steam locomotives in 1954.^[4]

Dissolution

Passenger service on the WM, which began in 1859, declined significantly in the 1950s. The railway ended passenger service completely in 1959.^[1]:Chp.V In 1964, the C&O and the B&O jointly filed for permission to acquire control of the Western Maryland Railway with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). The ICC approved the acquisition in 1968.^[9]:364 In 1973, as part of the Chessie System, the Western Maryland ownership went to C&O and it was operated by the B&O. The B&O itself merged with the C&O in 1987, which itself became part of CSX Transportation.

Much of the original Western Maryland line west of Big Pool has been abandoned including the 2,375-foot (724 m) summit of the Allegheny Mountains and the Eastern Continental Divide near Deal, Pennsylvania. In addition to CSX, portions of the former WM are now operated by Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad (of note is the D&GV-operated West Virginia Central Railroad, which as of 2007 once again serves the former Elkins Yard, and the restored station there, that was abandoned by CSX in 1992), the Maryland Midland Railway (MMID), Western Maryland Scenic Railroad and York Railway. Other portions are now rail trails. A portion of the former WM right of way within the city of Baltimore is now used by the Baltimore Metro Subway.

In Allegany County, Maryland, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park includes the Western Maryland Railroad Right-of-Way, Milepost 126 to Milepost 160, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.^[6][10]

Subdivisions

At the peak of its operations, in the early to mid-20th century, the WM operated the following major geographical units:^[4]

See also

• Category: Predecessors of the Western Maryland Railway
• List of defunct Maryland railroads
• List of defunct Pennsylvania railroads
• List of defunct West Virginia railroads

References

External links

• Photo tour of Western Maryland Railway
• Western Maryland Story 1952. Written by Harold H. Williams, Contemporary Photography by A. Aubrey Bodine
• Western Maryland Railway Historical Society
• Northern West Virginia's Railroads - Descriptions of Thomas Subdivision and connecting lines
• Baltimore Ghosts: Westward Ho! on the WM - Photos of Hillen Station & Other WM Facilities in Baltimore & Vicinity
• The Western Maryland Railway, 'The Fast Freight Line'
• List and Family Trees of North American Railroads