| Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway | |
|---|---|
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WB&A System map |
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| Reporting mark | WB&A |
| Locale | Maryland and Washington, D.C. |
| Dates of operation | 1908–1935 |
| Successor | abandoned |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm)(standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | Annapolis, Maryland |
The Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway (WB&A), now defunct, was an American railroad of central Maryland and Washington, DC built in the 19th and 20th century. The WB&A absorbed two older railroads, the Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad and the Baltimore & Annapolis Short Line, and added its own electric streetcar line between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. It was built by a group of Cleveland, Ohio, electric railway entrepreneurs to serve as a high-speed, showpiece line using the most advanced technology of the time.[1] It served Washington, D.C.; Baltimore, MD and Annapolis, MD for 27 years, but the Great Depression and the rise of the automobile marked the end of the WB&A. Passenger service ceased in 1935 and only the Baltimore & Annapolis portion continued to operate. Parts of the right-of-way are now used for light rail, rail trails and roads.
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The WB&A was originally incorporated in 1888 as The Potomac and Severn Electric Railway. On April 10, 1900, it changed its name to the Washington and Annapolis Electric Railway[2] and finally, on April 8, 1902, to the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway.[3] In 1903 the WB&A purchased the Annapolis, Washington & Baltimore Railroad (AW&B) - formerly the Annapolis & Elkridge Railroad - which was closed, electrified and reopened.[4] At the same time an almost straight double-track route was laid out parallel to the B&O and Pennsylvania railroads, but located slightly to the east in less populated territory. On February 7, 1908 service began running from Liberty Street in Baltimore to its terminal at 15th and H Streets NE in Washington.[5] After 1910 the line reached the heart of downtown on 15th Street near the Treasury.[5] Additional single-track service ran from Annapolis Junction on the B&O, crossed the WB&A main line at a spot just east of Odenton, and headed east to Annapolis via Millersville and Crownsville.[1]
The line built by the WB&A, later called the Main Line, ran from Baltimore to Odenton through Bowie, Glenn Dale Hospital, and Glenarden to Fairmont Heights where it met with the Chesapeake Beach Railway just outside the Washington, D.C., at Chesapeake Junction. From there, it continued to Deanwood on the Washington Railway and Electric Company's Seat Pleasant Line, running parallel to the Chesapeake Beach Railroad tracks and across the Benning Road Bridge into downtown Washington.
Once onto their own right-of-way, the WB&A’s expresses regularly hit 60 mph, but street running in the terminal cities slowed their overall time. A typical B&O express made the trip in 50 minutes, but the best the WB&A could do was an hour and 20 minutes. Offsetting these handicaps were its cleanliness, lower fares, half-hourly express service, and better-located downtown terminals.[1]
Always looking for new sources of business, the railroad, in 1914, convinced the Southern Maryland Agricultural Fair Association to establish Bowie Race Track along the Main Line.[1]
In September 1917, as the U.S. entered World War I, George Bishop, the WB&A’s well-connected president, persuaded the U.S. Army to acquire land owned by the railroad and open a training facility. Camp Meade was established in the area roughly bounded by the B&O Washington Branch on the west, the Pennsylvania Railroad on the east, and the South Shore Line of the WB&A to the south. The installation was supposed to be a temporary facility, used only for the duration of the war (it is still in use today). The WB&A saw record traffic during this time as a result of freight and passenger service to the camp. In 1918, the railroad was running as many as 84 special trains a day.[1]
With the business seemingly successful the WB&A purchased the Baltimore & Annapolis Short Line in 1921.[1] It became known as the North Shore Line and the Annapolis to Odenton line as the South Shore Line. At this time, the B&A gave up the terminus at Camden Station and started using the WB&A terminal on Liberty Street (between Lexington and Fayette) in Baltimore. Prior to 1921 the WB&A and B&A had run on separate, parallel tracks from Linthicum to Baltimore. But on March 16, 1921, a crossover connected the two parallel tracks at Linthicum, operations ceased on the B&O track, and a new terminal was built at Howard and Lombard Streets.[6] The WB&A now consisted of 81 miles of track and the only practical way to get from Washington, D.C., to Annapolis.
Around the time of the purchase of the ASL, the Defense Highway was built providing an alternative route into Annapolis.[1] As a result gross receipts for the railroad began to decline. The railroad only survived because of a law exempting it from taxes. In January 1931, during the Great Depression, the extension of the law failed to pass by one vote and the line went into receivership.[7] The line remained in operation for four more years until operation officially ceased on August 20, 1935.[8] The WB&A was sold at public auction with scrap dealers buying most of the rolling stock. Over time, the rails were hauled away, though by the beginning of World War II some remained and at least one post-War home in the area used old rails in lieu of I-beams. The right of way within Washington, D.C. came under the ownership of Capital Transit Company.[9] At some point after 1945, the tracks in D.C. were removed.
The right of way of the North Shore Line and some equipment was bought by the Bondholders Protective Society, who then formed the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad Company, which continued to operate rail passenger service between Baltimore and Annapolis until 1950 and freight service into the 1970s.
On June 5, 1908, two of WB&A's single-car trains collided at Camp Parole, Maryland. Nine people died as a result of the crash, including Railroad Policeman J.G. Schriner.[10] The trains were ferrying riders to and from the United States Naval Academy for graduation ceremonies at the time of the accident.
Stations on the South Shore Line (Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad)
Stations on the North Shore Line (Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad)
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