Western Maryland Railroad Right-of-Way, Milepost 126 to Milepost 160

Western Maryland Railroad Right-of-Way, Milepost 126 to Milepost 160
Nearest city: North Branch and Woodmont in Maryland, and Jerome in West Virginia
Built: 1903
Architect: Western Maryland Railway Co.; Pennsylvania Steel Co.
Governing body: National Park Service
NRHP Reference#:

81000078

[1]
Added to NRHP: July 23, 1981

Western Maryland Railroad Right-of-Way, Milepost 126 to Milepost 160 is a historic section of the Western Maryland Railway in Allegany County, Maryland and in Morgan County, West Virginia. It is an abandoned 34 miles (55 km) section of the right-of-way between milepost 126 at the intersection of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O) and Long Ridge Road, Woodmont, and milepost 160 just west of Maryland Route 51, North Branch. It closely parallels the Potomac River and the C&O Canal running along the north bank of the river. Seven miles of the right-of-way are in West Virginia near Paw Paw, and include tunnels through three mountainous intervening fingers of land on the Maryland side. (See Indigo Tunnel, Kessler Tunnel, Stickpile Tunnel.)[2]

The Western Maryland completed construction and opened the rail line for traffic between Hagerstown and Cumberland in 1906.[3] The track and most ties were removed in 1975 shortly after the line's abandonment.

The National Park Service acquired the property in 1980 for the C&O Canal National Historical Park.[2][4] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.[1] Towns it is listed in include North Branch and Woodmont, Maryland, and Jerome, West Virginia.

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
  2. ^ a b National Park Service. Washington, D.C. (1981-07-23). "Western Maryland Railway Right-of-Way, Milepost 126 to Milepost 160 (Abandoned)." National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form.
  3. ^ "Western Maryland Line Open". The Railway Age (Chicago: Railway Age Co.) 41 (6): 224. 1906-02-09. http://books.google.com/books?id=0Z9MAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA224&ots=bYkh7AibSY&dq=%22kessler%20tunnel%22&pg=PA224#v=onepage&q=%22kessler%20tunnel%22&f=false. 
  4. ^ "Maryland Historical Trust". National Register of Historic Places: Western Maryland Railroad Right-of-Way, Milepost 126 to Milepost 160. Maryland Historical Trust. 2008-10-05. Archived from the original on 2008-12-31. http://www.webcitation.org/5dU1lzEbg. 

External links