The Western Maryland Railway

By Anthony Puzzilla

Take a nonstop journey through 131 years of the Western Maryland Railway's history in this photographic tale.

The Western Maryland Railway was never a large Class 1 rail carrier, but during its 131 colorful years of existence, it provided extremely fast, efficient, and reliable freight; coal-hauling; and passenger service in the states it served. This book contains images from the history of this remarkable railroad and also provides the reader the opportunity to see how the legacy of the Western Maryland Railway is being maintained and remembered even today at some of its well-known train stations, such as in Cumberland and Union Bridge, Maryland, now home to the Western Maryland Railway Historical Society (WMRHS). The Western Maryland is now gone, but through the wonderful images captured and preserved by the WMRHS and private archival photograph collections, the dream of the railway will live on.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Nov 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781439653920

Anthony Puzzilla

Anthony Puzzilla is a retired federal government employee and is now a full-time railfan and model train lover. He is a member of the Western Maryland Railway Historical Society, the Lionel Collectors Club of America (LCCA), Train Collectors Association (TCA), the Maryland Historical Society, and the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad Foundation, as well as several other rail and history organizations. In addition, he is a regular contributor to the LCCA's The Lion Roars magazine.

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INTRODUCTION

The Western Maryland (WM) Railway was never a large carrier with approximately 835 miles of track. In comparison, its nemesis from the very beginning, the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad, boasted approximately 5,658 miles of track in its entire system. On May 27, 1852, the Maryland General Assembly granted a charter to the Baltimore, Carroll & Frederick Rail Road Company to build a rail line from Baltimore northwest through Westminster, west toward Hagerstown, Maryland. Less than a year later, on March 21, 1853, the Maryland General Assembly would change this name to the Western Maryland Rail Road Company. Financial difficulties would delay construction until July 11, 1857.

Construction began from Owings Mills, Maryland. An existing Northern Central Railway branch line terminating at Owings Mills would be initially used to connect into Baltimore. The first section of the line was opened for business on August 11, 1859, with passenger service from Relay House to Owings Mills, a distance of a mere 10 miles. From this very modest beginning, through consolidations, mergers, and reorganizations, the Western Maryland Railway (renamed on December 1, 1909) would encompass more than 30 railroads and stretch across Maryland into Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Known primarily as a coal hauling and freight railroad, it also became famous for the excursion trains it ran to its own Pen Mar resort, as well as other Blue Ridge Summit resorts. In addition, from June 15, 1913, to May 27, 1917, the Western Maryland Railway operated four daily first-class passenger trains, from Baltimore to Chicago, using the track of other railroads beyond Connellsville.

Another notable achievement was the development of Port Covington, which turned out to be one of the busiest terminals in the East and the primary exporting market for the Western Maryland’s coal and grain shipments. The Western Maryland Railway was also a pioneer in the utilization of new, early-20th-century construction tools and techniques. Its engineering prowess was best exemplified in the construction of the Connellsville Extension, which extended the mainline from Cumberland. The later mighty enterprise was accomplished in direct competition to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which resulted in virtually parallel mountain rail lines running into Pennsylvania.

The major difference in these rail lines was that the Western Maryland’s mainline was single tracked while the B&O’s was double tracked. In addition, the cost of building and maintaining this infrastructure proved to be a contributory factor for the eventual failure of the Western Maryland Railway. Outside of the markets of Baltimore and Cumberland, the Western Maryland just did not have the extensive rail network needed to serve any other large economic markets. Therefore, it no longer was able to remain competitive with other rail lines, especially the B&O, and the Western Maryland began to lose operational control to the B&O and the Chesapeake & Ohio. There was little evidence of this loss of control until the formation in 1973 of the Chessie System, which consisted of the Chesapeake & Ohio, the Baltimore & Ohio, and Western Maryland. However, the Western Maryland continued independent operations until May 1975, at which time it became commonplace to see Western Maryland, Baltimore & Ohio, Chesapeake & Ohio, and Chessie System locomotives working in tandem to power Western Maryland and other assorted freight trains. On May 1, 1983, the B&O officially merged the Western Maryland, ending its corporate existence.

The intent of this book is to provide a broad graphic history of the Western Maryland Railway. Given the lengthy and noteworthy history and its profound impact to the region, this book is not all-inclusive. It is intended to provide the reader a glimpse of this remarkable railroad and its influence on the states it served, the hardworking dedicated people who were the heart of the railroad, as well as seeing how the legacy of this railroad is being maintained and remembered.

One

THE EARLY

FORMATIVE YEARS

1852–1863

The Western Maryland Rail Road Company, chartered as the Baltimore, Carroll & Frederick Rail Road Company on May 27, 1852, was conceived with the idea of capturing the lucrative mineral, manufacturing, and agricultural trade found in Carroll and Frederick Counties.

On August 11, 1859, the Western Maryland Rail Road Company introduced passenger service from Relay House to Owings Mills. This service was initially powered by two wood-burning locomotives named the Green Spring and the Western Maryland. In December 1859, the railroad was extended to Reisterstown, Maryland, with passenger service operating on a regular schedule, which was twice a day in each direction. In April 1861, the Patapsco was added to the service roster. On June 15, 1861, the railroad formally opened to Westminster, Maryland. On November 1, 1862, the railroad was extended to Union Bridge, which would become the westernmost terminus for the duration of the Civil War. The railroad was taken over by Federal authorities, under the auspices of the United States Military Railroads (USMRR) on June 28, 1863, because of its strategic location as the main supply route for the Union army that was amassing in the Westminster/Carroll County area prior to the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863). There were reported to be 5,000 army wagons, with 12,000 troops operating in the Westminster area at the time. Despite being critical to the Union cause, what General Haupt, the chief engineer of the USMRR, found was a single-track, 29-mile-long railroad in relatively poor condition operating between Relay House and Westminster. In order to rectify this situation, he brought in his Construction Corps in order to bring the Western Maryland up to speed. From his command vantage point in Westminster, he was able to operate a total of 30 trains a day (15 each way), running in convoys of up to five trains at a time between Baltimore and Westminster. The railroad was returned to the Western Maryland on July 7, 1863. Subsequent to these events, the loss of business suffered because