Question - ops in Blue Ridge Summit

OK, it's (just) in PA, but I think this is the right forum...

Does anyone have info. on the ops. at Blue Ridge Summit / Highfields? From the MM site it seems that's where the MM ends in a junction with the Gettysburg branch of the CSX.

I drove through there yesterday. That sure is a steep grade in both directions! It must have been quite a sight in the WM days.

Highfield is where the Hanover subdivision of the WM left the East subdivision. These days I believe MMid interchanges with CSX here; MMid also interchanges with CSX at Emory Grove, where the other end of the Hanover subdivision rejoins the East subdivision. I don't know for sure but I think you might find one train a day each way on CSX at Highfield.

sodusbay wrote:I drove through there (Blue Ridge Summit) yesterday. That sure is a steep grade in both directions! It must have been quite a sight in the WM days.

On April 17 of this year, I had the rare opportunity to ride the "Catoctin Mountain Special," an excursion of the DC Chapter, NRHS. The chapter chartered MARC equipment, which ran on the M/M from Washington's Union Station to Baltimore on the old B&O line, connected in South Baltimore at the old WM junction, went northwest through Westminster and Union Bridge, and up over Catoctin Mountain through Blue Ridge Summit. It WAS quite a climb over Catoctin and South Mountains on that ride, and very scenic. No passenger equipment had traversed that route since the late '50's. A ride I will remember for the rest of my life.

[quote="hutton_switch"]
On April 17 of this year, I had the rare opportunity to ride the "Catoctin Mountain Special," ... It WAS quite a climb over Catoctin and South Mountains on that ride, and very scenic. No passenger equipment had traversed that route since the late '50's. A ride I will remember for the rest of my life.[/quote]

Wow! Do you know if this will be repeated? What was the motive power?

Still on this topic, can anyone tell me why the MM didn't keep the ex-WM Gettysburg sub? Or maybe why CSX wanted/took it? Does this go back to 1976 and Conrail days?

I'm not sure what you mean by the" Gettysburg Sub". The WM didn't have a Gettysburg Sub and the MMid only runs between Emory Grove on the east and Highfield on the west on the former WM, all East subdivision.

Sorry, maybe I had my WM terminology wrong. The Highfield-Thurmont-Emory Grove of MM is the former WM East sub. The Highfield-Gettysburg-Emory Grove line, taken over by CSX, is also ex-WM and I thought it was called the Gettysburg sub but I see you called it the Hanover sub. in a previous post. So my question is -- why didn't the Hanover sub of the WM get taken over by MM?

sodusbay wrote:Wow! Do you know if this will be repeated? What was the motive power?

I think you may be partially in luck. I say "partially" because I don't know if the excursion this fall will go as far as Blue Ridge Summit, though from the description, I think it won't. But it would be worth your while. Check the below link:

http://www.dcnrhs.org/trips/FFE/

I also urge you to try to take advantage of this trip, because it just might be the last one of this sort due to the fact that MARC is sending out signals that they don't want to obligate any more of their equipment to such ventures because it plays havoc with their maintenance schedules.

As far as the equipment used on the April excursion, I don't know exactly what was used. All I can say is that the usual, everyday MARC commuter equipment was used. If you go on the one this fall, don't drink a lot of coffee before going, for restroom facilities on the coaches are extremely limited, with lines waiting to use them all day long.

Thanks for the tip! It seems it will go up the hill:

According to http://www.dcnrhs.org/trips/FFE/TTEX.htm

"During our train excursion to the 41st Catoctin Colorfest, you will see the beautiful fall colors while traveling through scenic Maryland farm country as we climb the foothills of the Catoctin Mountains to Thurmont. There is an option for an additional side-trip up the dramatic Catoctin Mountains west of Thurmont for an additional $10 charge."

I assume this means to Highfield and back down.

Although, it could be just a bus side-trip

Quoting some more FYI:

"The "FFE" begins with a morning departure from Washington Union Station and a run up to Baltimore on CSXT's (ex- B&O) Capital Subdivision (Marc's Camden Line), making stops at College Park and Dorsey en route.

Upon our arrival in Baltimore, the "FFE" will work its way to a connection with CSXT' s Hanover Subdivision (ex - Western Maryland Railway). We will then head west from the connection up to Emory Grove, Md, the interchange point with Maryland-Midland Railway's east-west main line. The "FFE" will be taking this Maryland Midland trackage all the way from Emory Grove west to the Colorfest in Thurmont.

Of special interest is on this leg of the trip is operation over the segment between Emory Grove and Westminster, which was severed by hurricane damage in the early '70's and returned to service in the late '80's. It has seen scant passenger train operations since its return to service.

Over the rest of our way west on the Maryland Midland, we will be passing through Union Bridge, and eventually arriving at our temporary station on Apple Church Road in Thurmont."

They don't say anything more about the side trip up from Thurmont, either bus or rail.

I don't think CSX wanted to dispose of the Hanover sub. For one thing they were operating a "rockrunner" from Hanover to Jessup or somewhere and I think those unit trains are money makers.

hutton_switch wrote:On April 17 of this year, I had the rare opportunity to ride the "Catoctin Mountain Special," an excursion of the DC Chapter, NRHS. The chapter chartered MARC equipment, which ran on the M/M from Washington's Union Station to Baltimore on the old B&O line, connected in South Baltimore at the old WM junction, went northwest through Westminster and Union Bridge, and up over Catoctin Mountain through Blue Ridge Summit. It WAS quite a climb over Catoctin and South Mountains on that ride, and very scenic. No passenger equipment had traversed that route since the late '50's. A ride I will remember for the rest of my life.

I don't know when WM passenger servic over this route ended ... probably 1950s.

However, the Maryland Midland Railway and then the EnterTrainment Line operated regular excursions and dinner trains over the former WM between Westminster, Union Bridge, Thurmont and Blue Ridge Summit / Highfield from the mid 1980s thru the mid 1990s. It was always a pleasant scenic ride.

jhdeasy wrote:

hutton_switch wrote:No passenger equipment had traversed that route since the late '50's.

I don't know when WM passenger servic over this route ended ... probably 1950s.

However, the Maryland Midland Railway and then the EnterTrainment Line operated regular excursions and dinner trains over the former WM between Westminster, Union Bridge, Thurmont and Blue Ridge Summit / Highfield from the mid 1980s thru the mid 1990s. It was always a pleasant scenic ride.

Since my original post telling about the DCNRHS excursion in April '04, I've seen a couple of instances that there were rail excursions over this trackage that preceeded ours since the cessation of regular WM passenger service in the 'fifties, and jhdeasy's is one of them. The information we were told during the excursion that our trip was the first passenger equipment to ride over these rails in almost fifty years was apparently erroneous.

MMID used to operate exursions from westminster (I think) to highfeild. into the early 90's

- Blue Ridge Summit Station. I remember taking a train from New York Penn to Baltimore, then connecting trains to Blue Ridge Summit station in the summer of 1942. MY family was staying in a big white boardinghouse/hotel across the street from the station, and I liked to hang out on the station platform and watch the steam locomtives and trains pass through. I learned the trick of leaving a penny on the tracks to be flattened by a passing train. Ah to be nine again and listen to the steam trains at the Summit.

Roger