Cumberland, MD; B & O Railroad Question

[JohnK]

Hello:

I just returned from a too-short visit to Cumberland MD (via Amtrak, of course) for a wedding.

I had little time to watch the current CSX railroad, and any B + O railroad remnants there (except for a real quick drive-by the Western Maryland Scenic RR depot VERY early in the morning...no trains running). I definitely plan to visit this city again.

A question: Is Cumberland where the B + O line split, one line to Chicago, and the other to Cincinnati/St. Louis? Is the current "Western Maryland Scenic RR" the former B + O mainline to St. Louis, via Oakland MD, Cincinnati, OH, etc.? If so, beyond where the steam train excursions end, is the line abandoned, or used? If used, by CSX?

Also, I have an old book that shows the Pennsylvania RR had a branch down to Cumberland. Where did it enter town? Did it share a depot with the B + O, or have its own?

Also, was the B + O's Cumberland depot located in the same spot where the current "Amshack" is?

Any answers on this most fascinating city's RR past and the B + O, would be appreciated. But seeing this city for just a day has gotten me "into" the B + O, and its history, big time!

Thank you,
-John K.

[metman499]

While I can't answer all of your questions the WMSR runs out of the form WM depot and on former WM trackage.

[hutton_switch]

I think I can answer the majority of your questions. Definitely, Cumberland is one of those few towns in the East extremely rich with B&O railroad history, rivaling Altoona, PA for the Pennsy and Scranton, PA for the Erie-Lackawanna.

In the old days, a train traveling west on the old B&O would arrive in Cumberland at a location called Viaduct Junction, and could either take the left fork and continue west toward Seventeen Mile Grade, Oakland, Grafton, Parkersburg, Cincinnati, and St. Louis on what was known as the West End. In the B&O's earliest days, at Grafton, WV, it turned north toward Fairmont, WV and ended at Wheeling, WV, and was known as the Old Main Line. The other alternative at Viaduct Junction was that a train could continue going straight through the Cumberland Narrows up Sand Patch Grade to Connellsville, Pittsburgh, and on west to Chicago. The famous B&O Passenger trains that went to St. Louis were the National Limited and the Metropolitan; the ones that went to Chicago were the Capitol Limited (still traveling today) and the Shenandoah. CSX now uses either line, with coal coming off the West End for the most part, and an occasional mixed freight. All other train types come off of Sand Patch. Many railfans today consider the removal of the line to St. Louis from Clarksburg, WV to Parkersburg, WV, and smaller sections in Ohio a major mistake on the part of CSX. As a result, all CSX freights originating in southern Ohio, Indiana, or Illinois have to continue north toward Pittsburgh or southerly in order to come East. Having a familial connection with the West End puts me in the same camp with that group of railfans.

The B&O's famous Queen City Station once stood where the current Amtrack facility is located, immediately next to I-68. Viaduct Junction is located a few blocks further west of where the station stood. The Queen City Station was a huge facility and a showpiece of the B&O during the days when John W. Garrett was its President. The numerous interior and exterior photographs of it bear this out. It's too bad that it deteriorated so bad that it couldn't be saved, but that is another story in itself. It was torn down in 1972, sadly one year short of its 100th birthday. Here is a photo of the Queen City Station around the time of its construction:



Besides the Queen City Station, the B&O had a huge shop facility at Cumberland that did virtually any type of maintenance work on steam and diesel locomotives. CSX now owns and operates the shops adjoining the Cumberland Rail Yards. At one time, B&O had a facility at Cumberland called Rolling Mills that once rolled all of the road's rails. This no longer exists, and the ground it stood on is now a shopping mall. Here is an old photo of Rolling Mills:



Both images are courtesy of the Maryland Historical Society.

The tracks that comprise the Western Maryland Scenic Railway are those of the former Western Maryland Railway, that for the most part paralleled the B&O over Sand Patch to Connellsville, PA. The excursions for the Western Maryland Scenic Railway terminate at Frostburg, MD. Beyond, the tracks have been torn up and the ROW converted to a bike trail all the way to Connellsville. But there is a short stretch that still remains in rail at Keystone, Pa (beyond Sand Patch) that is part of a short line coal operation using the old WM bridge at Keystone and which connects with CSX nearby to bring coal out from this area.

About the only question I cannot immediately answer from your list is the one about the Pennsy; I don't know exactly where or even if it entered town, but I believe it connected with the old Cumberland and Pennsylvania RR at the end of the Cumberland Narrows and I think Pennsy trains came into town over that road through trackage rights. If I'm wrong on this, someone else please correct me.

If you've caught the B&O bug, there is a historical society for the B&O. You should consider joining, and the magazine it puts out quarterly, The Sentinel, is worth the price of membership alone. I should know, for I've been a member for about eight years now. Here is the web site for the Society: http://www.borhs.org. There is another forum for the B&O on Yahoo: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/B ... e_and_Ohio. This forum's membership probably has the broadest online knowledge base on the B&O in existence.

[JohnK]

Thanks very much for the answers!

[scooter3798]

While I can't say much about the early years of the Pennsy ops to Cumberland, in the later years (diesel era) they used the Western Maryland's state line branch to reach town. The WM's state line branch left the Connellsville Sub at Georges Creek Junction which is at the west end of the narrows just before the bridge that crosses route 40. The branch crossed Wills Creek and the B&O and then hugged the hill for a little while. The bridge is gone today, torn out in the 70's I think, but the piers still remain. The branch was originally owned by the Georges Creek and Cumberland and exteneded four miles north of the junction to the mason dixon line, from this point north the trackage was owned by the Pennsy. During this period of time there wasn't much action on the line, the WM served a quarry north of GC&C jct. and the Pennsy would run a train 2 or 3 times a week. This operation continued until 1972 when Hurricane Agnes severed the Pennsy line near Bedford, Pa. The Pennsy would interchange cars with the WM at City Jct. which is located at the east end of the narrows. Today this is where the old bridge connecting the B&O and the WM crosses Wills Creek with a number of older equipment for the WM senic sitting on it. A couple of years ago I spoke with a gentleman that ran on the turn to Cumberland a couple of times in the late 60's early 70's and he said that they would often come down from Altoona one day, spend the night in Cumberland and then return the next. According to what he said they would often tie down the power at City Jct.. This branch also interchanged with the B&O in Hyndman, Pa, but again most traffic was gone here by the 60's. I'm not sure but I think in the early part of the 20th century the Pennsy maintained a couple of miles of their own trackage in Cumberland, but I'm not 100% on this. I also believe that they used the Western Maryland's station. Also as a side note the former WM trackage at Keystone is also now abandoned. The trackage used to be used from the junction at Keystone west to MP 199, just shy of Sailsbury Viaduct west of Meyersdale to the former WM Blue Lick branch, where it continued to a tipple just to the north of the old main. The last train ran on this piece of trackage in the early 90's. About 3 years ago they also modified the Keystone Viaduct, removing one of the piers in order to straighten out a bad curve in the road passing below. I hope this helps out a little more.

[Fanatic5]

I photographed a solid Western Maryland freight, eastbound entering the WM Cumberland station in 1975, shortly after trains on the Connellsville extension ceased. At what point would this train have left the B&O line and re-entered WM trackage past the WM station and into Ridgeley (WV)?