Building Railroads Across Maryland

A Short History of the Western Maryland Railway

Nov 16, 2008 Jim Rada

While the Western Maryland Railway lived in the shadow of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, it had its own success.

The Western Maryland Railway began as the Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Railroad in 1852. The owners wanted to create a transportation route between Baltimore and the Cumberland Valley to handle freight that was going to Philadelphia at the time.

Building West

The Maryland Legislature changed the name to the Western Maryland in 1853 and the railroad began construction in Owings Mills, Md. in 1857. The builders used an Northern Central Railway line that ended in Owings Mills to connect the Western Maryland to Baltimore.

The railroad reached Westminister, Md. in 1861 and Hagerstown, Md. in 1872.

In the interim, it was the railroad that carried Abraham Lincoln to Gettysburg, Pa. to give his famous Gettysburg Address in November 1863.

In 1873, the Western Maryland built a line from Hagerstown to Williamsport, Md. to be able to pick up loads of coal from the C&O Canal, which passed through Williamsport.

The Western Maryland opened the Hillen Station in Baltimore in 1876, which became the company headquarters.

Into Pennsylvania

In 1873, the company became the Western Maryland Rail Road Company and then later still, the Western Maryland Railway Company.

The company built an extension into Pennsylvania in 1881 and connected to the Harrisburg and Potomac Railroad in 1886.

Joining the B&O

Next, the Western Maryland Railway connected to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1892. This connection improved freight traffic on the railroad.

By 1905, the railroad ran from Baltimore to Hagerstown, but construction was planned for an extension that would run to Cumberland in 1906. From there, the railroad would extend to Connellville, Pa. in 1912.

Picking Up Freight

Freight was generally loaded on Western Maryland Railway trains in Port Covington in Baltimore. From there, the railroad had a network of main lines and branches that could deliver the freight across Maryland and into Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

According to the Maryland Historical Society, the route followed by the railway was among the shortest from the Atlantic seaboard over the Appalachian Mountains to the American mid-west.

Decreasing Usage

The passenger service, which began in 1859, was declining a century later as Americans began traveling more in cars and planes. The railway began cutting back on its passenger service and dropped it entirely in 1959.

In 1964, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad took control of the Western Maryland Railway. The railway was merged entirely with the B&O in 1983 and then the B&O merged with the C&O in 1987 to become CSX Transportation.

The copyright of the article Building Railroads Across Maryland in American History is owned by Jim Rada. Permission to republish Building Railroads Across Maryland in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

A 1905 wreck on the WMRR