The Western Maryland Railway started as the Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Railroad in 1852. The owners wanted to develop a transportation route between Baltimore and the Cumberland Valley to handle freight that was going to Philadelphia at the time.
Setting up 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 employed 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 logo design company to Gettysburg, Pa. to give his popular Gettysburg Address in November 1863.
In 1873, the Western Maryland built a line from Hagerstown to Williamsport, Md. to be ready to choose up loads of coal from the C&O Canal, which passed by Williamsport.
The Western Maryland opened the Hillen Station in Baltimore in 1876, which became the firm headquarters.
Into Pennsylvania
In 1873, the enterprise became the Western Maryland Rail Road Business and then later still, the Western Maryland Railway Organization.
The corporation 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 targeted 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.
Selecting Up Freight
Freight was frequently loaded on Western Maryland Railway trains in Port Covington in Baltimore. From there, the railroad had a network of key 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 more than the Appalachian Mountains to the American mid-west.
Reducing Usage
The passenger service, which began in 1859, was declining a century later as Americans started traveling additional in automobiles and planes. The railway began cutting back on its passenger service and dropped it totally 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 completely with the B&O in 1983 and then the B&O merged with the C&O in 1987 to turn out to be CSX Transportation.