Hagerstown and Frederick Railway
Encyclopedia
The Hagerstown & Frederick Railway, now defunct, was an American
railroad of central Maryland
built in the 19th and 20th centuries.
) trolley
system was developed by George William Smith and initially called the Frederick & Middletown Railway. Construction began early in 1896, almost simultaneously with the development of Braddock Heights
Park, the mountaintop resort that was intended to provide patronage for the line. Service between Frederick
and Braddock Heights commenced on August 22, 1896. The line was complete to Middletown
by October.
Two years later an extension was built to Myersville
, nominally called the Myersville & Catoctin Railway, but leased to the F&M and operated as an integral part of the F&M. In 1904 the Hagerstown Railway built a connecting link from Boonsboro
to Myersville, and through service between Frederick and Hagerstown
became possible, making the still separate lines an interurban.
The Jefferson
branch was added in 1906, running down the east side of Jefferson Boulevard. This extension served the H&F investors, who were largely the same as the Braddock Heights investors, by opening up more mountaintop resort land for development. An extension of this branch planned in 1907 which would have taken the line to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
yard facilities in runswick, Maryland]Brunswick] was never completed.
. By 1897 line Potomac Street line extended to Funkstown
.
In 1901 work began on an extension east to Wagner's Crossroads (later Boonsboro Junction) and from there south to Boonsboro
itself. This section was completed in 1902. Work began immediately on the connection from Wagner's Crossroads to Myersville.
In 1905 a new line was started, running north from Hagerstown to Shady Grove, Pennsylvania. This permitted a connection to the Chambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro Street Railway
. Passengers could then take the CG&W on to the mountaintop resorts of Pen Mar and Blue Ridge Summit
. Incompatible gauge
s prevented direct transfer.
, and incorporated it into the F&M in 1909, renaming the F&M as the Frederick Railroad. During the next two years the network in Frederick was expanded and its facilities improved, with lines on Fifth Street, South Street and Market Street. In 1911, the Hagerstown Railway and the Frederick Railway were merged, becoming the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway.
s, both as business ventures in their own right, and as traffic generators for the trolley business. In pre-air conditioning
days, mountaintop parks like Braddock Heights Park were popular summer getaways where city dwellers could entertain themselves and breathe cool mountain air. Electric Park in Funkstown had to rely on Antietam Creek
for coolness, but served much the same function.
to customers in the vicinity of its operations. As time went on, it became apparent to Emory Coblentz that the real business opportunity was in the electric utility business. With an eye to expanding his utility market, Coblentz purchased the Martinsburg Electric Light Company in 1916. He also acquired the Northern Virginia Power Company, and in 1917 the Chambersburg, Greencastle & Waynesboro Street Railway, which came with its own utility service. In 1922 the entire system, including the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway, became the Potomac Public Service Company. The next year, the PPS absorbed the Cumberland utility known as the Potomac Edison Company (which included the Cumberland and Westernport Electric Railway
), and applied its name to the entire operation. Potomac Edison thus covered a territory covering western and central Maryland, the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, and a portion of Northern Virginia
.
Immediately thereafter, in another consolidation, Potomac Edison became a subsidiary of a holding company, the American Water Works & Electric Company, which operated a group of companies in Maryland
and Pennsylvania
under the West Penn Electric Company brand. The Potomac Edison name carried on until the 1990s when the Allegheny Power brand was applied.
and the Blue Ridge Transportation Company, a bus
company owned by Potomac Edison. A gradual decline set in starting with the closure of the Washington Street line in Hagerstown and the end of Electric Park, both in 1927. In 1929 the loop line on Mulberry Street closed, and in the same year the Braddock Hotel burned and was not replaced.
The Great Depression
made things worse. The Chambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro was shut down in 1932, and the Shady Grove line followed suit. Emory Coblentz was caught in the financial collapse of his bank
, and was indicted (and later acquitted) on fraud
charges. Having resigned from Potomac Edison and lost everything, he died in 1941, effectively destitute.
The reconstruction of US Route 40
to better suit the automobile took another toll. The new US 40 alignment between Myersville and Hagerstown crossed the H&F right-of-way at several points. Rather than build level crossings, the line was abandoned, in 1938. Streetcar service in Frederick had already been terminated in 1937, and in Hagerstown in 1939.
(B&O) and Pennsylvania Railroad
(PRR) lines. Passenger service to Jefferson
halted in 1940, and tracks were removed in 1943, although the line along Jefferson Boulevard to Dean's was kept in operation to cater to the resort trade in Braddock Heights at the Vindobona Hotel. The Middletown
-Myersville
section was closed and the track lifted in 1945.
The Hagerstown-Williamsport line was closed in 1947, the last service in Washington County
. Later that year, service was discontinued on the Middletown and Braddock Heights lines. Most freight on the Thurmont branch was gone, with only service to Fort Detrick
a significant contributor. Many utilities, including Potomac Edison, were ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission to leave non-utility-related businesses, such as transportation. With that incentive, the last H&F trolley ran on February 20, 1954.
Freight carried on, but the electric lines were removed on the Thurmont line in 1955 and diesel equipment was substituted. Nevertheless in 1958 the track between Thurmont and Fort Detrick was taken up. Potomac Edison stopped all service on April 26, 1961.
Thurmont Line
Shady Grove Line
Williamsport Branch
Boonsboro Branch
Jefferson Branch
. The exit for trolleys onto Patrick Street is still visible as the main entrance.
Beachley's Store in Braddock Heights long did duty as a store, post office, station and electrical substation
.
Traces of the old right-of-way
are still visible where sidewalks have been set back from the street:
Additionally, bridge abutments survive at creek crossings, and traces of old embankments remain visible in undeveloped areas. In some cases, Allegheny Energy
feeders still use the right-of-way.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
railroad of central Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
built in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Early development
The Hagerstown & Frederick Railway, a suburban (later interurbanInterurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
) trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
system was developed by George William Smith and initially called the Frederick & Middletown Railway. Construction began early in 1896, almost simultaneously with the development of Braddock Heights
Braddock Heights, Maryland
Braddock Heights is a census-designated place in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,627 at the 2000 census. Braddock Heights is part of the Middletown, Maryland School District...
Park, the mountaintop resort that was intended to provide patronage for the line. Service between Frederick
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
and Braddock Heights commenced on August 22, 1896. The line was complete to Middletown
Middletown, Maryland
Middletown is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,668 at the 2000 census. Middletown is a small, rural community steeped in American history...
by October.
Two years later an extension was built to Myersville
Myersville, Maryland
Myersville is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,382 at the 2000 census.-History:The Peter of P. Grossnickel Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.-Geography:...
, nominally called the Myersville & Catoctin Railway, but leased to the F&M and operated as an integral part of the F&M. In 1904 the Hagerstown Railway built a connecting link from Boonsboro
Boonsboro, Maryland
Boonsboro is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States, located at the foot of South Mountain. It nearly borders Frederick County and is proximate to the Antietam National Battlefield...
to Myersville, and through service between Frederick and Hagerstown
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
became possible, making the still separate lines an interurban.
The Jefferson
Jefferson, Maryland
Jefferson is an unincorporated community located in Frederick County, Maryland, established in 1774, incorporated as a town in 1831. However, a year later, in 1832, the citizens of the town decided that municipal government was unnecessary, thus, it was disincorporated.- History of Jefferson...
branch was added in 1906, running down the east side of Jefferson Boulevard. This extension served the H&F investors, who were largely the same as the Braddock Heights investors, by opening up more mountaintop resort land for development. An extension of this branch planned in 1907 which would have taken the line to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
yard facilities in runswick, Maryland]Brunswick] was never completed.
The Hagerstown Railway
Like the H&F, the Hagerstown Railway was begun in 1896. The leading investors were Christian W. Lynch and William Jennings, who took a different approach to development by creating an urban loop within Hagerstown, with crossing lines on Washington Street and South Potomac Street, and a branch to nearby WilliamsportWilliamsport, Maryland
Williamsport is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,868 at the 2000 census and 2,278 as of July 2008.-Geography: Williamsport is located at ....
. By 1897 line Potomac Street line extended to Funkstown
Funkstown, Maryland
Funkstown is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 983 at the 2000 census.-History:Originally were sold to Henry Funk by Frederick Calvert in 1754 and settled as Jerusalem.Funck’s Jerusalem Town...
.
In 1901 work began on an extension east to Wagner's Crossroads (later Boonsboro Junction) and from there south to Boonsboro
Boonsboro, Maryland
Boonsboro is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States, located at the foot of South Mountain. It nearly borders Frederick County and is proximate to the Antietam National Battlefield...
itself. This section was completed in 1902. Work began immediately on the connection from Wagner's Crossroads to Myersville.
In 1905 a new line was started, running north from Hagerstown to Shady Grove, Pennsylvania. This permitted a connection to the Chambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro Street Railway
Chambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro Street Railway
The Chambersburg, Greencastle & Waynesboro Street Railway, now defunct, was an American railroad of south central Pennsylvania built in the 19th and 20th centuries.-Origins:...
. Passengers could then take the CG&W on to the mountaintop resorts of Pen Mar and Blue Ridge Summit
Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania
Blue Ridge Summit is an unincorporated community in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States, southwest of Gettysburg in the central part of the state, adjoining Pennsylvania's southern border with Maryland. It is less than 3 miles east of Pen Mar, Maryland...
. Incompatible gauge
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
s prevented direct transfer.
Growth and consolidation
Emory Coblentz, a Middletown lawyer and stockholder in the F&M, took over the management of the F&M in 1908. He bought the Washington, Frederick & Gettysburg Railroad, which despite its name only ran from Frederick to ThurmontThurmont, Maryland
Thurmont is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,588 at the 2000 census. The town is located in the northern part of Frederick County , approximately ten miles from the Pennsylvania border, along U.S. Highway 15...
, and incorporated it into the F&M in 1909, renaming the F&M as the Frederick Railroad. During the next two years the network in Frederick was expanded and its facilities improved, with lines on Fifth Street, South Street and Market Street. In 1911, the Hagerstown Railway and the Frederick Railway were merged, becoming the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway.
Trolley Parks
In common with many more urban trolley systems, the H&F owned and operated two amusement parkAmusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
s, both as business ventures in their own right, and as traffic generators for the trolley business. In pre-air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
days, mountaintop parks like Braddock Heights Park were popular summer getaways where city dwellers could entertain themselves and breathe cool mountain air. Electric Park in Funkstown had to rely on Antietam Creek
Antietam Creek
Antietam Creek is a tributary of the Potomac River located in south central Pennsylvania and western Maryland in the United States, a region known as the Hagerstown Valley...
for coolness, but served much the same function.
Potomac Edison
The Hagerstown & Frederick had always run what originally amounted to a side business, selling electricityElectricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
to customers in the vicinity of its operations. As time went on, it became apparent to Emory Coblentz that the real business opportunity was in the electric utility business. With an eye to expanding his utility market, Coblentz purchased the Martinsburg Electric Light Company in 1916. He also acquired the Northern Virginia Power Company, and in 1917 the Chambersburg, Greencastle & Waynesboro Street Railway, which came with its own utility service. In 1922 the entire system, including the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway, became the Potomac Public Service Company. The next year, the PPS absorbed the Cumberland utility known as the Potomac Edison Company (which included the Cumberland and Westernport Electric Railway
Cumberland and Westernport Electric Railway
The Cumberland Electric Railway, now defunct, was an American railroad of western Maryland built in the 19th and 20th centuries.Electric trolley service in Cumberland, Maryland started in 1891 with the inauguration of the Cumberland Electric Railway. The railway initially transported passengers...
), and applied its name to the entire operation. Potomac Edison thus covered a territory covering western and central Maryland, the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, and a portion of Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
.
Immediately thereafter, in another consolidation, Potomac Edison became a subsidiary of a holding company, the American Water Works & Electric Company, which operated a group of companies in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
under the West Penn Electric Company brand. The Potomac Edison name carried on until the 1990s when the Allegheny Power brand was applied.
Competition and decline
By the 1920s the H&F faced competition from two sources: the automobileAutomobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
and the Blue Ridge Transportation Company, a bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
company owned by Potomac Edison. A gradual decline set in starting with the closure of the Washington Street line in Hagerstown and the end of Electric Park, both in 1927. In 1929 the loop line on Mulberry Street closed, and in the same year the Braddock Hotel burned and was not replaced.
The Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
made things worse. The Chambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro was shut down in 1932, and the Shady Grove line followed suit. Emory Coblentz was caught in the financial collapse of his bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
, and was indicted (and later acquitted) on fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
charges. Having resigned from Potomac Edison and lost everything, he died in 1941, effectively destitute.
The reconstruction of US Route 40
U.S. Route 40 in Maryland
U.S. Route 40 in the U.S. state of Maryland runs from western Maryland to Cecil County in the state's northeastern corner. With a total length of over , it is the longest numbered highway in Maryland. Almost half of the road overlaps with Interstate 68 or Interstate 70, while the old alignment...
to better suit the automobile took another toll. The new US 40 alignment between Myersville and Hagerstown crossed the H&F right-of-way at several points. Rather than build level crossings, the line was abandoned, in 1938. Streetcar service in Frederick had already been terminated in 1937, and in Hagerstown in 1939.
End of the line
Passenger decline during the 1930s left the H&F's business dependent on freight service, primarily between Frederick and Thurmont. The network in Frederick was kept busy switching freight between industrial sidings and connections between the Baltimore and Ohio RailroadBaltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
(B&O) and Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
(PRR) lines. Passenger service to Jefferson
Jefferson, Maryland
Jefferson is an unincorporated community located in Frederick County, Maryland, established in 1774, incorporated as a town in 1831. However, a year later, in 1832, the citizens of the town decided that municipal government was unnecessary, thus, it was disincorporated.- History of Jefferson...
halted in 1940, and tracks were removed in 1943, although the line along Jefferson Boulevard to Dean's was kept in operation to cater to the resort trade in Braddock Heights at the Vindobona Hotel. The Middletown
Middletown, Maryland
Middletown is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,668 at the 2000 census. Middletown is a small, rural community steeped in American history...
-Myersville
Myersville, Maryland
Myersville is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,382 at the 2000 census.-History:The Peter of P. Grossnickel Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.-Geography:...
section was closed and the track lifted in 1945.
The Hagerstown-Williamsport line was closed in 1947, the last service in Washington County
Washington County, Maryland
Washington County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering southern Pennsylvania to the north, northern Virginia to the south, and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia to the south and west. As of the 2010 Census, its population is 147,430...
. Later that year, service was discontinued on the Middletown and Braddock Heights lines. Most freight on the Thurmont branch was gone, with only service to Fort Detrick
Fort Detrick
Fort Detrick is a U.S. Army Medical Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland, USA. Historically, Fort Detrick was the center for the United States' biological weapons program ....
a significant contributor. Many utilities, including Potomac Edison, were ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission to leave non-utility-related businesses, such as transportation. With that incentive, the last H&F trolley ran on February 20, 1954.
Freight carried on, but the electric lines were removed on the Thurmont line in 1955 and diesel equipment was substituted. Nevertheless in 1958 the track between Thurmont and Fort Detrick was taken up. Potomac Edison stopped all service on April 26, 1961.
Lines
Frederick - Hagerstown- Frederick, connection to Frederick network and Thurmont Line, B&O, PRR
- Hargett's
- Fulmer's
- Kauffman's
- Braddock Junction, connection to Jefferson Branch
- Middletown
- Myersville
- Mount Lena
- Boonsboro Junction, connection to Boonsboro Branch
- Funkstown
- Hagerstown, connection to Hagerstown network, Williamsport branch and Shady Grove Line, B&O, PRR and Western Maryland RailwayWestern Maryland RailwayThe Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad which operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation. The WM became part of the Chessie System in 1973 and ceased operating its lines...
(WM)
Thurmont Line
- Frederick
- Montevue
- Yellow Springs
- Bethel/Charlesville Station
- Lewistown
- Catoctin Furnace
- Thurmont, connection to WM
Shady Grove Line
- Hagerstown
- Reid
- Shady Grove, PA, connection to Chambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro Street RailwayChambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro Street RailwayThe Chambersburg, Greencastle & Waynesboro Street Railway, now defunct, was an American railroad of south central Pennsylvania built in the 19th and 20th centuries.-Origins:...
Williamsport Branch
- Hagerstown
- Williamsport
Boonsboro Branch
- Boonsboro Junction
- Mapleville
- Boonsboro
Jefferson Branch
- Braddock Junction
- Braddock Heights (Beachley's Store)
- Dean's
- Jefferson
Surviving landmarks
The H&F carbarn in Frederick survives as the former headquarters of the Frederick News-PostThe Frederick News-Post
The Frederick News-Post is the local newspaper of Frederick County, Maryland. Ever since a massive televised, radio, print and sign media campaign began referring to it as The FNP, others have begun to do so as well. In addition to discussing local news, the newspaper addresses international,...
. The exit for trolleys onto Patrick Street is still visible as the main entrance.
Beachley's Store in Braddock Heights long did duty as a store, post office, station and electrical substation
Electrical substation
A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions...
.
Traces of the old right-of-way
Right-of-way (railroad)
A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way...
are still visible where sidewalks have been set back from the street:
- Frederick - Along Rosemont Avenue
- Braddock Heights - Along Maryland Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard
- Middletown - Along Main Street
- Funkstown - In the vicinity of the old Electric Park
- Beaver Creek - At either end of the village
Additionally, bridge abutments survive at creek crossings, and traces of old embankments remain visible in undeveloped areas. In some cases, Allegheny Energy
Allegheny Energy
Allegheny Energy is an electric utility headquartered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. It owns and operates electric generation facilities and delivers electric services to customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia...
feeders still use the right-of-way.