Mount Savage Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Mount Savage Railroad was a railroad operated by the Mount Savage Coal and Iron Company of Mount Savage, Maryland between 1845 and 1854. The 14.9 miles (24 km) rail line ran from Frostburg to Cumberland, Maryland.http://www.mountsavagehistoricalsociety.org/c&p/c&p%20shop.htm
, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
, and The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The interchange in the Narrows also linked Mt. Savage to the Potomac Wharf Branch
.
and southwest Pennsylvania
. The National Road was finished in 1824 and connected a many turnpikes to Baltimore, Maryland.
, which connected Mt. Savage to Frostburg
when it was completed to Frostburg in the 1850s.
with a diesel powered engine http://www.canalplace.org. The train runs on 32 miles of track connect-ing Cumberland and Frostburg.http://www.wmsr.com/home.php The journey is about 3 1/2 hour long starting at the Cumberland Station
. It winds through Cumberland, The Narrows, Helmstetter Curve, the Brush Tunnel
, Woodcock Hollow, and finally ending in Frostburg http://www.wmsr.com/home.php. Passengers get to experience the Turn Table at the historic Frostburg Depot before heading back to Cumberland. http://www.wmsr.com/home.php There are three kinds of trips on the train. You can ride first class (which includes a meal) or couch on an “Excursion Train” which is a day trip http://www.wmsr.com/home.php. There are “Murder Mystery Train” which is a night trip designed for a fun night out for an adult audience, and dinner is provided http://www.wmsr.com/home.php. There are sixteen different stories that are performed between May and December http://www.wmsr.com/home.php. There are also trips on the “Santa Express” http://www.wmsr.com/home.php. In December on designated excursion trips Santa walks through the cabins handing out candy canes and talking to the riders http://www.wmsr.com/home.php. These trips between May and December allow people of all ages experience and enjoy the scenic routes used for hundreds of years http://www.wmsr.com/home.php.
(GAP) is 135 mile biking and hiking trail that connects Duquesne, Pennsylvania
(near Pittsburgh) to Cumberland, MD http://www.atatrail.org/tmi/about.cfm#location. The Allegheny Highlands Trail is the section of the trail that runs between Cumberland and the Mason-Dixon line
(Smith, 2006). The path is covered in crushed limestone and the majority of the trail runs right next to the Mount Savage railroad http://www.atatrail.org/tmi/about.cfm#location. Hikers and bikers can experience a trip along the railroad while still enjoying the scenic wilderness of the area. The trail stretches 20.47 miles (33 Km) (Smith, 2006). There are three sections of the trail. The section between the Mason-Dixon line and Frostburg was opened in September 2004 (Smith, 2006). The trail between Frostburg and Woodmount Hollow opened in August 2005 (Smith, 2006). And the final section between Woodmount Hollow and Cumberland was opened on December 14, 2006 (Smith, 2006). Bikers, hikers, and pets are all welcome on the trail.
History
The Mt. Savage Railroad was opened for use on Monday, September 24, 1845. The railroad was the first in America to use iron rail that was produced within the country, having to rely on British rail beforehand.Linking Mt. Savage to the Regional Infastructure
Before the railroad linked Mt. Savage to Cumberland, Mt. Savage had no way of transporting manufactured goods to the rest of the region. When the railroad reached Cumberland, Mt. Savage now had a link to the National RoadNational Road
The National Road or Cumberland Road was the first major improved highway in the United States to be built by the federal government. Construction began heading west in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River. It crossed the Allegheny Mountains and southwestern Pennsylvania, reaching...
, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal, and occasionally referred to as the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 parallel to the Potomac River in Maryland from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. The total length of the canal is about . The elevation change of...
, and The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The interchange in the Narrows also linked Mt. Savage to the Potomac Wharf Branch
Potomac Wharf Branch
The Potomac Wharf Branch was a historic railroad located in Maryland. It was built by the Maryland Mining Company between 1846 and 1850, as an extension to the Eckhart Branch Railroad. The Potomac Wharf Branch crossed Wills Creek on a bridge just east of the present Route 40 road bridge near...
.
The Potomac Wharf Branch
The Potomac Wharf Branch was built by the Maryland Mining Company in around 1850 and is an extension to the Eckhart Branch Railroad. The Potomac Wharf Branch was located in Maryland and used to cross Wills Creek. The branch is no longer present.National Road
The Mt. Savage Railroad linked Mt. Savage to the National Road, where they met in Cumberland. One of the first improved highways in the country is the National Road in Cumberland, Maryland. The construction on the road began in 1811, crossing over the Allegheny MountainsAllegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
and southwest 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...
. The National Road was finished in 1824 and connected a many turnpikes to Baltimore, Maryland.
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad & The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Mount Savage Railroad company built the rail line to attach it to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The railroads provided heavy industrial manufacturing as well as a transportation resource for raw materials and finished goods. The Cumberland Wharf also offered a connection to the C&O Canal, which offered shipping to Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Layout of the Mt. Savage Railroad yard
The Mt. Savage Railroad yard had at it's center a twelve stall roundhouse, which also served as a passenger depot. Closeby was the fire clay brick refractory, and the Ramsey Glazed Brick Works. Several connecting switchtracks connected the different factories and furnaces to the Cumberland bound mainline. Eventually the yard also connected to the Cumberland and Pennsylvania RailroadCumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad
The Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad was an American railroad which operated in Western Maryland. Primarily a coal hauler, it was owned by the Consolidation Coal Company, and was absorbed into the Western Maryland Railway in 1944....
, which connected Mt. Savage to Frostburg
FROSTBURG
FROSTBURG was a Connection Machine 5 supercomputer used by the US National Security Agency to perform higher-level mathematical calculations. The CM-5 was built by the Thinking Machines Corporation, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at a cost of US$25 million. The system was installed at NSA in...
when it was completed to Frostburg in the 1850s.
Mountain Thunder on The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad
The Mountain Thunder (Locomotion 734) is a restored 1916 Baldwin Steam LocomotiveBaldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
with a diesel powered engine http://www.canalplace.org. The train runs on 32 miles of track connect-ing Cumberland and Frostburg.http://www.wmsr.com/home.php The journey is about 3 1/2 hour long starting at the Cumberland Station
Western Maryland Railway Station (Cumberland, Maryland)
Western Maryland Railway Station is a historic railway station in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland. It was built in 1913 as a stop for the Western Maryland Railway , and is a large commercial-style building that expresses the architectural functionalism of the turn of the 20th century...
. It winds through Cumberland, The Narrows, Helmstetter Curve, the Brush Tunnel
Brush Tunnel
Brush Tunnel is a 914-foot railroad tunnel located about west of Corriganville, Maryland.It was built in 1911 by the Western Maryland Railway, and is currently used by the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, a tourist railroad running between Frostburg and Cumberland, Maryland, as well as the...
, Woodcock Hollow, and finally ending in Frostburg http://www.wmsr.com/home.php. Passengers get to experience the Turn Table at the historic Frostburg Depot before heading back to Cumberland. http://www.wmsr.com/home.php There are three kinds of trips on the train. You can ride first class (which includes a meal) or couch on an “Excursion Train” which is a day trip http://www.wmsr.com/home.php. There are “Murder Mystery Train” which is a night trip designed for a fun night out for an adult audience, and dinner is provided http://www.wmsr.com/home.php. There are sixteen different stories that are performed between May and December http://www.wmsr.com/home.php. There are also trips on the “Santa Express” http://www.wmsr.com/home.php. In December on designated excursion trips Santa walks through the cabins handing out candy canes and talking to the riders http://www.wmsr.com/home.php. These trips between May and December allow people of all ages experience and enjoy the scenic routes used for hundreds of years http://www.wmsr.com/home.php.
The Allegheny Highlands Trail
The Great Allegheny PassageGreat Allegheny Passage
The Great Allegheny Passage is a rail trail in Maryland and Pennsylvania. It is the central part of a several-hundred-mile long network of long-distance hiker-biker trails through the Allegheny region of the Appalachian Mountains, connecting Washington, D.C...
(GAP) is 135 mile biking and hiking trail that connects Duquesne, Pennsylvania
Duquesne, Pennsylvania
Duquesne is a city along the Monongahela River in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area. The population was 5,565 at the 2010 census.-History:...
(near Pittsburgh) to Cumberland, MD http://www.atatrail.org/tmi/about.cfm#location. The Allegheny Highlands Trail is the section of the trail that runs between Cumberland and the Mason-Dixon line
Mason-Dixon line
The Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. It forms a demarcation line among four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and...
(Smith, 2006). The path is covered in crushed limestone and the majority of the trail runs right next to the Mount Savage railroad http://www.atatrail.org/tmi/about.cfm#location. Hikers and bikers can experience a trip along the railroad while still enjoying the scenic wilderness of the area. The trail stretches 20.47 miles (33 Km) (Smith, 2006). There are three sections of the trail. The section between the Mason-Dixon line and Frostburg was opened in September 2004 (Smith, 2006). The trail between Frostburg and Woodmount Hollow opened in August 2005 (Smith, 2006). And the final section between Woodmount Hollow and Cumberland was opened on December 14, 2006 (Smith, 2006). Bikers, hikers, and pets are all welcome on the trail.