Maryland Railroading and Railfanning In "The Old Line State"

Maryland railroading is literally where it all began, at least in regards to common-carrier systems. The esteemed Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is an institution in the state and well remembered, particularly by the City of Baltimore, where it all started. Today, Maryland’s rail network is operated mostly by successors CSX and Norfolk Southern and the state is also home to Amtrak’s high-speed and very busy, Northeast Corridor (NEC), originally the Pennsylvania Railroad’s main line up and down the Northeast.

Maryland railroading has its beginnings dating back to February 28th, 1827 upon which day the Baltimore & Ohio was officially chartered by Baltimore businessmen out of a great need to compete with the creation of the Erie Canal which connected New York City with the Port of Albany at Buffalo and Philadelphia’s plan to build a similar transportation system to the City of Pittsburgh on the western side of Pennsylvania.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was always the underdog in an eastern market dominated by the PRR and NYC. The company also had an on and off struggle of remaining independent as it once went into receivership in 1896 and later ownership by the PRR. However, throughout all of this it steadfastly remained independent.

Despite its marginal financial situation the Baltimore and Ohio holds many “firsts.” It was quick to adopt the more efficient mode of diesel power in 1930s, and was the first to include air-conditioning in its passenger fleet. Other accomplishments include one of the fist railroads to use electric locomotives (through its Howard Street tunnel in Baltimore, the locomotives were developed by General Electric), streamlining its passenger trains to make them more appealing and including dome passenger cars in the eastern U.S.

The B&O’s financial situation would, however, catch up with it finally in the late 1950s during a recession that saw the company in a serious situation facing bankruptcy by the early 1960s. Perhaps as a blessing to the company (to find a means of survival through merger) the modern merger movement of today began all the way back in the 1950s when the Norfolk & Western Railway purchased the Virginian Railway, a coal hauler, which stretched from southern Virginia ports to the coalfields of southern West Virginia. During this time the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) took an interest in the company and would later win a battle with the NYC for controlling interest in the B&O.

The Baltimore and Ohio, however, was to suffer a better fate than the NYC and PRR, who would merge in the late 1960s to form the ill-fated Penn Central Corporation. The C&O, for several reasons, chose to leave the B&O almost entirely independent, only gradually merging the operational aspects of both companies. This finally changed in 1972 when the companies, which by then included B&O-subsidiary Western Maryland Railway, formed a new holding company called the Chessie System (which will forever be remembered for its brilliant yellow, blue, and vermilion paint scheme that featured the Chess-“C” silhouetting the C&O’s famous Chessie the kitten napping on her pillow). The Chessie System, by far one of the best-loved railroads by railfans because of its dazzling livery, lasted only a short eight years before merging with Seaboard Coast Line Industries (which was a holding company for a number of southeastern railroads including the Seaboard Coast Line and Louisville & Nashville) in 1980 to form CSX Transportation (later a division of CSX Corporation with the railroad known today as simply CSXT).

Today, much of the B&O’s trackage, such as its original main line to Ellicott City, remains in place and used by CSX. Along with CSX, Norfolk Southern also has a key route that connects to Hagerstown and funnels traffic north and south. The rest is operated by shortlines Maryland Midland (recently purchased by Genesee & Wyoming), Canton Railroad, Maryland & Delaware Railroad, and the Patapsco & Back Rivers Railroad.

Interestingly, with all of the rich history associated with Maryland railroading the state has never had a significant amount of rail mileage. Today it is home to less than 1,000 miles and at its peak featured less than 1,500 miles. For a more detailed look at the state’s rail mileage over the years please have a look at the chart below.

Maryland may no longer be home to the B&O’s flagship, the Capitol Limited but Amtrak still operates the train to Chicago. The carrier also operates its high-speed Acela trainsets as far south as Baltimore, and its Regional and Silver Service, New York to Florida trains also serve the city. Along with Amtrak the MARC commuter operation serves much of eastern Maryland and Washington D.C. with extensions as far west as the towns of Martinsburg and historic Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

Aside from passenger and freight operations Maryland railroading also includes the world-renowned Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, which, despite a catastrophic roof collapse to its historic roundhouse in downtown Baltimore, still sees hundreds of thousands of visitors annually and is a major tourist attraction to both the city and state. Maryland is also home to the very popular Western Maryland Scenic Railroad based in Cumberland that operates ex-Western Maryland Railway trackage to Frostburg.

Other Maryland railroad museums and excursion trains include the Baltimore Streetcar Museum, Bowie Railroad Station and Huntington Museum, Brunswick Museum, Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum, Ellicott City B&O Railroad Station Museum, Gaithersburg Community Museum, Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum, National Capital Trolley Museum, Walkersville Southern Railroad, and the Western Maryland Railway Historical Society.

In all, Maryland railroading offers a unique blend of mountainous and coastal operations, local shortlines, and steam-powered excursion trains. A little mix of everything for the railfan, general lover of history, and/or vacationer looking for something a little different to see and experience.