The Baltimore & Ohio's Sand Patch Tunnel and Grade

The Baltimore & Ohio's Sand Patch Tunnel and grade is less renowned for being an engineering wonder than for putting on an exhilarating show between machine and nature. For more than a century trains have fought the mountain, where the B&O's main line to Pittsburgh crosses the summit of the Allegheny Mountain range at Sand Patch, Pennsylvania (hence its name). Today, the line is successor CSX Transportation's primary artery between Baltimore and Chicago and attracts thousands of visitors annually to the area around the small hamlet of Sand Patch to watch trains battle the mountain.

Two Chessie System GP40s led by #6537 power CSX freight S375 upgrade at Glencoe, Pennsylvania on a snowy March 5, 1994.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, commonly known as the B&O, holds the distinction of being this country’s very first common-carrier railroad (meaning a railroad chartered specifically for public use) being officially incorporated and organized on April 24th, 1827. – Just as a side-note the B&O was not the first railroad actually chartered in this country, that distinction goes to the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad which was created a year earlier in 1826. – By being this country’s first common carrier the railroad was instrumental in helping to build and grow not only our economy but also the country itself when the “west” meant the Ohio River.

While never a wealthy railroad throughout its existence (when compared to the likes of its much larger and powerful northern competitors, the Pennsylvania [PRR] and New York Central [NYC] Railroads) its legacy will forever be remembered as a survivor and that it put customer service above all else. When the company’s name and existence finally came to an end on April 30th, 1987 it had just celebrated its 160th birthday and witnessed the industry grow from nothing more than few scattered systems to a rail network consisting of tens of thousands of miles linking the country from coast to coast (it also outlived its wealthier northern competitors by over a decade).

The B&O was forever plagued with trying to find through, main line routes over the steepest regions of the Alleghenies after the state of Pennsylvania forbid the railroad from building through its borders during the mid-19th century (they feared the B&O would too steeply compete with their Pennsylvania Railroad).  By 1852 the B&O, upon building to Cumberland, Maryland and through north-central Virginia reached the Ohio River city of Wheeling. Five years later in 1857 the railroad had secured a more southerly route connecting to Parkersburg, thus bolstering its western connections. Realizing it still needed a direct connection to the growing city of Pittsburgh, which had originally been denied by Pennsylvania in 1847, the B&O began looking for another route.

A former Conrail SD40-2 leads CSX freight Q384 as several units muscle the train up the Sand Patch grade and under the ex-Western Maryland Keystone Viaduct on October 08, 2003.

To do so it underwrote the Pittsburgh & Connellsville Railroad, which began building east from Pittsburgh in 1847 and had connected its namesake cities by 1857. The B&O nearly lost its controlling interest in the P&C when the PRR was allowed to takeover the line in 1864. However, the B&O took the issue to court and won back the railroad in 1868. By May, 1871 the line was open between Cumberland and Pittsburgh.  The original Sand Patch Tunnel began construction in the early 1850s and opened in 1854. However, the B&O elected to construct a new bore in the late 1860s to lower grades and increase capacity. The new structure, still in use today, was completed in 1871. Sand Patch Tunnel is quite long for an eastern railroad, listed by the B&O at 4,474.7 feet (although the railroad then proceeds to list the length in its timetable at 0.9 miles).

In 1911 the tunnel was widened by the railroad to accommodate two tracks as traffic levels required additional capacity, which was completed in 1912. Today, the tunnel remains double-tracked since it is CSX's only main line between Chicago and Baltimore. According to the B&O's 1948 records Sand Patch tunnel is 31-feet wide and 24-feet, 10-inches tall and is entirely concrete lined with arched portals (which also are also bricked).

While the Sand Patch grade and tunnel are still a sight to see today with CSX freights conquering the Alleghenies, it was truly something to see during the steam era on the Baltimore & Ohio. Large steam locomotives like the 2-8-8-4 Class EM-1 and others literally shook the earth in their efforts to move freight over Sand Patch. During the B&O era the route was officially listed as the railroad's Pittsburgh Division between Cumberland and Pittsburgh. However, under CSX ownership it is now known as the Keystone Subdivision. If you plan to watch trains conquer the Sand Patch grade the area is quite accessible and easy to reach, even if it is in a rather remote part of Maryland.

Two CSX units and a trio of leased power, led by SD60M #8765, work hard to move train Q359 upgrade at beautiful Meyersdale, Pennsylvania on August 20, 2006.

For information about Sand Patch tunnel and grade please click here. For more reading and history about the B&O consider the book, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, written by Kirk Reynolds and David Oroszi. While there are several more excellent books with superb illustrations out there covering different aspects of the B&O this publication includes a fine general history of the railroad with wonderful historical photos (many in color). If you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit the link below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.