The Western Maryland Railway, "The Fast Freight Line"

While the Western Maryland Railway, affectionately known as the Wild Mary was never a large carrier (only roughly a 700-mile system) although for those who followed it, it was a legendary line. The railroad was built over rough terrain and thus used numerous tunnels and bridges to achieve a manageable grade. While difficult to operate from a railroad perspective, the WM allowed for some of the most fantastic photography one could ever hope or wish for with everything from big 4-8-4s bursting from Knobley Tunnel and crossing the Potomac River to brawny 4-6-6-4s lugging freight through legendary Helmstetter’s Curve. To put it bluntly, what a fantastic scenic railroad the entire WM main line (especially through Maryland and West Virginia) would have made if it were all still intact today. It would easily rival anything offered today from other famous tourist lines like the Strasburg Railroad or the Durango & Silverton.

The Western Maryland Railway has its beginnings dating back to 1852 when the Baltimore, Carroll & Frederick Railroad was chartered to connect Baltimore with points west in Maryland, such as Hagerstown and Cumberland (the latter of which would later become the WM’s headquarters). After completing its original main line to Hagerstown in 1872 the railroad later changed its name to the Western Maryland Railway, a name it would hold until its absorption into CSX in 1987.

Essentially the Western Maryland had two main lines splitting from its Baltimore-Cumberland main (known as the East and West Subdivisons), the Connellsville Subdivision and Thomas Subdivision. The Connellsville Sub connected Cumberland, Maryland with Connellsville, Pennsylvania and it would become the WM’s main source of bridge-through merchandise and general freight traffic going east and west. The line originally began construction in 1906 and was completed to Connellsville six years later in 1912.

The Thomas Subdivision, which connected Cumberland with Elkins, West Virginia located in roughly the east-central area of the state was predominantly used to access the lucrative bituminous coal in the region. The WM was able to gain access to this traffic when the original builder of the line, the West Virginia Central and Pittsburgh Railway, was sold to the Western Maryland in 1905.

While the WM had a myriad of other feeder and branch lines all across its system the Thomas Sub, Connellsville Sub, East Sub, and West Sub essentially made up the railroad and were its primary lines in which it moved traffic. While the railroad ran into money problems on a number of different occasions throughout its history its primary problem was that it virtually paralleled the Baltimore & Ohio everywhere it went and unfortunately in almost every case the B&O had the faster, easier (gradient-wise) routes.

The Western Maryland did its best to remain competitive with nearby competitors, particularly the B&O but it simply did not serve any large markets outside of Baltimore and Cumberland and held main lines that were choked with high grades and high maintenance (due to the many tunnels and bridges).

Despite its setbacks the Western Maryland earned a reputation from its customers by having extremely fast, efficient, and quality freight service which it prided itself on (and also which it marketed).

The WM as a truly independent carrier ended in 1964 when the Chesapeake & Ohio and B&O (both of which were affiliated with the 1962 takeover of the B&O by the C&O) jointly applied with the ICC to acquire the Western Maryland, which was granted (the B&O had held a controlling interest in the WM for years).

Under this new setup the Western Maryland Railway continued to operate mostly independent from its parents (of which the B&O had full control of the line) until the 1972 creation of the new holding company for all three, the Chessie System, when the WM mostly disappeared (from an operating and visual standpoint) as a division of the B&O (although Chessie units continued to be sub-lettered as WM). The most significant and lasting changes for the WM began in the mid-1980s when Chessie merged with the Seaboard Coast Line and The Family Lines (to form the shortlived-1982 creation of Seaboard System) to form CSX Corporation. The railroad division of this company was CSX Transportation, which slowly began to merge the carriers. In 1987 the Western Maryland was the first Chessie road to disappear, followed soon after by the B&O and then C&O (the final railroad merged into CSX).

It was around this time that the Western Maryland Railway itself began to truly disappear, as its lines (which were considered redundant) were wholesale abandoned in favor of others, particularly the B&O’s.

Today only small sections of the WM are still active, with the best known of these operated by the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad and West Virginia Central.

Under the WMSR a short segment of the WM main line around Cumberland (still using the original WM Cumberland Station) remains active, which includes famous Helmstetter’s Curve. The railroad has gained much fame for its use of #734, a 2-8-0 steam locomotive, especially traveling through Helmstetter’s!

Western Maryland Railway All-Time Locomotive Rosters

WM Diesel Locomotive Roster

WM Steam Locomotive Roster

In recent years a newer tourist/freight line, the West Virginia Central, owned by the State of West Virginia and operated by the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley has gained much attention. The WVC operates over 100 miles of ex-B&O and WM (the former Elkins Division) trackage and just recently restored the bridge to the former Elkins Yard in Elkins, WV where the railroad will not only serve passengers at the restored WM station but also use the building as its central headquarters.

For more reading on the Western Maryland Railway you might want to consider The Western Maryland Railway: Fireballs and Black Diamonds from Roger Cook and Karl Zimmermann. This book is extremely well done, has received excellent reviews, and will give you an in-depth general overview and history of the WM along with superb photography. Even if you are a historian and/or fan of the Wild Mary and have not seen this book you will likely very much enjoy it. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit The Railroad Diamond by clicking the tab in the menu to your left marked "TRD Store".