WMSR's Georges Creek Division: Reviving A Long-Dormant Line

Published: February 18, 2026

CUMBERLAND, Md. — The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad (WMSR) is best known for its steam-powered Frostburg Flyer excursions over the former Western Maryland main line between Cumberland and Frostburg. But a second act is now unfolding just to the south and east: a long-idled branch through the Georges Creek Valley that WMSR is rebuilding into what it calls the Georges Creek Division, which was originally part of the historic Western Maryland Railway. The project aims at restoring both heritage passenger service and future freight potential in a region once defined by coal, iron, and heavy industry.

The then-Georges Creek Railway GP9 #25 and FA-2 #303, wearing full WM speed lettering, layover at Barton, Maryland on December 30, 2011. Wade Massie photo.

What WMSR acquired (and when)

WMSR announced in January 2024 that it had secured a long-term, 36-month lease with Eighteen Thirty Group, LLC, the owner of the dormant short line commonly known as the Georges Creek Railway. The railroad says the agreement followed more than two years of discussions and is designed to give WMSR a corridor where it can expand beyond the schedule constraints of its county-owned Cumberland–Frostburg route. As part of the lease agreement the railroad has options extending beyond that initial term (including the possibility of purchase or longer leasing), with the line to be operated under the WMSR umbrella as the Georges Creek Division.

How long is the line?

You’ll see a couple different mileages depending on what portion is being discussed:

WMSR’s Georges Creek Division materials describe rehabilitating roughly 12.8 to 13 miles between Borden Shaft, Maryland, and Westernport, with an interchange connection to CSX Transportation at Westernport.
The historic Georges Creek Railway (GCK) operation is widely described as encompassing about 14 miles of trackage in the valley (often referenced between Westernport and points north such as Carlos), reflecting a broader view of the corridor’s legacy footprint and ownership history.

In practical terms, WMSR’s near-term focus has been on the segment it is actively positioning for a return to service—the Borden Shaft–Westernport corridor—while the wider “Georges Creek” name captures the branch’s longer historical identity in the coalfields.

A corridor shaped by coal—and a complicated modern history

Railroading in the Georges Creek Valley predates the Western Maryland itself. As early as the 1850s, rail lines in the valley were being built to move coal and industrial output toward connections on the Potomac, with the region’s economy increasingly dominated by coal shipments rather than iron.

In the 20th century, the branch and related lines became part of the Western Maryland system and later Chessie/CSX-era operations, carrying a mix of coal and local traffic as the region’s industrial base evolved.

The modern short line chapter began after CSX-era rationalization and washout issues reduced service. The Eighteen Thirty Group and related Georges Creek entities ultimately acquired the line out of bankruptcy in 2006, intending to preserve the corridor’s transportation potential.

For a time, the Georges Creek operation provided switching and rail service tied heavily to the paper industry—most notably the Verso (formerly NewPage) paper mill in Luke, Maryland. When that mill shut down, railroad operations ceased by 2019, leaving the corridor dormant again—rails intact in many places but increasingly hidden by vegetation and vulnerable to drainage and washout problems typical of creek-side mountain branches.

WMSR's Intentions

WMSR has been direct about the motivation: its core Cumberland–Frostburg operation is successful, but it runs on track the railroad does not own, limiting the ability to “craft our future as we see fit,” as WMSR leadership put it when announcing the lease.

The Georges Creek line offers a different canvas—multiple small towns (Midland, Lonaconing, Moscow, Barton, Westernport) and a corridor well suited to a family-oriented heritage experience that is distinct from the mountain-grade run to Frostburg. WMSR’s Georges Creek Division site even frames the project as “restoring the Big Vein,” a nod to the valley’s coal heritage, and teases a return of passenger service not seen since the 1950s.

Freight is part of the equation too. In its lease announcement, WMSR noted that CSX and shippers have periodically sought short-line-style service that can be more flexible than a Class I railroad, and WMSR sees the Georges Creek corridor as a way to pursue those opportunities—especially if industrial sites in the region (including the former mill area) ever return to rail-served use.

Progress toward reopening

From the start, WMSR described the early work as straightforward but labor-intensive: attack the overgrowth, assess safety needs, and begin the slow process of bringing the branch back “one railroad tie at a time.”

One highly specific infrastructure challenge has long defined the line’s reopening prospects: a significant washout area at Moscow, described in reporting as a roughly 400-foot stretch damaged in past flooding (often traced back to the mid-1990s). Early coverage quoted officials expressing optimism that the line could be repaired in stages—working the usable sections first while building funding and momentum for the bigger fixes.

WMSR and the Georges Creek Division have also highlighted practical “re-start” tasks typical of dormant lines: evaluating grade crossings and signal protection, developing transload concepts, and planning how the corridor can host both rail activity and community recreation goals (including trail concepts that local stakeholders have discussed alongside the tracks).

The major setback: May 2025 flooding damage

Just as tangible progress was being reported—particularly the clearing of right-of-way—severe flooding in western Maryland delivered a significant blow.

According to Trains.com coverage, the May 13, 2025 flooding heavily impacted the Georges Creek Division line. A subsequent update from the division’s public communications said that the recently cleared segment between Barton and Westernport suffered significant track damage, with bridges, crossings, additional right-of-way, and several miles of track also affected. Obviously, such extensive damage has pushed back the line's reopening.

Where things stand now

Public-facing information from the Georges Creek Division emphasizes that the team has been rehabilitating the corridor since early 2024, with the stated goal of restoring passenger excursions and preserving freight capability via the CSX interchange at Westernport.

With the 2025 flood damage, the line is very much a work in progress. Nevertheless, it’s a rare modern attempt to bring back a railroad service corridor that once sat at the center of a coalfield economy. If successful, it would reconnect small towns in the Georges Creek Valley with an experience they haven’t seen in generations: a passenger train as a local event, not just a memory. To learn more about the ongoing work to rebuild the corridor please click here to visit the Georges Creek website.

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