Cumberland Terminal Subdivision

Last updated


Cumberland Terminal Subdivision
CumberlandSubdivision.JPG
CSX Locomotive waiting at the Cumberland Terminal
Overview
StatusActive
Owner CSX Transportation
Locale Maryland
Termini Cumberland
Service
Type Freight rail
SystemCSX Transportation
Operator(s)CSX Transportation
Technical
Line length5.5 mi
Number of tracks2+
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Cumberland Terminal Subdivision
MP
BSicon CONTg.svg
BSicon CONTg.svg
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon MSTRq.svg
BSicon hSTRa@gq.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon hKRZWeq.svg
BSicon ABZg+r.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
178.9
Viaduct Junction
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon lBUE-us.svg
BSicon SKRZ-G2.svg
178.6
Baltimore St.
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
178.3
BSicon LOGO Amtrak2.svg
BSicon BHF2.svg
BSicon STRc3.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STRc12.svg
BSicon STR3+4.svg
BSicon STR2+4.svg
BSicon STRc3.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon CONT1.svg
BSicon STRc14.svg
BSicon ABZg+4.svg
Connection with
WM Scenic Railroad
BSicon SKRZ-G2o.svg
176.9
Virginia Ave.
BSicon KRW+l.svg
BSicon KRWgr.svg
BSicon YRDa.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon YRDm.svg
BSicon STR.svg
175.7
West Hump
BSicon YRDe.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon KRWl.svg
BSicon KRWg+r.svg
173.4
Evitts Creek Yard
BSicon CONTf.svg
The Amtrak Capitol Limited passes through Cumberland Yard on its way to Washington, D.C. In the background are CSX freight trains. On the left is Mexico Tower, a closed interlocking tower. Crossing Over (5565431865).jpg
The Amtrak Capitol Limited passes through Cumberland Yard on its way to Washington, D.C. In the background are CSX freight trains. On the left is Mexico Tower, a closed interlocking tower.

The Cumberland Terminal Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the Cumberland, Maryland area. The line centers on the Cumberland rail yard and is a junction with three other subdivisions.

Contents

The line was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road (B&O) in the 1850s as part of its original main line, known then as the "West End." To the east it connects with the Cumberland Subdivision leading to Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. To the west it joins the Keystone Subdivision heading towards Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. To the southwest it joins the Mountain Subdivision leading to Grafton, West Virginia. [1] [2]

Yard and shop facilities

The Cumberland rail yard complex originally included a large classification yard and an engine shop. [3] The B&O opened its Westward Transportation Yard in Cumberland in 1960. The yard is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) long and occupies 95 acres (0.38 km2). It includes an 8-track receiving yard, a 33-track hump classification yard with automatic retarders and switching, car inspection and repair facilities, and other support buildings. CSX converted the yard to remote operation in 2004, and classified 1,000 to 1,400 cars per day in 2010. [4] In 2017 CSX converted the yard to flat switching and closed the hump operations. [5]

Passenger stations

The B&O built a large passenger station in Cumberland, the Queen City Hotel, in 1871, shortly after completion of a rail line to Pittsburgh. Passenger traffic on the line declined in the mid-20th century, and the station was demolished in 1972. [6] Today the smaller Amtrak depot is located on the line, in the downtown area west of the yard.

CSX acquisition

During the 1970s the B&O was controlled by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, and the two companies (along with the Western Maryland Railway) operated under the single corporate identify of the Chessie System. The Western Maryland Railway once had two extensive yards in the Cumberland area but these were phased out in favor of the ex B&O Cumberland Terminal. The Chessie companies were merged into CSX in 1987. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore and Ohio Railroad</span> Rail system in the United States

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States. It operated as B&O from 1830 until 1987, when it was merged into the Chessie System; its lines are today controlled by CSX Transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CSX Transportation</span> Class I railroad system in the US

CSX Transportation, known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles (34,000 km) of track, it is the leading subsidiary of CSX Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Trains operated under the Chessie name from 1973 to 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesapeake and Ohio Railway</span> Defunct American Class I railway

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond to the Ohio River by 1873, where the railroad town of Huntington, West Virginia, was named for him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Maryland Railway</span> Freight railroad in Appalachia

The Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad (1852–1983) that operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital Subdivision</span> Railway line in Maryland and District of Columbia

The Capital Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Maryland and the District of Columbia. The line runs from near Baltimore, Maryland, southwest to Washington, D.C., along the former Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road (B&O) Washington Branch. The subdivision's Alexandria Extension provides a connection to Virginia and points south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick Branch (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad)</span> Railroad line in Frederick County, Maryland, US

The Frederick Branch is a railroad line in Frederick County, Maryland. It was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in 1831, and is now owned by the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). The 3.4 mi (5.5 km) branch extends between Frederick Junction – a wye with the Old Main Line Subdivision of CSX Transportation on the west side of the Monocacy River – and its terminus at East Street in downtown Frederick, Maryland. The wye at Frederick Junction was the first example of its kind in the United States and is still in use today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore Belt Line</span> Baltimore USA railroad line

The Baltimore Belt Line was constructed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in the early 1890s to connect the railroad's newly constructed line to Philadelphia and New York City/Jersey City with the rest of the railroad at Baltimore, Maryland. It included the Howard Street Tunnel, the Mount Royal Station for B&O's Royal Blue Line passenger trains, and the first mainline railroad electrification in the United States. CSX Transportation currently operates the line as part of its Baltimore Terminal Subdivision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain Subdivision</span> Railway line in Maryland and West Virginia

The Mountain Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and West Virginia. The line runs from Cumberland, Maryland, west to Grafton, West Virginia, along the original Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) main line. It was known as the West End Subdivision until the B&O's absorption into the Chessie System, and included the B&O's original crossing of the Allegheny Mountains. Through CSX traffic to the west from Cumberland now uses the Keystone Subdivision over Sand Patch Grade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanover Subdivision</span> Railway line in Maryland and Pennsylvania

The Hanover Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The line runs from Baltimore, Maryland, west to Hagerstown, Maryland, along several former Western Maryland Railway (WM) lines. It meets the Baltimore Terminal Subdivision at its east end, and the Lurgan Subdivision heads both north and west from its west end.


The Keystone Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The line runs from Cumberland, Maryland, west to McKeesport, Pennsylvania, along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line. The line includes the well-known Sand Patch Grade over the Allegheny Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Subdivision</span> Rail line in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland

The Philadelphia Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. The line runs from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, southwest to Baltimore, Maryland, along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Subdivision</span> Railroad line in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, United States

The Metropolitan Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in Washington, D.C. and Maryland.The 53-mile line runs from Washington, D.C., northwest to Weverton, Maryland, along the former Metropolitan Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumberland Subdivision</span> Railroad line in the U.S. states of West Virginia and Maryland

The CSX Cumberland Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and West Virginia. The line runs from Brunswick, Maryland, west to Cumberland, Maryland, along the old Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road (B&O) main line. At its east end, the Cumberland Subdivision becomes the Metropolitan Subdivision; at its west end at Cumberland, Maryland it becomes the Cumberland Terminal Subdivision. It meets the Shenandoah Subdivision at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and the Lurgan Subdivision in Cherry Run, West Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Castle Subdivision</span> Railway line in Pennsylvania and Ohio

The New Castle Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and Ohio. The line runs from New Castle, Pennsylvania west through Youngstown and Akron to Greenwich, Ohio along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line. Its east end is near Mahoningtown, at the west end of the New Castle Terminal Subdivision. Its west end is at the Willard Terminal Subdivision, just east of the Greenwich Subdivision junction at Greenwich. It junctions with the Newton Falls Subdivision at Newton Falls, Ohio, and the CL&W Subdivision at Sterling, Ohio.


The CL&W Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Ohio. The line runs from a junction with the New Castle Subdivision at Sterling northwest to Lorain along a former Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road line. It junctions with the Cleveland Subdivision at Lester and the Greenwich Subdivision at Grafton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kensington station (Maryland)</span> MARC rail station in Kensington, Maryland, United States

Kensington is a passenger railroad station at 10417 Howard Avenue in Kensington, Maryland, United States. Opened by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in 1891, the Kensington station is today served by MARC Train's Brunswick Line, which makes 15 weekday scheduled stops at Kensington, plus one flag stop on Fridays.

The Patterson Creek Cutoff is an abandoned railroad line built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in northern West Virginia and Western Maryland, that served trains running on the B&O "West End" line in the Cumberland, Maryland area. The cutoff route ran from McKenzie, Maryland to Patterson Creek, West Virginia, providing a bypass of the B&O rail yard in Cumberland for coal trains moving between Keyser, West Virginia and Brunswick, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camden Station</span> Rail station in Baltimore, Maryland, US

Camden Station, now also referred to as Camden Street Station, Camden Yards, and formally as the Transportation Center at Camden Yards, is a train station at the intersection of South Howard and West Camden Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, adjacent to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, behind the B&O Warehouse. It is served by MARC commuter rail service and local Light Rail trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore Terminal Subdivision</span> Railroad line owned by CSX in Maryland

The Baltimore Terminal Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Maryland. The line runs from Baltimore to Halethorpe along the original Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line, one of the oldest rail lines in the United States and the first passenger railroad line. At its east (north) end, it connects with the Philadelphia Subdivision; its west (south) end has a junction with the Capital Subdivision and the Old Main Line Subdivision.

References

  1. CSX Transportation, Baltimore, MD. "Cumberland Terminal Subdivision." Archived 2011-03-22 at the Wayback Machine Northern Region, Baltimore Division, Timetable No. 4. Effective 2005-01-01.
  2. "C3-Cumberland Terminal Sub - the RadioReference Wiki".
  3. mtnsub.org. "Cumberland Terminal." Archived 2011-02-21 at the Wayback Machine Railfanning the B&O Around Cumberland, MD. Accessed 2010-08-14.
  4. CSX Transportation (2010). "Cumberland achieves milestone." [ permanent dead link ]CSX origins (newsletter). Baltimore Division, Halethorpe, MD. September 2010.
  5. Stephens, Bill (2017-05-19). "CSX Transportation idles hump at Cumberland, Md". News Wire. Trains. Kalmbach Media.
  6. Newell, Dianne (1975). The Failure to Preserve the Queen City Hotel, Cumberland, Maryland. Washington, D.C.: Preservation Press, National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States.
  7. CSX Transportation. "Our Evolution and History." Archived 2011-10-10 at the Wayback Machine Interactive timeline. Accessed 2012-12-02.