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The Georges Creek and Cumberland Railroad (GC&C) was a railroad that operated in Maryland from 1876 until 1917, when it was merged with the Western Maryland Railway (WM). The main line ran from Cumberland to Lonaconing.
The GC&C was created by rival coal mining companies in the Georges Creek Valley to compete against the Consolidated Coal Company who dictated rail traffic over the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad. By 1887 the railroad crossed the town of Midland on a large wooden trestle. The rail line came through Clarysville and Vale Summit, and went south to Lonaconing to service the mines. The trestle was removed in the 1930s.
In addition to coal hauling, the GC&C provided passenger stations and service. A published schedule of the GC&C dated January 18, 1887, shows two trains per day from Cumberland to Lonaconing (except Sundays).
The GC&C also owned a branch line, acquired in 1888 from a company called Pennsylvania railroad in Maryland, that ran from Cumberland north to the Pennsylvania state line, where it connected with the Bedford and Bridgeport Railroad. [1] The latter company was controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). [1]
The Fuller Syndicate, led by George Gould, acquired a controlling interest in the GC&C in 1907, principally to obtain access to the route through the Cumberland Narrows. [2] The WM (which had also been controlled by Gould until 1908) took over the GC&C operation in 1913, and a full merger was completed in 1917.[ citation needed ] Under the WM, the GC&C built a new line from the Narrows through Frostburg to the Pennsylvania line, which was continued by the Connellsville and State Line Railway (another WM subsidiary) to Connellsville. WM abandoned large portions of the GC&C in 1927. [3] The line from Cumberland to Midland was operated until 1939 when the track was abandoned. The State Line Branch to Pennsylvania was operated by the PRR until 1934.
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.
The Alphabet Route was a coalition of railroads connecting the Midwest United States with the Northeast, as a freight alternate to the four major systems: the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central Railroad, Erie Railroad and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Georges Creek Valley is located in Allegany County, Maryland along the Georges Creek. The valley is rich in wide veins of coal, known historically as "The Big Vein." Coal was once extracted by deep mines but is only mined today through surface mining. The Georges Creek Valley was once a major center for the US coal industry.
The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad (WMSR) is a heritage railroad based in Cumberland, Maryland, that operates passenger excursion trains and occasional freight trains using both steam and diesel locomotives over ex-Western Maryland Railway (WM) tracks between Cumberland and Frostburg. The railroad offers coach and first class service, murder mystery excursions, and special seasonal trips.
The Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was a railroad in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Wheeling, West Virginia, areas. Originally built as the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, a Pittsburgh extension of George J. Gould's Wabash Railroad, the venture entered receivership in 1908 and the line was cut loose. An extension completed in 1931 connected it to the Western Maryland Railway at Connellsville, Pennsylvania, forming part of the Alphabet Route, a coalition of independent lines between the Northeastern United States and the Midwest. It was leased by the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1964 in conjunction with the N&W acquiring several other sections of the former Alphabet Route, but was leased to the new spinoff Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway in 1990, just months before the N&W was merged into the Norfolk Southern Railway.
Maryland Route 36 is a 29.43-mile (47.36 km) state highway located in Allegany County, Maryland, United States. MD 36's southern terminus is at the West Virginia Route 46 (WV 46) bridge in Westernport and its northern terminus at U.S. Route 40 Alternate near Cumberland. Between Westernport and Frostburg, it is known as Georges Creek Road, and from Frostburg to Cumberland it is known as Mount Savage Road. Like the majority of Maryland state highways, MD 36 is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA).
The Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad (C&P) was an American railroad which operated in Western Maryland. Primarily a coal hauler, it was owned by the Consolidation Coal Company, and was purchased by the Western Maryland Railway (WM) in 1944.
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 Lurgan Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. The line runs from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, south to Hagerstown, Maryland, and west to Cherry Run, West Virginia, along a former Western Maryland Railway line. It meets the Hanover Subdivision at Hagerstown and the Cumberland Subdivision at Cherry Run. The line is named after its former northern end in Lurgan Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, where the Western Maryland once connected to the Reading Company along the Alphabet Route.
The Bedford Branch was a rail line owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
The Maryland Mining Company is a historic coal mining, iron producer and railroad company that operated in Allegany County, Maryland, United States.
The Eckhart Branch Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Cumberland, Maryland area in the 19th century.
The Georges Creek Railroad was a railroad operated by the Georges Creek Coal and Iron Company in Western Maryland. The railroad operated from 1853 to 1863, when it was acquired by the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad (C&P).
The Georges Creek Coal and Iron Company is a defunct coal mining, iron producer and railroad company that operated in Maryland from 1835 to 1863.
Cumberland, Maryland is named after the son of King George II, Prince William, the Duke of Cumberland. It is built on the site of the old Fort Cumberland, a launch pad for British General Edward Braddock's ill-fated attack on the stronghold of Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War.
The Potomac Wharf Branch was a historic railroad located in Maryland. It was built by the Maryland Mining Company between 1846 and 1850, as an extension to the Eckhart Branch Railroad. The Potomac Wharf Branch crossed Wills Creek on a bridge just east of the present Route 40 road bridge near Cumberland. Rail tracks from this line may still be seen near some billboards, and a gas station in that area.
The West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway (WVC&P) was a railroad in West Virginia and Maryland operating in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It had main lines radiating from Elkins, West Virginia in four principal directions: north to Cumberland, Maryland; west to Belington, WV; south to Huttonsville, WV; and east to Durbin, WV. Some of the routes were constructed through subsidiary companies, the Piedmont and Cumberland Railway and the Coal and Iron Railway.
The Georges Creek Subdivision is a railroad line with portions owned and operated by either CSX Transportation or the Georges Creek Railway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The line runs from Westernport, Maryland, north to Carlos, Maryland, along the former Thomas Subdivision of the Western Maryland Railway (WM). CSX Huntington East Division Timetable
Georges Creek may refer to:
The Pennsylvania Railroad in Maryland company was organized in 1876. According to its charter, it was to run from Cumberland, Maryland to the Pennsylvania line where it would connect with other branches of the Pennsylvania Railroad system and provide another outlet for Maryland's soft coal to the major industrial cities. The railroad had also been promoted by coal companies in the Georges creek valley in Maryland, principally the Maryland Coal Company and the American Coal Company as well as the city of Cumberland, Maryland to provide "the benefit of a competitive road with the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, then its only outlet." The Pennsylvania railroad wanted access to the Georges creek valley coal and potential customers such as the Maryland and American coal companies. To do so, meant bypassing the Cumberland and Pennsylvania railroad which was controlled by the Consolidation Coal company, the largest bituminous coal company in the eastern United States. In 1873, the Baltimore and Ohio railroad had purchased a majority of the Consolidation Coal company's stock, thereby controlling coal exports out of the Georges creek valley and effectively the "entire output of coal in ."
Cook, Roger; Zimmermann, Karl (1992). The Western Maryland Railway: Fireballs and Black Diamonds (2nd ed.). Laurys Station, PA: Garrigues House. ISBN 0-9620844-4-1. OCLC 26302871.
