Keystone Subdivision

Last updated
Keystone Subdivision
Overview
StatusActive
Owner CSX
Locale Maryland, Pennsylvania
Termini
Service
Type Freight rail
SystemCSX
Operator(s)CSX, Amtrak
Technical
Number of tracks2
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map

Contents

MP .0
BSicon CONTg.svg
BSicon eHST.svg
311.7
BSicon ABZg3.svg
BSicon KRZ3+1Wo.svg
262.9
BSicon KMW.svg
308.7
Center St. Versailles
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon KMW.svg
303.1
BSicon KMW.svg
301.6
BSicon KMW.svg
299.8
BSicon KMW.svg
297.8
BSicon KMW.svg
295.9
BSicon KMW.svg
294.5
BSicon KMW.svg
292.7
BSicon KMW.svg
290.5
Fitz Henry
defect detector
BSicon KMW.svg
289.3
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon KRZu.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
286.6
W&LE
Pittsburg Subdivision
BSicon KMW.svg
285.5
Hagerman's Rock
BSicon KMW.svg
281.7
BSicon KMW.svg
276.1
BSicon KMW.svg
275.3
BSicon ABZg+l.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
272.7
SWP Mt. Pleasant
Industrial Track
BSicon ABZg+l.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
270.3
W&LE
Pittsburg Subdivision
BSicon HST.svg
269.7
BSicon LOGO Amtrak2.svg
BSicon dYRD.svg
Connellsville Yard
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon ABZgr.svg
268.6
SWP FM&P
Subdivision
BSicon KMW.svg
266.2
Casparis defect detector
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
262.9
BSicon KMW.svg
253.4
BSicon KMW.svg
252.1
BSicon KMW.svg
251.8
HK Tower (Closed)
BSicon SPLa.svg
243.3
BSicon SPLe.svg
BSicon KMW.svg
240.9
BSicon TUNNEL1.svg
240.0
Benford Tunnel
BSicon KMW.svg
239.8
BSicon TUNNEL1.svg
239.6
Brook Tunnel
BSicon KMW.svg
238.7
BSicon TUNNEL1.svg
237.0
Shoo Fly Tunnel
BSicon TUNNEL1.svg
235.2
Pinkerton Tunnel
BSicon KMW.svg
239.8
Casselman defect detector
BSicon PSLl.svg
227.0
Siding
BSicon KMW.svg
226.8
BSicon ABZgl+l.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
BSicon KMW.svg
219.5
BSicon PSLr.svg
219.2
Siding
BSicon KMW.svg
218.4
BSicon STRc2.svg
BSicon ABZg3.svg
216.0
Salisbury Junction
BSicon CONT1.svg
BSicon STR+c4.svg
Romania Industrial Track
BSicon KMW.svg
215.1
BSicon KMW.svg
211.0
BSicon TUNNEL1.svg
209.6
Sand Patch Tunnel
BSicon KMW.svg
206.5
NA Tower (Closed)
BSicon KMW.svg
200.2
BSicon KMW.svg
199.4
FO Tower (Closed)
BSicon KMW.svg
196.9
BSicon exSTRc2.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon exCONT3.svg
PRR line
to Bedford
BSicon eABZg+1.svg
BSicon eABZg2.svg
BSicon exSTRc34.svg
190.2
BSicon exSTRc1.svg
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
BSicon exSTR+4.svg
BSicon KMW.svg
BSicon exSTR.svg
187.0
Cooks Mills
defect detector
BSicon STR+GRZq.svg
BSicon xSTR+GRZq.svg
184.2
State line
PA
MD
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon exSTR.svg
183.8
BSicon exCONTgq.svg
BSicon eABZgr+r.svg
BSicon exSTR.svg
BSicon CONT4+f.svg
BSicon eABZg+l.svg
BSicon exABZgr.svg
181.3
BSicon eABZg+l.svg
BSicon eKRZu.svg
BSicon exSTRr.svg
WM
BSicon eABZgl.svg
BSicon eABZg+r.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon KMW.svg
178.2
Viaduct Junction
BSicon CONTf.svg
BSicon CONTf.svg


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, (near Pittsburgh) [1] along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line. The line includes the well-known Sand Patch Grade over the Allegheny Mountains. [2] [3]

The east end of the Keystone Subdivision is at Viaduct Junction in Cumberland, where it meets the Cumberland Terminal Subdivision at the east end of the Cumberland Viaduct. The west end is at Sinns, on the west (left) side of the Youghiogheny River at Liberty, [4] where it continues as the Pittsburgh Subdivision through Pittsburgh and on to West Pittsburg. The Keystone Subdivision also joins with the S&C Subdivision at Rockwood, Pennsylvania. [1]

Amtrak's Capitol Limited uses the Keystone Subdivision.

History

The Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad (P&C) was first incorporated in 1837, but did not succeed in raising money until 1846. [5] Work began in 1847, [6] and the line opened from Pittsburgh to Connellsville in 1857 [7] and to Cumberland in 1871. [8] The B&O leased the P&C for 50 years effective January 1, 1876, and it was merged into the B&O in 1912. [9]

A new bridge over the Youghiogheny River at Sinns opened in 1968, connecting the old P&C to the parallel Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (which the B&O had trackage rights over to New Castle [4] ) on the opposite shore. This allowed B&O trains to bypass downtown McKeesport; the B&O line through McKeesport was closed in 1970. [10] [11] The P&LE is now CSX's Pittsburgh Subdivision, while the old B&O tracks in the Pittsburgh area are mostly abandoned or operated by short lines.

In summer 1985, the Chessie System (the B&O's holding company at the time) announced that it would sever its St. Louis line through Ohio, rerouting all through traffic over the Alleghenies at Sand Patch rather than along the older Mountain Subdivision.

See also

Related Research Articles

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway</span> Company and former railroad in the United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain Subdivision</span> Railroad line between in the U.S. states of 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.

The Indiana Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Ohio and Indiana. The line runs from Cincinnati, Ohio, west to Washington, Indiana, along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrisburg Subdivision</span> Rail line in Pennsylvania, US

The Harrisburg Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Pennsylvania. The line is located in Philadelphia, and connects Greenwich Yard and the Philadelphia Subdivision with the Trenton Subdivision along a former Pennsylvania Railroad line. Much of the Harrisburg Subdivision is the High Line' or West Philadelphia Elevated along 31st Street over the 30th Street Station area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trenton Subdivision (CSX Transportation)</span>

The Trenton Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The line runs from CP NICE in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, northeast to Port Reading Junction in Manville, New Jersey, along a former Reading Company line.


The Bridgeport Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The line runs from Grafton west to Clarksburg along a former Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road line. At its east end, the Bridgeport Subdivision becomes the Mountain Subdivision; its west end is at the Short Line Subdivision. It is part of the CSX Baltimore Division.

<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.

The Willard Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Ohio. The line runs from Willard west to Deshler along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line. At its east end, at Daniels Road west of Willard, the line becomes the Willard Terminal Subdivision. Its west end is at the east end of the Garrett Subdivision, just east of Deshler and the Toledo Subdivision. The line is split at Fostoria by the Fostoria Subdivision, which includes the junction with the Columbus Subdivision, and at Galatea the line intersects the Toledo Branch Subdivision. This was once Amtrak's Three rivers line.

The Marietta Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation and operated by Belpre Industrial Parkersburg Railroad in the U.S. states of West Virginia and Ohio. The line runs from Parkersburg, West Virginia, west to Belpre, Ohio, and north via Marietta to Relief along a former Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road line. Its south end is at a connection to the Ohio River Subdivision; the line crosses the Ohio River on the Parkersburg Bridge between Parkersburg and Belpre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P&W Subdivision</span>

The P&W Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation, the Allegheny Valley Railroad (AVR), and the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad (BPRR) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line runs from Rankin north through Pittsburgh to West Pittsburg along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line, once the Pittsburgh and Western Railroad.

The Rochester Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of New York. The line runs from Solvay, New York, west to Churchville, New York, along the former New York Central Railroad water level route. At its east end, west of downtown Syracuse, New York, the line continues west from the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision at Control Point (CP)-296. It intersects the West Shore Subdivision, which provides a southern bypass of Rochester, at Fairport (CP-359) and Churchville (CP-382). At its west end in Churchville the line becomes the Buffalo Terminal Subdivision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pittsburgh Subdivision</span>

The Pittsburgh Subdivision is an American railroad line that is owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Line (Pennsylvania Railroad)</span> Former railroad line from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad was a rail line in Pennsylvania connecting Philadelphia with Pittsburgh via Harrisburg. The rail line was split into two rail lines, and now all of its right-of-way is a cross-state corridor, composed of Amtrak's Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line and the Norfolk Southern Railway's Pittsburgh Line.

The Pittsburgh to St. Louis Main Line was a rail line owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The line ran from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania west via Steubenville, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana, Terre Haute, Indiana, and Vandalia, Illinois to East St. Louis, Illinois. In addition to its east end in downtown Pittsburgh, where it met the Main Line and Pittsburgh to Chicago Main Line, junctions included the Columbus to Chicago Main Line at Columbus, the C&X Branch at Xenia, the Columbus to Indianapolis Main Line via Bradford at New Paris, the Richmond Branch and Fort Wayne Branch at Richmond, the Louisville Branch and I&F Branch at Indianapolis, and the Peoria Branch at Farrington, Illinois.

The P&LE McKeesport Bridge is an American truss bridge which spans the Youghiogheny River and connects the east and west banks of the Pittsburgh industrial suburb of McKeesport, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sand Patch Grade</span> Section of railroad

Sand Patch Grade is an approximately 100-mile-long (160 km) section of railroad track known for its steep grades and curves through the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania and western Maryland. Dropping over 1,000 feet (300 m) in about 20 miles (32 km) and with grades as much as 2%, Sand Patch Grade is one of the steepest railroad grades on the East Coast.

References

  1. 1 2 CSX Timetables: Keystone Subdivision
  2. "MH-Keystone Sub - the RadioReference Wiki".
  3. http://www.multimodalways.org/docs/railroads/companies/CSX/CSX%20ETTs/CSX%20Baltimore%20Div%20ETT%20%234%201-1-2005.pdf CSX Baltimore Division Timetable
  4. 1 2 Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad 1960 System Map
  5. "PRR Chronology, 1837" (PDF). (98.8  KiB), June 2004 Edition
  6. "PRR Chronology, 1847" (PDF). (40.7  KiB), April 2005 Edition
  7. "PRR Chronology, 1857" (PDF). (54.1  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  8. "PRR Chronology, 1871" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2006-11-21. (72.9  KiB), January 2005 Edition
  9. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Timeline
  10. Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: CSX Bridge at Liberty Boro
  11. Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: P&LE Bridge McKeesport