Mountain Subdivision

Last updated
Mountain Subdivision
A Quiet Saturday Afternoon in Grafton, WV (4151817782).jpg
The yard in Grafton in November, 2009.
Overview
StatusActive
Owner CSX Transportation
Locale West Virginia, Maryland
Termini
Service
Type Freight rail
SystemCSX Transportation
Operator(s)CSX Transportation
Technical
Number of tracks2
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Mountain Subdivision
MP .0
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281.6
Berkley Run Junction
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280.2
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280.1
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279.0
Grafton Yard
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274.7
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267.4
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262.0
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261.1
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260.3
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258.1
Tunnelton defect detector
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254.5
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253.6
M & K Junction
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237.7
WV
MD
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233.4
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231.9
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229.5
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216.2
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208.5
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208.26
MD
WV
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208.25
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207.8
WV Central Junction
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207.6
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206.5
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203.1
Keyser Yard
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201.6
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200.5
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199.5
WV
MD
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WM Trussle
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198.9
Twenty First defect detector
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194.9
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191.5
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189.9
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187.0
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185.2
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183.1
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179.6
Beall St.
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178.9
Viaduct Junction
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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, [1] 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. [2]

Contents

At its east end, the Mountain Subdivision becomes the Cumberland Terminal Subdivision at Beall Street. It junctions the Thomas Subdivision twice – near Keyser, West Virginia, and near Piedmont, West Virginia – and meets the Fairmont Subdivision near its west end at Grafton. At its west end, it continues as the Bridgeport Subdivision. The Mountain Subdivision's summit is at Altamont, Maryland, at the west end of the Seventeen Mile Grade; the grade's east end is at Piedmont, West Virginia. [3] [4] [5]

History

Bloomington Viaduct crossing the North Branch Potomac River Bloomington Viaduct.jpg
Bloomington Viaduct crossing the North Branch Potomac River

The Mountain Subdivision was opened in 1852 as part of the B&O's main line. [6] In 1904 the B&O built the Patterson Creek Cutoff to alleviate congestion in its Cumberland rail yard. The cutoff line ran from McKenzie, Maryland to Patterson Creek, West Virginia, providing a bypass of the yard for coal trains moving between Keyser and Brunswick, Maryland. [7]

During the 1970s ownership of the subdivision passed from the B&O to the Chessie System, which closed the Patterson Creek Cutoff. [7] Chessie was merged into CSX in the early 1980s. The Western Maryland Thomas Subdivision was also connected to the Mountain Subdivision.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<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>

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">Hanover Subdivision</span>

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.


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 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 Short Line Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The line runs from Clarksburg west to New Martinsville along a former Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road line. Its east end is at the west end of the Bridgeport Subdivision; its west end is at the Ohio River Subdivision.

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.

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumberland Terminal Subdivision</span> Railroad line in Maryland, US

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.

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

The Coal River Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. State of West Virginia. It was formerly part of the CSX Huntington East Division. It became part of the CSX Florence Division on June 20, 2016. The line runs from Sharples, West Virginia, to St. Albans, West Virginia, for a total of 50.6 miles (81.4 km). At its north end it continues south from the Beech Creek Industrial Track and at its south end it continues south as the Kanawha Subdivision.

The Cabin Creek Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. State of West Virginia. It was formerly part of the CSX Huntington East Division. It became part of the CSX Florence Division on June 20, 2016. The line runs from Cabin Creek, West Virginia, to Red Warrior, West Virginia, for a total of 12.2 miles. At its north end it continues south from the Kanawha Subdivision and at its south end the track comes to an end.

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

The Gauley Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of West Virginia and Virginia. It was formerly part of the CSX Huntington East Division. It became part of the CSX Florence Division on June 20, 2016.

The Sewell Valley Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It was formerly part of the CSX Huntington East Division. It became part of the CSX Florence Division on June 20, 2016.

The Thomas Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and West Virginia. The line runs from Rawlings, Maryland, to Bayard, West Virginia, for a total of 44.2 miles (71.1 km). At its east end the line continues west from the Mountain Subdivision and at its west end the line comes to an end.

References

  1. CSX Transportation, Huntington, WV. "Mountain Subdivision." Archived 2011-03-22 at the Wayback Machine Huntington East Division, Timetable No. 1. Effective 2005-01-01.
  2. mtnsub.org. "The Mountain Subdivision." Railfanning the B&O Around Cumberland, MD. Accessed 2010-08-11.
  3. "CSX's Mountain Subdivision." Archived 2006-04-30 at the Wayback Machine Northern West Virginia's Railroads. Accessed 2010-08-11.
  4. "MT-Mountain Sub - the RadioReference Wiki".
  5. http://www.multimodalways.org/docs/railroads/companies/CSX/CSX%20ETTs/CSX%20Huntington%20Div%20East%20ETT%20%231%201-1-2005.pdf CSX Huntington East Division Timetable
  6. "PRR Chronology, 1852." March 2005 Edition.
  7. 1 2 "Mountain Subdivision: Eastern Approach." Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine Northern West Virginia's Railroads. Accessed 2010-08-11.