by PeteB
America’s oldest railroad and its two successors are nearing 200 years of operations as of 2024. Of the three companies, the Baltimore & Ohio currently has the far longest history. However, in the period 1971 through 1994, its identity gradually disappeared as it yielded to Chessie, a combination of Baltimore & Ohio, Chesapeake & Ohio and Western Maryland. In turn, Chessie yielded to an even larger entity, CSX, which combined Chessie with the railroads of the Seaboard System.
And yet, an observer standing trackside on October 29th, 1994 at Terra Alta as R316 shook the ground with one of GE’s newest offerings, CSX C40-8 7588, leading a GP40-2/SD50 set with three SD50’s 8605/8701/8608 pushing, would have noticed CA Tower which was erected in 1923 to replace a decades-old wood tower that burned down. CA was no longer manned. Control of the area’s trackage was now vested in a distant office but this vestige of the B&O still endured. Indeed, another West End tower, Hardman, was still functioning. And so it was. Here and there, even as the capitol emblem disappeared off motive power and rolling stock, one could still find remnants of the B&O, the railroad that once touted its system as “Linking 13 Great States With The Nation”; towers, stations, bridges, company service rolling stock, coaling towers and even an ancient “circular” round house.
This book was compiled from the travels of the author through sections of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia; sometimes focused on the B&O and sometimes out to record another carrier. It is not a comprehensive photographic survey of B&O locations. Notably absent are the Magnolia Cut-Off; Metropolitan and Old Main Subdivisions (Point of Rocks is included); Newburg and Cheat River Grades and Glenwood Yard and the P&W Subdivision. Thirty-eight locations have images as well as considerable historical text including articles (or excerpts of articles) from industry publications concerning construction of “new” Sand Patch Tunnel, dieselization, reconstruction of Cumberland (Evitts) yard and expansion of Fairmont yard. In addition there is historical text relating to many other trackside sites in the four-state area.
The 180-page, soft-cover presentation includes 239 color images, 8 black & white images, 15 maps/schematics, 18 illustrations and an index.
The book is available at Ron’s Books, Phoebe Snow and the Lehigh Valley Chapter, NRHS. Additional outlets are possible.
---------------------------------CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE------------------------------------
Introduction/Dedication
I B&O Symbol Freights Via CNJ: Cranford Jct./SIRT/Bound Brook
II Philadelphia; A Late Arrival
III It Started with Baltimore
IV West of Baltimore/Washington
V Cumberland
VI Through the Alleghenies via Sand Patch; Cumberland to Connellsville
VII Connellsville
VIII Pittsburgh via P&LE
IX Butler
X Up and Down to Grafton
XI The Fairmont Coal Region; Grafton/Fairmont/Morgantown
Bibliography and Further Reading
Index
Thank you,
Pete Brill
And yet, an observer standing trackside on October 29th, 1994 at Terra Alta as R316 shook the ground with one of GE’s newest offerings, CSX C40-8 7588, leading a GP40-2/SD50 set with three SD50’s 8605/8701/8608 pushing, would have noticed CA Tower which was erected in 1923 to replace a decades-old wood tower that burned down. CA was no longer manned. Control of the area’s trackage was now vested in a distant office but this vestige of the B&O still endured. Indeed, another West End tower, Hardman, was still functioning. And so it was. Here and there, even as the capitol emblem disappeared off motive power and rolling stock, one could still find remnants of the B&O, the railroad that once touted its system as “Linking 13 Great States With The Nation”; towers, stations, bridges, company service rolling stock, coaling towers and even an ancient “circular” round house.
This book was compiled from the travels of the author through sections of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia; sometimes focused on the B&O and sometimes out to record another carrier. It is not a comprehensive photographic survey of B&O locations. Notably absent are the Magnolia Cut-Off; Metropolitan and Old Main Subdivisions (Point of Rocks is included); Newburg and Cheat River Grades and Glenwood Yard and the P&W Subdivision. Thirty-eight locations have images as well as considerable historical text including articles (or excerpts of articles) from industry publications concerning construction of “new” Sand Patch Tunnel, dieselization, reconstruction of Cumberland (Evitts) yard and expansion of Fairmont yard. In addition there is historical text relating to many other trackside sites in the four-state area.
The 180-page, soft-cover presentation includes 239 color images, 8 black & white images, 15 maps/schematics, 18 illustrations and an index.
The book is available at Ron’s Books, Phoebe Snow and the Lehigh Valley Chapter, NRHS. Additional outlets are possible.
---------------------------------CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE------------------------------------
Introduction/Dedication
I B&O Symbol Freights Via CNJ: Cranford Jct./SIRT/Bound Brook
II Philadelphia; A Late Arrival
III It Started with Baltimore
IV West of Baltimore/Washington
V Cumberland
VI Through the Alleghenies via Sand Patch; Cumberland to Connellsville
VII Connellsville
VIII Pittsburgh via P&LE
IX Butler
X Up and Down to Grafton
XI The Fairmont Coal Region; Grafton/Fairmont/Morgantown
Bibliography and Further Reading
Index
Thank you,
Pete Brill
