Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad Western Maryland's Historic Coal Carrier SC

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Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad Western Maryland's Historic Coal Carrier SC
Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad Western Marylands Historic Coal Carrier by Deane Mellander.
Copyright 1981.
64 pages.
Soft Cover
A history of the C&P, route of the C&P, the Mt Savage Shops, an epitaph for the C&P.
IN 1844, JOHN TYLER was President of the United States and railroads were just emerging from early adolescence. Tom Thumb had lost to the horse only fourteen years previously, but already the Baltimore & Ohio had reached Cumberland and was pushing over the mountains toward its namesake river to the west. In that year primitive iron rails first snaked their way through the Cumberland Narrows alongside the road blazed by General Edward Braddock and Lieutenant Colonel George Washington on their way to an ill-fated clash with the French near Fort Duquesne ninety years before. There was coal in the hills west of Cumberland, and iron, limestone, brick clay and lumber. The Potomac Valley was the obvious way to ship the riches of the Alleghenies to the eastern markets, but the river was generally much too shallow and unpredictable to serve as the Rhine of the New World. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the B&O started a race for the riches of the west which the canal lost. But no matter, there was plenty of traffic to share. Early rails that had poked tentatively into the hills had spread and conjoined to become the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad. The C&P became a vital part of the economy of western Maryland, delivering millions of tons of coal to the connections at Cumberland, Westernport, Piedmont, and State Line. Lumber products, brick, and iron were also significant on the waybills not to mention the locomotives turned out by the Mt. Savage Shops for both on and off-line customers.
Down through the years the C&P became a kind of Allegany County institution. Up to eight passenger trains a day polished the rails between the two ends of the line, covering the 31 miles of main line in 90 minutes with 33 scheduled stops. The line survived financial panics, miners' strikes, the United States Railroad Administration, and the Great Depression, finally to be swallowed up into the Western Maryland. The WM did its level best to erase the old C&P, closing its shops, scrapping the indomitable home-built Consolidations, and dismembering the main line. But even today the C&P refuses to die. The motive power may be painted blue, yellow, and vermilion and the hoppers may wear the silhouette of Chessie, but trains still saw down the switchback to Zihlman and Mt. Savage, and a good day will see over a hundred loads of coal coming off the Georges Creek line at Westernport. And as coal has become a more important energy source, new track has been laid and new mines opened up. Some of the old-timers around Lonaconing and Carlos will tell you there's as much coal left in the ground as the miners ever took out the first time.
A book such as this is never the result of any one person's efforts. Many people and organizations have been drawn upon to provide what we hope will be satisfying coverage of the C&P and its subsequent operations under Western Maryland and Chessie ownership. First and foremost, a debt of gratitude must be paid to W. Raymond Hicks, whose interest in chronicling the history of the Western Maryland and its predecessors goes 'way back to the Thirties and Forties. Ray photographed the C&P extensively in the years before the WM takeover and collected many historic photographs going back to the very earliest years of the C&P's existence. His gracious loan of original negatives for this publication effort has insured the highest possible reproduction quality.
Nicely dovetailing in the Ray Hicks' material is that provided by William P. Price. Bill began photographing the C&P line about the time the WM took over, and covered it right up until the end of steam operations.
J. Gerald Farrell was the fourth generation in his family to work on the C&P. He spent 50 years with the line, working his way up to Road Foreman of Engines. Gerry collected a great deal of historical material on the C&P which has provided much of the background "color" for this book. Retired and still living in Mt. Savage, Gerry is active in the local historical society, helping restore one of the original ironworker's cottages built in the 1830s.
John Krause has spent hours in the darkroom getting the most out of some occasionally marginal negatives. He has also provided the guidance that helped turn a collection of photos and rough text into a polished product. Other people who have contributed to the success of this work include John R. King, Jr., Randall Anderson, Harry Stegmaier, Jr., and the members of the Western Maryland Railway Historical Society at Union Bridge, Maryland.
So settle back and enjoy over 130 years of short line mountain railroading. I hope you get as much pleasure out of reading this book as 1 had putting it together.
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