Nostalgia & History > When Cumberland was Cumberland!

Two weekends ago I did go to the Cumberland Maryland area. As in recent years there, I went more for the golf, hiking, and biking than the trains...a statement that I would have considered heresy at one time. Of course, my emotional attachment to the B&O and its yellow descendant Chessie, always takes me back to the yard area. CSX has done an exceptional job of turning the facility into an episode from the Twilight Zone. A couple of remote control units plodding back and forth, barely a human in site,  and, a distinct lack of trains, make it a place that CSX should use as the stepchild for its new slogan..."Tomorrows Never Comes!" Many trains bypass the yard now, and the receiving yard is plugged with stored cars or with trains waitning to be "switched." The hump is still there, and the cars are now pushed over it, and placed down into the bowl by the yard jobs...some precision! The old eastbound yard is full of stored units, and the shop area parking lot has so few employee cars, it looks like every day is Christmas...except the employees aren't coming back after the holiday.
There is a photographer over on the Eastern board named DT Wilson. I love his coverage of the area, and his telephoto work is exceptional. I salute him for putting lipstick on the pig, and give him credit for actually having me look forward to seeing his posts. I do enjoy the photographic work for sure. 
Having said all of that, I have been digging out various shots around the yard and Cumberland area. Many of these once again, I'm seeing for the first time in positive form, so I'm riding this memory train along with you. This will be a two day photo shoot so to say.

top...Eastbound hump, when there was one, 1977

middle...westbound departure tracks, 1971

bottom...nice view of westbound classification yard

Bill Rettberg
Bel Air, MD



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/20 04:57 by Roadjob.

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This is the Cumberland I remember. Thanks for sharing these memories.
Bob

top...interesting development was this rebuilt SD35 that got B&O blue well into the Chessie era. I believe it was classified as and SD 20, or close to that. Capitol Dome would have been nice!

middle...eastbound bypassing the yard 1973

bottom...the ever present SD 7s and 9s worked the yard for many years.

Bill Rettberg
Bel Air, MD

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top...ready tracks were always interesting


middle...Chessie still liked its employees.

bottom...The engine terminal in my favorite time there. 1968
 

Bill Rettberg
Bel Air, MD

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top...the main shop in all its glory

middle...When F units still reigned, 1968

bottom....stopped at the Bud Board was a familiar radio call as eastbounds off of Sand Patch frequently sat at the east end of the Narrows, waiting to get into town. And yes there was a Budweiser billboard at this spot for many years that reallly was the stopping point.

Second batch tomorrow!

Bill Rettberg
Bel Air, MD

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All great photos from the past which I too remember when going to Cumberland either by train or driving up there.  It's so sad that the CSX Corp. is not out there trying to obtain more business instead of getting rid of customers with poor service.  We live in a crazy world.
John in White Marsh, Maryland

A couple of the photos from this thread appear in Bill's article in this magazine.

Highly recommended, and thanks to Bill for autographing my copy last year.

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I was a Rail Classics subscriber as a boy and remember that issue and the photos.

Roadjob Wrote:
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> 
> There is a photographer over on the Eastern board
> named DT Wilson. I love his coverage of the area,
> and his telephoto work is exceptional. I salute
> him for putting lipstick on the pig, and give him
> credit for actually having me look forward to
> seeing his posts. I do enjoy the photographic work
> for sure. 
> 
Bill,

Thank you for acknowledging my work and your compliments.. They are much appreciated. 

My photography started in the early to mid 1970's but as a "newly minted teen" I didn't yet have access to a motor vehicle so my photos are from around the Keyser, WV and McCoole, MD parts of the WM and B&O. I got away from shooting train with the coming of the digital age.... that was until a little man came along. So now our trips track side include comparing your photos to the current scene... 

Thank You again Sir,

Tim W.

What a happening place thanks for the trip back!

Was that one of the ready track taken about 1975 or 76? I see a bunch of WM units and even a Reading GP39?
Charlie

A really fine set, Bill. It was marvelous to see Cumberland through your vision, a place that very regrettably I never got to visit. It's not hard to see why you liked it so much. Always glad to see more....

MC
Muskegon, Michigan

Wow Bill, you caught a couple of CNJ units that made a visit to Cumberland !

Hi
Very nice set of pictures at Cumberland
Tom Boylan

1975 on the ready track. The WM units were new to the property then.

Bill Rettberg
Bel Air, MD