Eastern Railroad Discussion > Cumberland, MD East

I will be heading through the Cumberland, MD area on my way to Baltimore/Washington early next week. I\'ve alotted a half day or so to railfan along the way. I\'ve explored Hyndman, Mance, and Sand Patch, on previous visits, but this time I want to check out points east of Cumberland like Magnolia cutoff, etc. Having never visited this stretch, are there any specific must-see spots? I\'ll have a rental car, so I can\'t get too far off the beaten path but I will have a scanner and plenty of film. Thanks for any pointers.

John

bq23dash7 wrote:

>I\'ll have a rental car, so I can\'t get too far
> off the beaten path but I will have a scanner and plenty of
> film. Thanks for any pointers.
>

What, are you some kind of wuss? "Off the beaten path" is exactly what RENTAL cars are for!!! ;-)

Seriously, once you get east of Mexico Tower, there isn\'t much access until you get to Paw Paw, WV, and from there east the Magnolia Cut-Off is accessible primarily by unpaved road. Fortunately, most of this road is in pretty decent shape, but expect some mud and splashing, especially this time of year. The scenic highlight is the two-bridge sequence over the Potomac near Magnolia, but you can\'t get there without getting your tires dirty.

This can be a very productive area to photograph, especially in the morning when CSX tends to run a fleet of eastbounds out of Cumberland. There are even a few good morning spots for westbounds, most notably Orleans Road, which is about six or seven miles east of Magnolia. And Q375, Q217, and sometimes a straggling piggyback train usually show up here in the morning.

But the one must-do place, as in don\'t wait to do this on some future trip, is HO Tower across the river from Hancock, MD, and it\'s right off US 522. If you don\'t have the time or inclination to go off-roading and kill a day, just set up at HO for a few hours in the morning and you should be amply rewarded.

East of there, access by paved road is much better. You might want to make a visit to Martinsburg, WV, too, to photograph NA Tower (a one-story structure) before it is retired. Its demise, in fact, is more imminent than HO\'s -- construction of replacement plant is nearing completion -- but I wouldn\'t wait to get my HO shots if I didn\'t have them already, either.

If you take I-68 out of Cumberland, there is an "Orleans Road" exit. CSX trains call a signal at Orleans Road.

Just east of Cumberland are two good spots. Mexico ("M" tower still standing) is the east end of the yard and North Branch is where the old Western Maryland crossed the B&O. Rte. 51 follows the railroad to Paw Paw but on the opposite side of river. Most of the Magnolia Cutoff is reached by driving on the old right of way. Depending on the car and how bad you want to treat it, this may pose a problem. Just drive slow and it should be o.k. Hancock, Md./WVa. has "HO" tower and is a cool place. Martinsburg, WVa. has "NA" tower that will be closing in the near future, may want to get that. The signals between there and Harpers Ferry are being changed from B&O CPLs to Seaboard style so you may want to see those. Brunswick, Md. is usually pretty busy. Point of Rocks, Md. is a good place to hang out. Here the Old Main Line and the Metropolitan Subs split. The OML is an easy chase to Baltimore if you get a train. In Baltimore, the easiest places to just wait and shoot are: 1) St. Denis MARC station on the south west side of town (where the OML and the Capital Sub come together 2) Bush/Bayard Streets downtown at the north end of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway/295 3) Bailey\'s WYE near the Oriole\'s Camden Yard Stadium and 4) Bayview, on the north side of town. Kind of hard to tell someone how to get to Bayview. It\'s where the Philadelphia Sub enters the city and where the line down to the Penn Mary/Dundalk area starts. Jessup, about 15 miles south of Baltimore, is another cool place to watch and shoot. There is small yard there and most mainline trains are at speed. Hope that helps. If you need any more info, e-mail me directly..

Al Moran,
The SD80MACKing

There\'s only one little catch with the Orleans Road that you can reach from I-68: it doesn\'t cross the river to the side the tracks are on. As far as I know, and I\'ve spent a modest amount of time down there, there are no road bridges across the Potomac between Hancock and Paw Paw.

supersock wrote:

> If you take I-68 out of Cumberland, there is an "Orleans
> Road" exit. CSX trains call a signal at Orleans Road.

That is true but taking the Orleans Road exit from I-68 will take you to the WM side of the river and the C&O Canal. The CSX/B&O mainline is on the opposite (south) side of the Potomac River. Best bet is I-68 east to Hagerstown, Md. then I-81 south to Martinsburg, WVa. Then take Rte. 9 west to follow tracks back towards Cumberland or Rte. 9 east into downtown Martinsburg...

Al Moran,
The SD80MACKing

Patch, you\'re too quick...

Al Moran,
The SD80MACKing

Be careful not to "wonder" off the right of way near Paw Paw or you may end up staring in Deliverance II.
My 2 cents.
tom

Thanks for the info. I had forgotten about NA tower. I have a soft spot for towers having started out frequenting a few of them as a young railfan in Ohio. I\'ll have to pay M, NA, and HO a visit.

Try this: http://mtnsub.org/

Excellent guide to the CSX tracks between Point Of Rocks & Cumberland.


dharris

BQ, if you have or can get the Maryland/Delaware DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer, it encompasses the entire B&O from Ellerslie, MD (Sand Patch route) & Oakland, MD (West End route) to Chester, PA (Philly Sub.) via Baltimore except for about 4 miles east of Martinsburg, WV (which is in close proximity to WV Route 9 anyway). Since the B&O stays close to the Potomac, all the WV overlap is covered except for that little piece east of Martinsburg.


Randy

I can\'t believe no one has mentioned Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry is an EXCELLENT place to hang out. It is the junction of the Cumberland and Shenandoah Subs and has an interesting bridge/tunnel combo. Also, lots of history.