Mount Savage Railroad
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 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Mount Savage, Maryland |
| Locale | Allegany County, Maryland |
| Dates of operation | 1845–1854 |
| Successor | Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Mount Savage Railroad was a railroad operated by the Maryland and New York Coal and Iron Company of Mount Savage, Maryland between 1845 and 1854. The 14.9 miles (24 km) rail line ran from Frostburg to Cumberland, Maryland.[1]
The railroad was opened for use on Monday, September 24, 1845. The railroad was the first in America to use iron rail that was produced within the country, having to rely on British rail beforehand.[citation needed]
Linking Mount Savage to the regional infrastructure
Before the railroad linked Mount Savage to Cumberland, Mount Savage had no way of transporting manufactured goods to the rest of the region. When the railroad reached Cumberland, Mount Savage now had a link to the National Road, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The interchange in the Cumberland Narrows area also linked Mount Savage to the Potomac Wharf Branch.
The Potomac Wharf Branch
The Potomac Wharf Branch was built by the Maryland Mining Company around 1850 and is an extension to the Eckhart Branch Railroad. The Potomac Wharf Branch was located in Maryland and used to cross Wills Creek. The branch is no longer present.
National Road
The Mount Savage Railroad linked Mount Savage to the National Road, where they met in Cumberland. The National Road was one of the first improved highways in the country. Construction on the road began in 1811, crossing over the Allegheny Mountains and southwest Pennsylvania. The road was finished in 1824 and connected many turnpikes to Baltimore, Maryland.
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
The Maryland and New York Coal and Iron Company built its rail line in order to connect with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The railroads provided heavy industrial manufacturing as well as a transportation resource for raw materials and finished goods. The Cumberland Wharf also offered a connection to the C&O Canal, which offered shipping to Washington, D.C.
Layout of the railroad yard
The Mount Savage rail yard had at its center a twelve stall roundhouse, which also served as a passenger depot. Close by was the fire clay brick refractory, and the Ramsey Glazed Brick Works. Several connecting switchtracks connected the different factories and furnaces to the Cumberland-bound mainline. Eventually the yard also connected to the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad, which connected Mount Savage to Frostburg when the rail line was completed in the 1850s.