Unexpected Action in Appalachia
In mid-June 2022, I met up once again with RailheadRailfan Productions for a day of Appalachian railfanning. Our primary goal was to catch the former C&O 2-6-6-2 #1309 on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, but the day would end up providing us with much more. We started alongside the CSX mainline in downtown Cumberland, adjacent to the Amtrak station. Upon arrival, a westbound manifest was leaving the yard with an eclectic SD40-3 and ET44AH helper pair on the rear. Soon after, a hefty power lashup for a westbound empty coal train appeared from the yard. Like most coal trains departing Cumberland, this train was positioned to head southwest on the former B&O Mountain Subdivision. Before the mainline over Sand Patch was opened, the Mountain Sub was the original mainline over the Appalachians, linking the coalfields and industries of West Virginia with the Atlantic seaboard, while also providing a through-route across the heartland to St. Louis. Today, the route still plays a crucial role in bringing West Virginia coal to eastern ports, but much of the other business (as well as passenger traffic) has been lost to other lines, with a significant portion of the through-route to St. Louis having been abandoned during the Chessie era. Despite this, the Mountain Sub has always been a source of intrigue for me, perhaps due to the sporadic nature of the traffic on the line, and perhaps because it still retains the physical characteristics of an important transcontinental route. I had yet to spend any quality time railfanning the line, so maybe today could be the day.
After watching the power couple up to the consist, which featured the Georgia Railroad “sticker” unit, we made our way slightly west to Corriganville to catch the arrival of the eastbound Amtrak Capitol Limited. We then skirted around Cumberland to see if we could catch the coal consist departing on the Mountain Sub. Alas, we found it stopped in town, awaiting a crew drop-off. The Mountain Sub would have to wait. With time running short, we headed to our first spot along the Western Maryland to catch the departure of #1309. On this weekend, #1309 was wearing a Pennsylvania T1 whistle in support of the T1 Trust, which is in the process of constructing a brand-new PRR T1 from scratch. Departing a couple of minutes late due to a parade crossing the railroad’s path by the station, the #1309 headed west with a full train of patrons behind. The variety in the consist was notable, with former AMT Montreal, Pennsylvania, Norfolk & Western, Great Northern, and Southern Pacific coaches in the consist, and a former Canadian-American Railroad (nee Amtrak) F40PHR bringing up the rear. After catching it in town, we chased the plume of smoke through the trees to Helmstetter’s Curve, where we joined a photo line on the adjacent hill. From here, we caught the train once more at Woodcock Hollow before meeting it at Frostburg, where it put on a decent show complete with wheel-slip as it climbed the grade into the station.
After finishing the chase, we returned to the CSX mainline to catch one westbound intermodal as it began its ascent towards the Sand Patch grade. Hearing nothing else on the scanner, we headed back into Cumberland for lunch. Little did we know, this was when things would start to get interesting. We parked alongside the crew change platform at the CSX Cumberland Yard, arriving just in time to see personnel boarding another empty coal train bound for the Mountain Sub. This could be our chance to hit the sub for a decent chase. As soon as the train got the signal to move west, we departed to scout out our first spot, where, a few minutes later, we caught it passing at track speed. Knowing that other action would likely be slim on the sub, we made it our mission to chase this train as far as we were able to. However, we were pleasantly surprised when we heard an eastbound manifest (one of two which cross the line daily) was working nearby in Keyser, West Virginia. We chased the coal train to just east of Keyser, where, according to radio chatter, it would be split to become two separate trains bound for different mines. Shortly after our train passed, the eastbound manifest appeared, having finished its work. Knowing we’d have time to kill while the coal train was split, we chased the manifest back to our previous spot for another shot. As we made our way back, the scanner crackled to life once more; the westbound counterpart of the same train was preparing to leave Cumberland. Things were getting unexpectedly interesting!
After catching the manifest again, we returned west to Keyser to catch up with the coal train. The switch move to split the train was just wrapping up when we arrived, so we moved further west to Piedmont to catch the first half coming through. We then drove back towards Keyser, unfortunately missing the second half, which we only got a brief glimpse of through the trees. All was not lost, however, as the westbound manifest which had departed Cumberland a little while ago was now arriving in Keyser for a set-off. We filmed the switch move and then headed up the mountain to catch it at Swanton - a small community about halfway up the significant 17-mile grade. As soon as we arrived, a horn echoed over the hills, but it wasn’t from the east! A few minutes later, the Grafton to Keyser local appeared heading down the mountain with a significant mixed consist. The tracks fell silent again after this unexpected extra catch, and we began wondering where our westbound manifest was. Before too long, however, the sound of prime movers broke the silence once again, but again, not from the east, but from the west! A unit coal train consisting of private-owner hoppers soon rounded the curve rolling slow. As we watched this additional unexpected train pass, our manifest showed up, slowly slugging up the grade. Content with catching a meet, and with light starting to fade, we decided to follow the slow-moving coal train back down the mountain, rather than continue west.
With the train moving at barely walking pace, we decided to make a quick detour to Barton, Maryland, where the power for the moribund Georges Creek Railway is stored. The attempt of a local entrepreneur to bring rail service back to the former Western Maryland (and later CSX) Georges Creek branch, the Georges Creek Railway survived by providing switching power for the nearby paper mill in Luke. When the mill closed in 2020, the railroad lost its only customer, and the grand plans for reopening the branch have seemingly fallen through. The bulk of the railroad’s equipment, which is predominantly made up of original Western Maryland pieces, sits exposed to the elements on track which becomes increasingly overgrown each year. After a brief photo stop, we continued back to the yard at Keyser, just in time to catch the coal train rolling inbound against the last golden rays of sunset.
What started as a fairly planned-out trip to catch the Western Maryland #1309 in action ended up being an excellent first railfanning experience on the Mountain Sub. With 6 trains and no less than 11 video/photo stops in just 5 hours, it was certainly not the experience we expected on this unpredictable and often-forgotten subdivision.