Wikipedia

Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad

(Redirected from Baltimore & Annapolis Short Line Railroad)

The Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad was an American railroad of central Maryland built in the 19th century. The railroad, the second to serve Annapolis, ran between Annapolis and Clifford along the north shore of the Severn River. From Clifford, just north of the present day Patapsco Light Rail Stop, it connected with the B&O's Curtis Bay branch so that trains could travel to Baltimore. In 1921, when it was called the Annapolis and Baltimore Short Line, it was purchased by the larger Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway (WB&A), and then emerged from the WB&A's 1935 bankruptcy and closure as the Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad. B&A electric passenger operation between the two cities continued until 1950, at which time the rail line became solely a freight carrier, operating buses for passenger service. Freight service to Annapolis continued until June 1968 when the Severn River Trestle was declared unsafe. In the 1980s, the line was completely shut down. The right-of-way now serves as part of Baltimore's light rail system and as the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail.

Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad
Map of the B&A Railroad from 1970
Overview
HeadquartersAnnapolis, Maryland
LocaleAnnapolis and Baltimore, Maryland
Dates of operation1887–c. 1980
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification6,600 V AC (1908–1914)
Overhead line, 1,200 V DC (1914–1950)

Annapolis and Baltimore Short Line

edit

Origins

edit

The Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad was chartered in 1880, by a group of New England promoters as the Annapolis and Baltimore Short Line and began running in March 1887.[1] This freight and passenger line was an integral link between Annapolis and Baltimore, transporting almost two million passengers per year until competition from nearby highways forced the railroads' closure.[2] It was the second railroad to serve Annapolis and provided a faster connection to Baltimore, taking a more direct path along the north shore of the Severn River and then crossing the river into Annapolis. The railroad transformed the once-secluded banks of the Severn to a series of suburban communities.[3]

 
Annapolis & Baltimore Short Line 4-4-0 locomotive

The railroad started as a steam powered line running from Bladen Street in Annapolis, crossing the wide Severn River estuary on a long timber trestle, and on to Clifford on the B&O line, where it used the B&O tracks to terminate at Camden Station in Baltimore. Because the A&B Short Line created an almost straight line southeast from Baltimore it snatched much of the Baltimore-Annapolis trade away from the Annapolis, Washington & Baltimore Railroad on which passengers had to change trains at Annapolis Junction.[4]

At some point prior to 1892, a small connecting line was built between the A&B and the AW&B at the Bay Ridge Junction wye where the AW&B met the Annapolis and Bay Ridge Railroad.

Reorganization

edit

Business was slim in the early years, and in 1893 the railroad was sold to George Burnham Jr. and reorganized as the Baltimore & Annapolis Short Line the next year. Universally it was called simply “The Annapolis Short Line.”[1]

Modernization

edit
 
B&A Shortline crossing Severn River on trestle bridge

The line was electrified in 1908, and changed its name to the Maryland Electric Railways Company, providing clean, comfortable, faster, and more frequent service.[1] Unlike most electric railways of its time, which employed a low voltage Direct Current electrification, the line installed a 6,600 volt, 25 cycle, single phase Alternating Current electrification system newly developed by the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company. The pioneering AC system was less than fully successful, however, and in 1914, new owners switched to DC.[5] When it did, the B&O was wary of a high-voltage overhead line over its tracks between the Clifford interchange and Camden Station. (Both the WB&A and Short Line then used 3300v AC) So the B&O built a new line for the Short Line between Cliffords and its mainline at Russell Street, paralleling the South Baltimore branch through Westport. This line ran immediately west/south of the Curtis Bay and South Baltimore branches, passing under the Curtis Bay branch along the way.

Purchase

edit
 
Map showing WB&A system, including former B&A line.

During its heyday, the years between 1918 and the late 1920s, the B&A transported as many as 1,750,000 passengers per year between Baltimore and Annapolis. Trains left every hour from 6 am through 11 pm (during rush hours, the trains left every 30 minutes).[6] Because of its strong performance, the neighboring WB&A bought the Annapolis Short Line in 1921[7] and it became part of the WB&A system in which it was called the North Shore Line. Afterward, Short Line trains were routed over the WB&A between Linthicum and the WB&A's new Baltimore terminal at the corner of Howard & Lombard Streets, now the site of a Holiday Inn.[1] At the same time, most of the old Short Line track between Linthicum and Westport was abandoned, except for a section between Baltimore Highlands and the B&O Cliffords interchange which was kept to handle freight to and from the B&O. The "new" (B&O-built) Annapolis Short Line ROW between Cliffords and Westport was also retained for freight interchange, though this segment was later abandoned in 1979

Emergence from bankruptcy

edit

Gross receipts for the WB&A began to decline almost as soon as it bought the B&A in 1921. For the next decade, the WB&A only survived because of a law exempting it from taxes. In January 1931, the extension of the law failed to pass by one vote and the line went into receivership.[8] The line remained in operation for four more years until it officially ceased on August 20, 1935. The WB&A was sold at public auction with scrap dealers buying most of the rolling stock. The right-of-way and some equipment were bought by the Bondholders Protective Society who then formed the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad Company. This company negotiated an agreement with the B&O to use Camden Station as its Baltimore terminal. The new company took over on August 21, 1935, for continuous operation.[9] The company also entered the motor bus business, later serving Fort Meade from both Baltimore and Annapolis, plus other points not reached by its rails.[1]

World War II

edit

With the start of World War II and gas rationing, the B&A often ran with all available equipment in service. At semester breaks, holidays and graduation times the trains were packed with midshipmen from the United States Naval Academy, and the B&O ran steam trains to pick up teams and supporters to transport them to Philadelphia for the Army-Navy games. The B&A typically ran 5- and 6-car trains between Baltimore and Glen Burnie, with 3-cars continuing on the additional 20 miles (32 km) to Annapolis.[10]

End of the Line

edit
 
Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad Company's motorcoach # 2103 is a 1969 GM Buffalo 40′ model PD4903A with seating for 47 passengers, purchased new and used for charter service after 1973, seen in Pitman, New Jersey, in 1983.

Following World War II, gasoline and cars came back. By 1949, the B&A offered scheduled commuter bus service between Baltimore, Glen Burnie, and Annapolis, along with its passenger rail service, and reported an operating deficit of $100,000 on an annualized basis.[10] A proposal for the line to be acquired by the B&O Railroad for freight service was discarded when the B&O's studies concluded it would require $1.35 million in infrastructure improvements to bring it up to Class 1 railroad standards.[10] By June 1949, the developer of a new housing community near Glen Burnie complained in Architectural Forum magazine that the rumored discontinuation of "rail rapid transit" was adversely affecting sales to buyers, "who don't want to ride busses on congested streets".[11]

At a hearing in November 1949, the Maryland Public Service Commission reported "The rails are worn and would have to be replaced if passenger service is continued; the cars and trains are antiquated, decrepit, and unattractive means of travel; schedules are slow, and there is no inducement, save that of necessity, for anyone to travel the area by rail. While not yet dead, it is moribund”. The B&A substituted buses for rail service and on February 5, 1950, the B&A Short Line made its final passenger run.[6] The electric wires were removed, but the railroad remained intact for diesel-operated freight service.[1] In 1961, there was a 25-day experiment with commuter rail to Camden Station from Harundale, but it proved to be too slow.[12] In addition the line continued to provide excursion rides (including bringing Santa to town) into the 1980's.[13][14]

The B&A (by then nicknamed "The Bumble and Amble") purchased a diesel that remained in freight service. It ran freight to Annapolis until June 1968 when the Severn River Trestle was declared unsafe. It ceased operations across the trestle and the Naval Academy converted their power and heating systems from coal to oil. Following that, the freight terminated at Jones Station where Annapolis Lumber and Supply Company sent trucks to collect freight. By 1970 all that remained in service was a six-mile (10 km) stub from the B&O Junction near Cherry Hill to Dorsey Road in Glen Burnie with occasional runs farther south to deliver sand or coal.[12]

In 1972, the B&A's bridge over the Patapsco River was damaged by Tropical Storm Agnes and the B&A stopped operating for several years before Alco-Gravure, which owned a printing plant in Glen Burnie that was served by the freight rail, successfully forced them to repair the bridge and resume operations.[15]

 
B&A #50, awaiting restoration at the B&O Railroad Museum

In 1973, The Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad's public bus system was absorbed by Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) as Route 14. The company continued as a charter bus service using motorcoaches but ceased service in the 1980'S.[1]

In 1981, Anne Arundel County purchased the no longer used section of the 66-foot (20 m) wide right of way from Dorsey Road in Glen Burnie to the north shore of the Severn River for the purpose of creating the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail and park.[16]

In the spring of 1984, the railroad - consisting of the 6 mile long, 70-foot wide right-of-way, a 1950 diesel-engine, a flat car, a motorized track-inspection car and some miscellaneous property - was sold to Ken Pippin for less than $1 million.[17] At that point it served a lumber company and two paper companies in Anne Arundel County.[13]

On September 16, 1987, to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the B&A, B&A number 50 made one final run on the line from Linthicum Station to Camden Station.[18] It was then donated to and retired at the B&O Railroad Museum.[19] The freight line continued to operate with a 1952 1200-horsepower diesel.[20]

In May of 1991, the railroad was sold to the State of Maryland for the southern leg of the light rail system for $9 million, but the state had to promise to maintain freight operations at night to appease the Interstate Commerce Commission.[21][22] The railroad ceased operation in the following months. Work pulling up the rails started in September 1991 and was completed on February 18, 1992.[23][24]

Light Rail and Rail-Trail

edit

By 1987, the Anne Arundel County Parks department had already started work on a rail-trail south of Dorsey Avenue.[20][18] In 1990, work was completed on the Baltimore & Annapolis Rail Trail and it opened on October 7th.

MTA had been talking about turning the B&A into a transit line since at least the early 1970s, but it took 20 years to become reality.[15] In 1987 the state commissioned a study of options for turning the rail line, perhaps as far as Annapolis, into a light rail line.[20] Negotiations started shortly thereafter. The light rail line along the old B&A right-of-way opened in three parts. A three-station extension to Patapsco, just across the county line in Anne Arundel that used about 1000 feet of the B&A ROW, opened on August 20, 1992. That was followed by a 4-station extension to Linthicum on April 2, 1993, and an additional 2-station extension to Glen Burnie on May 20, 1993.[25][26]

Baltimore and Annapolis in the Carolinas

edit

During negotiations for the sale of the B&A's right-of-way, one of the sticking points was that the B&A wanted to retain exclusive rights to run freight on the line at night. They relented on this, but when the sale went through they were still hoping to continue to run freight with the rolling stock they retained.[17] They did not get the freight contract and so began looking elsewhere to use their rolling stock and invest their profits from the sale of the right-of-way.

On February 9, 1995, the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad Company, by that time merely an entity on paper, filed to acquire and operate approximately 75.9 miles of rail line from the Mid Atlantic Railroad, which operated track between Mullin's, SC and Whiteville NC, and between Chadbourn, NC and Conway, SC.[27] The filing also noted that the B&A had not owned any rail lines since May 1991, when the state of Maryland took its last right of way through a condemnation proceeding to build a light rail line. This line was operated under the name Carolina Southern Railroad (reporting marks CALA). All public business outside of federal railroad filings were performed under the auspices of the CALA. In June 2001, the Waccamaw Coast Line Railroad (WCLR), a new division of the B&A, filed to operate 14.1 miles of railroad owned by Horry County, SC between the current terminus of the CALA in Conway, SC and the city of Myrtle Beach, SC where the line ended.[28] The WCLR had operated under the direct ownership of the county prior to its ownership by the B&A. The right of way continued to be owned by the county and was initially leased to the B&A for a period of 30 years.

The B&A's operation and major ownership of railroad lines in the Carolinas ended on December 18, 2015, with the sale of all but one mile of its CALA rail lines to the R.J. Corman Railroad Group, operating under a new railroad for this line, R. J. Corman Railroad Company/Carolina Lines, LLC (RJCS).[29] The one additional mile that remains under the ownership of the CALA was leased to the RJCS. The company also retained ownership of the Conway, SC depot and other land assets along the right of way.[30] The railroad lines had been out of service since 2011 due to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) orders to repair bridges along the line, which the company could not afford to perform. Horry County had placed the railroad in default over lack of lease payments during this time period.[31] The B&A has not operated publicly under the name Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad Company during its time owning and operating rail lines in the Carolinas, but does roster one former C&O EMD SW9 in B&A paint (#87), and a former N&W boxcar lettered for the B&A which are still stored in Chadbourn, North Carolina, as of May 2019.

Stations

edit
  • Baltimore
  • Carroll (B&O station at Monroe Street)
  • (Junction with B&O in Westport just south of the crossing of the Western Maryland Railway Tide Subdivision)
  • Clifford (north of Patapsco Avenue, next to the B&O Curtis Bay Branch)
  • Baltimore Highlands (between Georgia and Illinois Avenues, across from the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railroad station)
  • Pumphrey (Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard and Belle Grove Road, where the latter now curves)
  • Linthicum Heights (Maple Road)
  • Shipley (Camp Meade Road)
  • Woodlawn Heights
  • Garland
  • Ferndale (earlier Wellham) (Wellham Avenue)
  • Cromwell (I-97)
  • Glen Burnie (Crain Highway)
  • Saunders Range
  • Oakwood (Oakwood Road)
  • Marley (Marley Station Mall)
  • Elvaton (Elvaton Road)
  • Pasadena (formerly Pleasantena)
  • Earleigh Heights (Earleigh Heights Road) (formerly Frost)
  • Robinson (Robinson Road)
  • Boone Station (later Severna Park)
  • Round Bay (Round Bay Road)
  • Jones (Jones Station Road)
  • Revell (Old County Road)
  • Joyce (Joyce Lane)
  • Arnold (Arnold Road)
  • Asberry (Severn Way)
  • Winchester (Winchester Road)
  • Severnside
  • Wardour (Wardour Drive, where the railway crossed the Severn River)
  • West Annapolis
  • Annapolis (at the Bladen Street terminus)

Surviving landmarks

edit
 
Facing north at the old WB&A and B&A Linthicum Heights station, where the MTA Light Rail line joins the original WB&A right-of-way
 
A southbound MTA Light Rail train passes the old B&A Linthicum Heights station at Maple Road, with a B&A Railroad commemorative marker in the foreground

Rights of way

edit

The Hunt Valley-Glen Burnie MTA Light Rail system utilizes several portions of the former B&A railway:

  • Cromwell Station in Glen Burnie to a point north of Maple Road, where it moves onto the original WB&A right-of-way
  • Baltimore Highlands to Patapsco Avenue Station
  • Continues on a "new" B&A right-of-way to Westport, passing under the CSX line on a bridge originally built in 1908 to carry the B&O over the B&A
  • leaves the B&A at Waterview Avenue.

The Baltimore & Annapolis Trail uses the right-of-way from Glen Burnie to Arnold, just outside Annapolis.

Extant track

edit
  • The B&A switch remains at Clifford and connects CSXT's Curtis Bay Branch with the Light Rail. Though it exists, this switch is no longer used.
  • A section of track still exists at the intersection of Baltimore Annapolis Blvd and Jones Station Rd.
  • A dual section of track still exists under the power lines in an overgrowth area just north of the intersection of Jumpers Hole Road.
  • Another section of extant track extends from the Annapolis side of the Severn River to Annapolis Street.

Other features

edit
  • Extant bridge abutments over the Patapsco River downstream from the light rail bridge.
  • B&A #50 a GE (General Electric) 70 ton diesel locomotive survives at the B&O railroad museum in Baltimore Maryland.
  • B&A #87 an EMD SW9 survives stored in Chadbourn, NC along with a BLA lettered boxcar #41449.

Buildings

edit

The following stations are still standing:

  • Earleigh Heights Station: now the Park Ranger Station and B&A Railroad Museum[32][33]
  • Linthicum Heights Station[32][34][35]
  • Severna Park Station[32][36]

The following former stations are currently private residences:

  • Round Bay Station[32]
  • Revell Station (at Old County & Baltimore Annapolis Blvd)
  • Woodlawn Station[32]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Herbert H. Harwood Jr. (2004–2005). "Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad". Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  2. ^ "The Baltimore & Annapolis Trail, Maryland". Rails to Trails. The Rails to Trails Conservancy. May 2006.
  3. ^ Maryland Department of Natural Resources (1983). Maryland Scenic Rivers: The Severn.
  4. ^ Herbert H. Harwood Jr. (2004–2005). "Annapolis & Elk Ridge Railroad". Retrieved 2006-10-12.
  5. ^ Jessica Stern (February 1992). "Light rail: two historical footnotes - early electric street railways in Richmond, VA, and Maryland". Retrieved 2006-10-19.
  6. ^ a b George, Matthew. "History of B&A Railroad". Archived from the original on April 26, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  7. ^ Herbert H. Harwood Jr. (2004–2005). "Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis Electric Railroad". Retrieved 2006-10-13.
  8. ^ "Williams v. Mayor and City Council OF Baltimore, 289 U.S. 36 (1933)". March 1933. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
  9. ^ "Session Laws of Maryland, 1939". 1939. Retrieved 2006-11-14.
  10. ^ a b c "Interurban News". Railroad Magazine: 103. October 1949.
  11. ^ "Railroad service problem affects development sales". Architectural Forum. June 1949.
  12. ^ a b "BACK TRACKS: RIDING TO ANNAPOLIS ON THE B&A". The Baltimore Sun. 5 April 1987.
  13. ^ a b Clark, Michael J. (17 September 1985). "Owner of tiny railroad seeks passengers". The Baltimore Sun.
  14. ^ Weaver, Donna (25 December 1988). "Merry Christmas to all, in all the ways it's celebrated!". The Baltimore Sun.
  15. ^ a b Bradley, Martin (10 July 1974). "B.&A. may have to rebuild a bridge to a printing plant". The Baltimore Sun.
  16. ^ "Baltimore and Annapolis Trail Park". 2001. Archived from the original on 17 October 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
  17. ^ a b Gately, Gary (18 April 1991). "State approves $9 million for rail right of way". The Baltimore Sun.
  18. ^ a b LaForge, Patrick (17 September 1987). "Light rail may zip fans from county to new stadiums". The Baltimore Sun.
  19. ^ "B&A No. 50". B&O Railroad Museum. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  20. ^ a b c Kaltenbacj, Chris (20 September 1987). "All Aboard for No. 50's Last Trip". The Baltimore Sun.
  21. ^ Land Records of Anne Arundel County
  22. ^ Birch, Doug (21 March 1991). "B&A railroad deal settled, lawyer says". The Baltimore Sun.
  23. ^ McCord, Joel (19 February 1992). "Last B & A spikes pulled to make way for light rail". The Baltimore Sun.
  24. ^ Gately, Gary (22 October 1991). "Light rail won't make opening day". The Baltimore Sun.
  25. ^ Logan, Mary (December 1, 2005). "MAJOR TRANSPORTATION MILESTONES IN THE BALTIMORE REGION SINCE 1940" (PDF). Baltimore Metropolitan Council. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 23, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  26. ^ "House Bill 1185: Maryland Transit Administration – Public Transit Services – Efficiency and Performance Standards" (PDF). Department of Legislative Services, Maryland General Assembly. July 1, 2008. p. 4.
  27. ^ Interstate Commerce Commission, Finance Docket No. 32636 (2 February 1995). "Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad Company—Acquisition and Operation Exemption—Mid Atlantic Railroad Co., Inc". Federal Register. 60 (27): 7792. Retrieved 5 February 2020.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ Department of Transportation Surface Transportation Board, STB Finance Docket No. 34064 (13 July 2001). "Waccamaw Coast Line Railroad-Modified Rail Certificate". Federal Register. 66 (135): 36831. Retrieved 5 February 2020.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ Department of Transportation Surface Transportation Board, Docket No. FD 35978 (18 December 2015). "R. J. Corman Railroad Company/ Carolina Lines, LLC—Acquisition and Operation Exemption—The Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad Company d/b/ a Carolina Southern Railroad Company". Federal Register. 80 (243): 79134–79135. Retrieved 5 February 2020.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ Perry, Charles D. (5 August 2015). "Horry County railroad deal still pending, but officials, business leaders optimistic". The Sun News. McClatchy. myrtlebeachonline.com. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  31. ^ Perry, Charles; O'Dare, Tom (20 March 2013). "Horry County tells railroad to pony up". myhorrynews.com. Waccamaw Publishers, Inc. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  32. ^ a b c d e Brougham, Allen (December 31, 2003). "Vintage Rail Passenger Depots of Maryland". Archived from the original on April 7, 2004. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  33. ^ Brougham, Allen, "Earleigh Heights", The Bull Sheet, archived from the original on April 27, 2004
  34. ^ Brougham, Allen (2003). "Linthicum". The Bull Sheet. Archived from the original on March 16, 2004. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
  35. ^ BaltimoreAndOhioRR (September 3, 2010). Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad Company Station. YouTube. Retrieved November 1, 2016. Assorted MTA light-rail trains past the historic B&A RR Station in Linthicum, MD.
  36. ^ Brougham, Allen, "Severna Park", The Bull Sheet, archived from the original on March 16, 2004
  • Merriken, John E. (1993). Every Hour On The Hour; A Chronicle of the Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis Electric Railroad. Taylor Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-9600938-3-0.
edit
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad.
KML file (edit • help)
Template:Attached KML/Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad
KML is from Wikidata
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baltimore_and_Annapolis_Railroad&oldid=1248810995"