Page 36 - September Banner 2018_Neat

Page 36 September 2018
Local Western Mar yland Railroad
Joan Bittner Fry
The railroad through Sabillasville
has always been a part of my life. In
the ‘40s and ‘50s, we would pick up
Uncle Ned at the state sanatorium
station, where he would visit our
family from Baltimore. I recall a
time when the train was stopped at
Manahan’s Store. We were on our
way home from school. The engineer
said we could get on and see inside.
I was the only kid who wouldn’t get
on. It was so big!
The Western Maryland Railroad
had been transforming Western
Maryland since the 1830s. The
Baltimore and Ohio connected
Frederick City and points west to
Baltimore, creating tremendous
economic opportunity; but the area
north of Frederick City had to wait
over forty years to connect with the
railroad. The challenges of building
in mountainous areas slowed
progress.
On May 17, 1862, the builders
of the Western Maryland Railroad
caused “quite a stir” in Graceham
by laying track near the outskirts
of town, but the Civil War slowed
all progress. It was not until later
in the decade that the railroad
pushed into Graceham. Not until
1871 did the railroad finally
arrive in Mechanicstown (now
Thurmont) and press through the
rest of Frederick County. Its arrival
brought monumental changes to
Mechanicstown, according to the
local newspaper:
“The sound of steam whistle
twice a day in the suburbs of
our hitherto quiet little town
has awakened everything up to
newness of life and a spirit of
‘go-aheadativeness’ which is quite
refreshing. We begin to put on
city airs and learn city fashions;
Baltimore is brought close to our
doors and oysters and cav-back
ads @ thecatoctinb anner .com
The Catoctin Banner Newspaper
(canvasback) ducks and fresh
fish can be produced and eaten
daily as at one of the largest
restaurants in the Monumental
City (Baltimore).”
After its expansion to
Mechanicstown, railroad workers
began laying tracks westward
to Sabillasville. The brand new
Mechanicstown newspaper, The
Catoctin Clarion, predicted that the
new railroad would “whistle the
inhabitants of Sabillasville from the
Rip Van Winkle sleep into a new and
creative existence.” Once completed,
the railroad took a leisurely semi- rock and found it necessary to run
circular route around Sabillasville, a
ride that quickly became known as
“Horseshoe Curve.”
This view of Horseshoe Curve at Sabillasville is from a period image (c. late 1800s), according to
WMRR Historical Society in Union Bridge. It is not a postcard but an early sketch issued in a small
booklet entitled “Western Maryland R. R. Scenery,” measuring 3 x 5 inches. neighbor, the Western Maryland
The entire Horseshoe Curve could
be seen from many vantage points
around Sabillasville, especially the
State Sanatorium TB Hospital. My
siblings and neighbors crossed the
tracks of Horseshoe Curve every day
to and from the former Sabillasville
Elementary School. The road is now
the treacherous Fort Ritchie Road
from Sabillasville to Route 491.
www.TheCatoctinBanner.com
My biggest fear in those days was
a train being parked on the track
getting water from the tank. I can
still remember those huge wheels
as we crawled beneath or between
the cars to get to the other side. A
first grader’s legs are pretty short. I
guess my brother Jim’s legs were even
shorter than mine.
The Western Maryland main
line pushed west across South
Mountain from Union Bridge, and
by August 28, 1871, it had reached
Sabillasville. At Blue Ridge Summit,
engineers encountered very hard
the line into Pennsylvania. Rather
than go through the time-consuming
process of getting the Pennsylvania
Legislature to grant a charter, the
company purchased the land and laid
the tracks on its own property. This
amounted to several hundred yards
of line at the station at Blue Ridge
Summit and again at Pen Mar at the
highway bridge.
In the spring of 1871, a strike
by workers, demanding $1.75 per
day and a ten-hour day, temporarily
halted plans to extend the railroad
to Smithsburg; but, soon, labor
and management settled the strike
and the new railroad was pressing
onward toward Hagerstown. It
reached Hagerstown in August of
1872.
On March 24, 1874, John Mifflin
Hood became president of Western
Maryland Railroad, a position he
held until he resigned on February
27, 1902. When Hood became
president, the railroad had but 90
miles of track, a basically muddy
roadbed, worn-out rusting rail,
and 12 mechanically exhausted
locomotives that were inadequate for
freight and passenger trade. During
Hood’s presidency, the Western
Maryland track grew to 270 miles
Published by www.EPlusPromotes.com
of steel track. From Baltimore, the
Pen Mar Express train left Hillen
Station at 9:15 a.m. and reached
Pen Mar Park before noon, with the
trip returning at 9:15 p.m. It was
said that the passengers would cheer
when they reached the curve. After
circling Sabillasville, the railroad
briefly went into Pennsylvania at
the top of the grade at Blue Ridge
Summit.
Passenger stations along the
line were also telegraph offices
that provided communication over
wires owned and maintained by the
railroad. My late neighbor, Charles
E. Shields, was a telegraph operator
at Blue Ridge Summit.
The first Blue Ridge Station was
built in 1871. From 1872 to 1957,
passenger service was provided to
Blue Ridge Summit. The second
station was built in 1891. Later, a
train shed was constructed at Blue
Ridge Summit, along the station side
of the track, to protect boarding
and alighting passengers from the
weather. Pen Mar Station had a
similar shed.
In 1958, the railroad presented
the deed to this station and one and
one-half acres of land to Mrs. Robert
Hearne, president of the board of
directors of the library at that time,
with the following statement:
“In the tradition of the good
family deeds to all the families
of Blue Ridge Summit this
familiar community meeting
place to be used as a free
public library, thus continuing
in a cultural sense, the close
relationship between the
railroad and the people.” This
quaint library serves two states:
Maryland and Pennsylvania;
and four counties: Frederick
and Washington in Maryland
and Adams and Franklin in
Pennsylvania.
Water service for steam
locomotives was a very important
requirement, particularly on a
mountain railroad. There were water
tanks at Thurmont, one on the
Horseshoe Curve above Sabillasville,
and two at Highfield. Most small
stations had local boarding houses
available at the time.
Boarding Houses at Sabillasville
Horse Shoe Bend — Mrs. W.
Frank Birely (25 guests); Williar
House — Mrs. Charles Williar (15
guests); Curve House — Mrs. S.
W. Harbaugh (15 guests); Meadow
Brook — Mrs. Linnie Crist (20
… Story continued on page 37