How Wild Was “Wild Mary”?
Rail fans affectionately called the Western Maryland Railway “Wild Mary.” Although no one is sure of the origin of this nickname, it is believed to have developed from the small railroad’s scrappy spirit as it traversed the mountainous terrain, steep grades, sharp curves, and dramatic scenery of Western Maryland.
Unlike most railroads that were built by a specific company, the Western Maryland Railways’ largest growth came as a result of it taking over dozens of smaller railroads, each with its own stories that became part of the Western Maryland Railway story. Although the Western Maryland Railway was eventually taken over by a larger railroad, people still fondly remember “Wild Mary.”
Bestselling author James Rada, Jr.’s newest book tells many of the forgotten stories of the Western Maryland Railway that help show why it is still fondly remembered today.
Secrets of the Western Maryland Railway: Little-Known Stories & Hidden History About “Wild Mary” is the latest book in Rada’s Secrets series.
“These are stories that caught my attention in one way or another,” Rada said. “They aren’t well known—I call them hidden history—but they are the stories that can be the most interesting.”
Secrets of the Western Maryland Railway contains 40 stories and nearly 60 pictures about the construction, labor issues, wrecks, and other stories from the railroad.
Among the stories are:
The trick that the Western Maryland Railroad used to get into Pennsylvania without a charter.
Abraham Lincoln’s adventures riding the railroad in both life and death.
How the Western Maryland Railway helped make one of the largest archeological discoveries in the U.S.
How the railroad had the power to change the name of towns it serviced.
The worst accident on the Western Maryland Railway.
These are just some of the stories included in Secrets of the Western Maryland Railway: Little-Known Stories & Hidden History About “Wild Mary.” These are the types of stories that you won’t read about in history textbooks.
“People often ask me where I find the stories,” Rada said. “I spend a lot of time looking through books on the topic I’m researching, poring through old newspapers, and searching the Internet.”
Secrets of the Western Maryland Railway is the tenth book in his popular Secrets series. Other local titles include Secrets of Catoctin Mountain, Secrets of the C&O Canal, and Secrets of Frederick County. He has also written 10 other non-fiction history books and 12 historical fiction novels.
James Rada, Jr. is an Amazon.com-bestselling author and award-winning writer who Midwest Book Review called “a writer of considerable and deftly expressed storytelling talent.”
A review of Rada’s most recent historical-fiction novel, Home for Wayward Elephants, on OnlineBookClub.org, called it “a delightful read with dynamic characters and highly emotional scenes.” He has been writing about history for 25 years and still finds it fascinating and new. “History is not boring. It’s full of love, adventure, comedy, and mysteries that still aren’t solved to this day. It’s those types of stories I like to write, and I believe I’ve pulled together a great collection of them for this book,” Rada said.
For more information about James Rada, Jr.’s books, visit his website at jamesrada.com.
