Evening star., 1923-09-03
RAIL LINE TO OPEN
BIC COAL SECTION
Morgart Interests Plan Huge
Development in North
ern Maryland.
speciaI DIspa tcb to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star. 49,
CUMBERLAND, Md, September a.
Extensive improvements are planned
Nv the newly-organized Castleman
Valley Railroad Company, William
A. Morgart. president, to the four
teen-mile line recently acquired by
the company from the Northern
Maryland and Tidewater Railroad
Company. The road, which pene-
trates the 40,000-acre coal basin on
northern Garrett county, was built
originally as lumber road, and was
used 10 getting out a vast acreage
Of virgin timber. The new owners
will greatly improve. the line. now
that the Interstate Commerce Com
mission and the public service COM
mission of Maryland have approved
the sale. making it ready to handle
the big production Of the Morgart
Coal Mining Corporation. of which
Mr. Morgart is also president. The
company has three mines opened with
tipples built and is opening the
fourth. 1t controls 5000 acres Of
coal.
TO facilitate the mining a high
tension line Of the Potomac Public
Service Company. subsidiary of the
American Water Works Company. has
been built to the mines. Electric
cutting machinery Is now being in
stalled in the mines. and will be ready
for operation within less than a
month.
Buys Town As Well.
With the purchase of the railroad
by the Mogart interests went the
town of Jennings, the headquarters
Of all operations. with the three
story store building, the hotel and
about a score of houses, which Will
miles south OF Grantsville on the
National Highway. The railroad
runs from Jennings to Worth, Pa.
where it connects with the Baltimore
and Ohio and touches Granville en-
route. 1t is planned TO build a spur to
connect with the Western Marylan nd.
This would be eleven miles long.
The same interests that control
the mines and railroads have also or
ganized the La Coal Supply Company,
which will deal in mining and other
supplies. The officers and directors
OF the three concerns are: William
a. Morgart. Jennings, president and
general manager; T.. Firman Hooper.
Trenton. y. j., vice president: Louis
A. Morgart, jennings. secretary
Richard NJ Duvall, Baltimore; r. IA.
Rlakley. Trenton, and Bradford l..
Gibbs, Cumberland. .-..>. ..
Field Has Big Future.
The railroad will be an outlet for
a number Of lumber manufacturing
plants. a rich farming section with
many great maple groves and for
some fifteen or twenty small coal
operations. many of which propose to
increase facilities.
This is the largest undeveloped
coal region in the east nearest the
Atlantic seaboard. and. in time. coal
men say, Garrett county is bound to
succeed Allegany county as the main
coal-producing section of Maryland,
as the famous Georges Creek mines
are reported rapidly being worked
cut. The Morgart Coal Mining Cor
poratfon recently increased it's cap
ftal to 100000 TO further it's de-
velopment plans. The same concern
has $500 |cres of valuable fire clay
deposits. One is similar to that at
Mount Savage, Md. from (which are
manufactured fire brick and enamel
building brick. The development of
the fire clay-is an early prospect.
+ 1t is estimated ii will take fifty
years TO remove the mine. props in
1tirs big territory, while the timber
TRACT of lone Arm alone. it is esti-
matsd.f VIII saw 1000 :carloads OF
- p,