The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1948-03-18

wagon, ana the great tSaiio VI
horses that were required to haul
merchandise to markets, and the
coal needed for industry The tram
has taken over.
Recently / was driving along the
old Potomac, just above Williams
port, and we watched two giant 10
comotives on the tracks of the West
ern Maryland. There is absolutely
no comparison possible between
these masses of steel and fire ana
steam, and the poor old forgotten
horse. These two sat there on
siding. steaming impatiently, until
a long train of coal passed. Then
they rolled out onto the main tracks
and moved up behind the line OF
cars. made connections, and waited
again for the signal to push away.
Finally with great amount OF
putting from the eight cylinders oil
of the pushers, several thousand
tons of coal started up the big grade
into Hagerstown. 1t was a very IN
teresting sight: suggest you 60 see
it, | have, for a long time, had
personal ambition to ride in one of
the cabooses.
Our Western Maryland was one of
the last of the railroads to be built
in this section The need for rail
road 10 connect this section directly
with Baltimore was felt as early as
1900, by both the people of our val
ley and the business organizations of
the city. The b. & o. would UNI
doubleday have gone through this
county and Hagerstown if the en-
gineers had been able to find a sat
isfactory place to cross South Mou-
tain.
The first official move was the in
cooperating of the company, in May
of 1852, under the name of ''The Bal
timore, Carroll and Frederick Rail
road Company" This company was
authorized to build railroad from
Baltimore, or from the junction of
the Baltimore and straightforward
just north of Baltimore, to the
"headwaterS of the Monocacy River"
The legislature of one year later
changed the name to 'The Western
Maryland Railroad" and authorized
the issuing of one million dollars
worth of bonds, and extended the
western destination to Hagerstown.
There were 30 incorporates on the
original charter.
Western Maryland's first president
was Robert M. Magraw. The first
line of Western Maryland track was
laid from just outside Baltimore to
OwingsT Mills, in 1889 The road
reached Westminster in 1861, and
Union Bridge in 1862. 1t was then
nine years before the next section
was completed, to Mechanicstown,
now Thurmont.
In the meantime, part of the road
had been started on this side of the
mountain. The commissioners of
Washington County subscribed to
the railroad bonds for several humid
red thousand dollars, and the work
at this end began in 1866, two years
after the close of the Civil War. Six
years later, in 1872, the first train on
the Western Maryland pulled into
Hagerstown. The mountain gave
them some tough obstacles, especial
ly in one section of excessively hard
rock, where blasting powder was
used. To avoid several such veins
of rock, the tracks defect across the
Mason and Dixon Line into Pennsyl-
vania near Blue Ridge Summit and
Pen Mar. Hagerstown's Edwin Bell,
editor of the Hagerstown Mail, was
very active in supporting this con-
struction and pushing it to compile
ton.
To celebrate the opening of the
new railroad, a ga1ly decorated
train, carrying a load of officials, ran
from Baltimore to Hagerstown.
Making seven stops, the train cover
ed the SO miles in three hours and
twenty minutes. In brand new
passenger car rode: James L. Nc
Lane, president of the company;
George F. Bokee, former president;
Robert Hooper, secretary treasurer;
j. T. Rigney, general superintendent;
B. H. Griswold, Hagerstown agent;
chief engineer Hutton; Washington
County director, John Welty; and
many other officials. The conduc-
tors on this historic run were Bessler
and R. Stoner.
Hagerstown's mayor, together with
many other municipals officials, and
a large crowd of enthusiastic people,
Tho x,icifOrc 1xJorp