1906 -- January. The
Wabash system selects a rail route for a passenger and freight line
from Cumberland, Md., to the west passing through Meyersdale.
1910 -- Surveyors determine
the route followed by groundbreaking on July 5.
1910 -- Christmas Day
work begins on the Big Savage Tunnel. A year later the workers will
punch through the mountain at the other end.
1911 -- Meyersdale
Borough officials adopt Ordinance No. 37 on June 1 allowing the railroad
to pass through the town. At first reluctant to provide a second train
right-of-way through the community, they insisted that a suitable passenger
and freight station be built.
1911 -- Six men die
in an accident during construction of the Salisbury Viaduct on July
10; August 11 another iron worker falls to his death.
1911 -- Ground is broken
on November 20 for the station. The foundation measures 36x99. Work
begins Dec. 7 and is compelted March 12, 1912.
1912 -- The first train
steams through the 3,300-foot long Big Savage Tunnel on May 15.
1912
-- The first train crosses the 1900-foot Salisbury Viaduct over the
Salisbury Junction west of Meyersdale. A crew from Cumberland makes
this historic trip on June 18, and the new line opens for train traffic
on July 1.
1964 -- The C&O (Chesapeake
& Ohio) and B&O (Baltimore & Ohio) jointly filed for permission to acquire
control of the Western Maryland Railway with the Interstate Commerce
Commission.
1973 -- Chessie System
Inc. was formed February 26, and Chessie System Railroads was adopted
as the new corporate identity for the C&O, B&O and WM railroads.
1980 -- CSX Corporation
came into being Nov. 1, resulting from the merger of Chessie System
Inc. and Seaboard Coast Line Industries Inc.
1983 -- Operation of
the Western Maryland Railway was taken over by the B&O, and WM's ownership
was assumed by the C&O.
1987 -- The B&O was
merged into the C&O on April 30, and the C&O was merged into CSX Transportation
Sept. 2.
Return
to the Home Page.
This page updated August 15,
2007.
Meyersdale, PA
