Salisbury Junction Viaduct on the Western Maryland West of Meyersdale
History of the Western Maryland Railway
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.
(Sources: Timeline--Meyersdale Area Historical Society and CSX Transportation Rail Heritage. Image--Somerset County Bicentennial Calendar, 1995.)
This page updated September 10, 2001.