An Allegany Magazine Exclusive
Never before published photographs
"I've Been Working on the Railroad..."
The faces and the places that built the Western Maryland rails
By JAMES RADA JR.
Correspondent
Photos are the exclusive properties of James Rada and are used by Allegany Magazine with permission.
When the Western Maryland Railway decided to build an extension line to Cumberland in 1903, it put the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in an unwinnable position.
The Western Maryland Railway needed permission from the B&O Railroad to cross the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal since the B&O Railroad was running the canal by that time. So no matter which choice the B&O Railroad made, it helped itself and it hurt itself.
The 60-mile extension line began in Big Pool and moved west toward Cumberland.
"Though the route lay entirely in the Potomac River Valley, the going was far from easy, since the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the National Turnpike had already been built on the best routes. Thus, Western Maryland needed..."
To learn more about our train heritage and to view more exclusive photos, click here..
Engrained in the Past, Poised for the Future
Full steam ahead as Cumberland's CSX remains on track
By SHANE RIGGS
Managing Editor
Photos by Ginger Squires and Shane Riggs
When Tim Yarnall was a little boy, his father put him in their family car and drove over to the railroad yard on Offutt Street in South Cumberland. There, the rails were lined up with steam engines belonging to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company.
"Take a good look at that, son," the elder Mr. Yarnall said. "You will never see anything like that again."
And the young Yarnall never did. It was an image that sticks with him, even today, from his office inside the Cumberland shop of the CSXT Rail yard. From that office his window overlooks the very spot where his father had parked the car to show him that remarkable moment in history when the steam engines were lined up to be removed for scrap parts.
"I still run out when I can and watch the steam engine leaving the scenic railroad though," he said. "I still get a kick out of a steam engine train."
The Cumberland yard is one of the biggest railroad yards in the state. There are eight CSXT locations in Maryland covering and maintaining a total of 580 miles of track. With 321 employees it is considered the third largest employer in Allegany County. And yet its rich history is engrained with this area.
"The railroad companies have always supplied jobs that have supported families," said John Felten, CSXT shop manager for the Cumberland Locomotive Shop. "From the nation's standpoint, we have played and still play a critical role."
"The railroad has always been....
To read the whole story, click here.
Five Schools...four years of planning...three years of construction...
two high schools...one dream fulfilled
A closer look at the new Mountain Ridge High
By MIA PERLOZZO
Correspondent
Photos by Shane Riggs
On August 27, 2007, the wait was finally over. The much-anticipated opening of one of the premier high schools in the state of Maryland was officially open for business as Mountain Ridge High School welcomed a new community of learners.
Mountaineers and Wildcats gave way to the Miner, and old school colors blended to form new ones symbolic of our great state. With the consolidation of Beall and Westmar High Schools came not only the merging of traditions but also the beginning of a new era.
The vision of Mountain Ridge High School was a kaleidoscope of decisions made by many Boards of Education that finally came to fruition in October 2005 when P.J. Dick Inc., General Contractor, broke ground at the site of the $40 million, 165,382 square foot high school. This process, however, did not come about simply. According to school board member Tom Striplin, "Mountain Ridge was a huge cooperative effort among...
To read the whole story on Allegany County's newest school, click here...
From Arsonist to Arborist
At a state prison, a unique horticulture program sows seeds of redemption
By MARK A. VERNARELLI
Correspondent
Photos courtesy of Mark A. Vernarelli
and the Western Correctional Institute
When "Kevin" was sentenced to 39 years for arson and attempted murder in 1997, he knew he'd made horrible choices and committed life-altering crimes.
What he didn't know is that 10 years into his term at a sprawling state prison on the Potomac between Haystack and Knobley mountains, he'd be given a chance to pay society back and learn a skill through a first-of-its-kind horticulture and master gardening program. And all of it thanks to a 60-something-year old warden whose tough-as-nails demeanor belies an unexpected fondness---for flowers.
When Kevin and his 1,730 fellow felons walk onto the courtyard of the medium-security Western Correctional Institution near Cresaptown, they can rejoice in at least one thing: Everywhere they look, they are surrounded by nature's magnificence. There are the seemingly endless strings of mountains to the east and west, and the northward-flowing Potomac just beyond the prison's back wall, where the long CSX coal trains ply the tracks between Cumberland and Grafton. And now, Kevin and a select few of his fellow inmates can proudly say they are ...
For more on this unique program, click here...
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