The following railroads operate in the U.S. state of Maryland.
Name | Mark | System [nb 1] | From | To | Successor | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Annapolis and Baltimore Short Line Railroad | 1880 | 1894 | Baltimore and Annapolis Short Line Railroad | |||
Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad | 1837 | 1885 | Annapolis, Washington and Baltimore Railroad | |||
Annapolis, Washington and Baltimore Railroad | 1886 | 1908 | Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway | |||
Bachman Valley Railroad | 1870 | 1886 | Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway | |||
Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad | BLA | 1935 | 1993 | Canton Railroad | ||
Baltimore and Annapolis Short Line Railroad | 1894 | 1921 | Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railroad | |||
Baltimore Belt Railroad | B&O | 1888 | ||||
Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Railroad | WM | 1852 | 1853 | Western Maryland Railroad | ||
Baltimore, Chesapeake and Atlantic Railway | BCA | PRR | 1894 | 1928 | Baltimore and Eastern Railroad | |
Baltimore and Cumberland Railway | ||||||
Baltimore and Cumberland Valley Railway | WM | 1878 | 1917 | Western Maryland Railway | ||
Baltimore and Delaware Bay Railroad | PRR | 1881 | 1902 | Delaware Railroad | ||
Baltimore and Delta Railway | 1878 | 1882 | Maryland Central Railroad | |||
Baltimore and Eastern Railroad | BE | PRR | 1923 | 1976 | Consolidated Rail Corporation | |
Baltimore and Eastern Railroad | PRR | 1886 | 1894 | Baltimore, Chesapeake and Atlantic Railway | ||
Baltimore, Hampden and Towsontown Railway | 1874 | 1878 | Baltimore and Delta Railway | |||
Baltimore and Hanover Railroad | WM | 1877 | 1886 | Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway | ||
Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway | WM | 1886 | 1917 | Western Maryland Railway | ||
Baltimore and Lehigh Railroad | 1891 | 1894 | Baltimore and Lehigh Railway | |||
Baltimore and Lehigh Railway | 1894 | 1901 | Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad | |||
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | B&O, BO | B&O | 1827 | 1987 | Chesapeake and Ohio Railway | |
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Pennsylvania | B&O | 1912 | 1980 | Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | ||
Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad | PRR | 1852 | 1854 | Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad | ||
Baltimore and Port Deposit Railroad | PRR | 1832 | 1838 | Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad | ||
Baltimore and Potomac Railroad | PRR | 1853 | 1902 | Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad | ||
Baltimore and Sparrows Point Railroad | PRR | 1887 | 1919 | Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad | ||
Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad | PRR | 1828 | 1854 | Northern Central Railway | ||
Baltimore and Swann Lake Passenger Railway | 1868 | 1874 | Baltimore, Hampden and Towsontown Railway | |||
Baltimore, Towsontown, Dulaney's Valley and Delta Narrow Gauge Railway | 1876 | 1878 | Baltimore and Delta Railway | |||
Bay Coast Railroad | BCR | 2006 | 2018 | Delmarva Central Railroad | ||
Bay Ridge and Annapolis Railroad | B&O | 1886 | 1903 | N/A | ||
Cambridge and Seaford Railroad | PRR | 1882 | 1899 | Delaware Railroad | ||
Caton and Loudon Railway | PRR | 1945 | 1973 | N/A | ||
Catonsville Short Line Railroad | PRR | 1882 | 1945 | Caton and Loudon Railway | ||
Central Railroad of Maryland | PRR | 1913 | 1914 | York, Hanover and Frederick Railway Company | ||
Chaffee Railroad | WM | 1918 | 1950 | Western Maryland Railway | ||
Chambersburg, Greencastle and Hagerstown Railroad | PRR | 1853 | 1859 | Franklin Railroad | ||
Chesapeake Railroad | CHRR | 1995 | 2000 | N/A | ||
Chesapeake Beach Railway | 1896 | 1935 | East Washington Railway | |||
Chesapeake and Curtis Bay Railroad | WM | 1916 | 1989 | CSX Transportation | ||
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway | CO | 1987 | 1987 | CSX Transportation | ||
Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad | PRR | 1858 | 1890 | Port Deposit Railroad | ||
Columbia and Port Deposit Railway | PRR | 1890 | 1916 | Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad | ||
Confluence and Oakland Railroad | B&O | 1890 | 1941 | N/A | ||
Consolidated Rail Corporation | CR | 1976 | 1999 | CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway | ||
Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad | C&PA, CPA | WM | 1850 | 1953 | Western Maryland Railway | |
Cumberland Valley Railroad | PRR | 1860 | 1919 | Pennsylvania Railroad | ||
Curtis Bay Railroad | CURB | B&O | 1915 | 1983 | Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | |
Delaware Railroad | PRR | 1867 | 1976 | Consolidated Rail Corporation | ||
Delaware and Chesapeake Railway | PRR | 1878 | 1899 | Delaware Railroad | ||
Delaware Coast Line Railroad | DCLR | 1982 | 1994 | Maryland and Delaware Railroad | ||
Delaware and Maryland Railroad | PRR | 1832 | 1836 | Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad | ||
Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Railroad | PRR | 1883 | 1956 | Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad | ||
Dorchester and Delaware Railroad | PRR | 1866 | 1883 | Cambridge and Seaford Railroad | ||
East Washington Railway | 1935 | 1976 | N/A | |||
Eastern Shore Railroad | ESHR | 1981 | 2006 | Bay Coast Railroad | ||
Eastern Shore Railroad (1836–1884) | PRR | 1836 | 1884 | New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad | ||
Elkton and Middletown Railroad | PRR | 1880 | 1916 | Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad | ||
Emmitsburg Railroad | 1868 | 1940 | N/A | |||
Franklin Railroad | PRR | 1859 | 1865 | Cumberland Valley Railroad | ||
Franklin Railroad | PRR | 1837 | 1850 | Chambersburg, Greencastle and Hagerstown Railroad | ||
Frederick and Northern Railroad Company | PRR | 1896 | 1897 | Hanover and York Railroad Company | ||
Frederick and Pennsylvania Line Railroad Company (F&PL) | PRR | 1867 | 1896 | Frederick and Northern Railroad Company | ||
George's Creek and Cumberland Railroad | WM | 1876 | 1917 | Western Maryland Railway | ||
Green Ridge Railroad | 1883 | 1891 | N/A | Operated as a private carrier 1891-94 | ||
Hagerstown and State Line Railroad | WM | 1884 | 1899 | Washington and Franklin Railway | ||
Kent County Railroad | PRR | 1856 | 1877 | Baltimore and Delaware Bay Railroad | ||
Lancaster, Cecil and Southern Railroad | B&O | 1892 | 1972 | N/A | ||
Maryland Central Railroad | 1867 | 1888 | Maryland Central Railway | |||
Maryland Central Railway | 1888 | 1891 | Baltimore and Lehigh Railroad | |||
Maryland and Delaware Railroad | PRR | 1854 | 1877 | Delaware and Chesapeake Railway | ||
Maryland and Delaware Coast Railway | PRR | 1924 | 1932 | Maryland and Delaware Seacoast Railroad | ||
Maryland and Delaware Seacoast Railroad | PRR | 1932 | 1935 | Baltimore and Eastern Railroad | ||
Maryland, Delaware and Virginia Railroad | PRR | 1905 | 1905 | Maryland, Delaware and Virginia Railway | ||
Maryland, Delaware and Virginia Railway | MDV | PRR | 1905 | 1923 | Baltimore and Eastern Railroad, Maryland and Delaware Coast Railway | |
Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad | M&PA, MPA | 1901 | 1985 | N/A | ||
Maryland and Pennsylvania Terminal Railway | 1905 | 1985 | N/A | |||
Metropolitan Railroad (Maryland) | 1853 | 1863 | N/A | Following the 1863 bankruptcy, B&O built its Metropolitan Branch along a similar route | ||
Metropolitan Southern Railroad | B&O | 1890 | 1988 | N/A | ||
New Castle and Frenchtown Turnpike and Railroad Company | PRR | 1828 | 1859 | N/A | ||
New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad | PRR | 1882 | 1958 | Penndel Company | ||
Norfolk and Western Railroad | N&W | 1881 | 1896 | Norfolk and Western Railway | ||
Norfolk and Western Railway | N&W, NW | N&W | 1896 | 1998 | Norfolk Southern Railway | |
Northern Central Railway | PRR | 1854 | 1976 | Consolidated Rail Corporation | ||
Peninsula Railroad | PRR | 1880 | 1882 | New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad | ||
Penn Central Transportation Company | PC | 1968 | 1976 | Consolidated Rail Corporation | ||
Penndel Company | PRR | 1954 | 1976 | Consolidated Rail Corporation | ||
Pennsylvania Railroad | PRR | PRR | 1876 | 1968 | Penn Central Transportation Company | |
Pennsylvania Railroad in Maryland | 1876 | 1888 | George's Creek and Cumberland Railroad | |||
Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad | PRR | 1854 | 1916 | Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad | ||
Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad | PRR | 1902 | 1976 | Consolidated Rail Corporation | ||
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad | PRR | 1838 | 1902 | Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad | ||
Piedmont and Cumberland Railway | WM | 1886 | 1905 | Western Maryland Railroad | ||
Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad | B&O | 1837 | 1912 | Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Pennsylvania | ||
Port Deposit Railroad | PRR | 1890 | 1890 | Columbia and Port Deposit Railway | ||
Potomac Valley Railroad | WM | 1890 | 1905 | Western Maryland Railroad | ||
Preston Railroad | 1897 | 1960 | N/A | |||
Queen Anne's Railroad | PRR | 1894 | 1905 | Maryland, Delaware and Virginia Railroad | ||
Queen Anne's and Kent Railroad | PRR | 1856 | 1899 | Delaware Railroad | ||
Shenandoah Valley Railroad | N&W | 1870 | 1890 | Shenandoah Valley Railway | ||
Shenandoah Valley Railway | N&W | 1890 | 1890 | Norfolk and Western Railroad | ||
Smyrna and Delaware Bay Railroad | PRR | 1865 | 1902 | N/A (owned by Baltimore and Delaware Bay Railroad) | ||
Southern Maryland Railroad | 1868 | 1886 | Washington and Potomac Railroad | |||
State Line and Oakland Railroad | B&O | 1889 | 1890 | State Line and Oakland Railway | ||
State Line and Oakland Railway | B&O | 1890 | 1890 | Confluence and Oakland Railroad | ||
Union Railroad of Baltimore | PRR | 1866 | 1976 | Consolidated Rail Corporation | ||
Virginia and Maryland Railroad | VAMD | 1977 | 1981 | Eastern Shore Railroad | ||
Washington, Brandywine and Point Lookout Railroad | 1918 | 1942 | U.S. Navy | |||
Washington & Chesapeake Beach Railway | 1891 | 1895 | Chesapeake Beach Railway | |||
Washington City and Point Lookout Railroad | B&O | 1872 | 1874 | Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | ||
Washington County Railroad | B&O | 1864 | ||||
Washington and Franklin Railway | WM | 1899 | Owned by Reading Company and leased to Western Maryland Railway; still exists as a lessor of CSX Transportation, owned by Reading International, Inc. | |||
Washington and Potomac Railroad | 1886 | 1900 | Washington, Potomac and Chesapeake Railroad | |||
Washington, Potomac and Chesapeake Railroad | 1901 | 1910 | Washington, Potomac and Chesapeake Railway | |||
Washington, Potomac and Chesapeake Railway | 1910 | 1918 | Washington, Brandywine and Point Lookout Railroad | |||
West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway | WM | 1882 | 1905 | Western Maryland Railroad | ||
Western Maryland Railroad | WM | 1853 | 1909 | Western Maryland Railway | ||
Western Maryland Railway | WM | WM | 1909 | 1989 | CSX Transportation | |
Western Maryland Tidewater Railroad | WM | 1883 | 1905 | Western Maryland Railroad | ||
Wicomico and Pocomoke Railroad | PRR | 1848 | 1890 | Baltimore and Eastern Shore Railroad | ||
Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad | PRR | 1836 | 1838 | Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad | ||
Worcester Railroad | PRR | 1853 | 1883 | Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Railroad | ||
Worcester and Somerset Railroad | PRR | 1867 | 1880 | Peninsula Railroad | ||
Hanover and York Railroad Company | PRR | 1897 | 1914 | York, Hanover and Frederick Railway Company | ||
York, Hanover and Frederick Railway Company | PRR | 1914 | 1954 | Penndel Company |
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States. It operated as B&O from 1830 until 1987, when it was merged into the Chessie System; its lines are today controlled by CSX Transportation.
The Washington–Baltimore combined metropolitan statistical area is a statistical area including the overlapping metropolitan areas of Washington, D.C. and of Baltimore. The region includes Central Maryland, Northern Virginia, three counties in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, and one county in south-central Pennsylvania. It is the most educated, highest-income, and third-largest combined statistical area in the United States behind New York City–Newark, NJ and Los Angeles–Long Beach.
MARC is a commuter rail system in the Washington–Baltimore area. MARC is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and operated under contract by Alstom and Amtrak on track owned by CSX Transportation (CSXT) and Amtrak. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 3,860,600, or about 12,400 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023, less than pre-COVID-19 pandemic weekday ridership of 40,000.
The Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad (1852–1983) that operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation.
The Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad was an American railroad of central Maryland built in the 19th century. The railroad, the second to serve Annapolis, ran between Annapolis and Clifford along the north shore of the Severn River. From Clifford, just north of the present day Patapsco Light Rail Stop, it connected with the B&O's Curtis Bay branch so that trains could travel to Baltimore. In 1921, when it was called the Annapolis and Baltimore Short Line, it was purchased by the larger Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway (WB&A), and then emerged from the WB&A's 1935 bankruptcy and closure as the Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad. B&A electric passenger operation between the two cities continued until 1950, at which time the rail line became solely a freight carrier, operating buses for passenger service. Freight service to Annapolis continued until June 1968 when the Severn River Trestle was declared unsafe. In the 1980s, the line was completely shut down. The right-of-way now serves as part of Baltimore's light rail system and as the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail.
The Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad, colloquially known as the "Ma and Pa", was an American short-line railroad between York and Hanover, Pennsylvania, formerly operating passenger and freight trains on its original line between York and Baltimore, Maryland, from 1901 until the 1950s. The Ma and Pa was popular with railfans in the 1930s and 1940s for its antique equipment and curving, picturesque right-of-way through the hills of rural Maryland and Pennsylvania. Reflecting its origin as the unintended product of the merger of two 19th-century narrow-gauge railways, the meandering main line took 77.2 miles (124 km) to connect Baltimore and York, although the two cities are only 45 miles (72 km) apart.
Streetcars and interurbans operated in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., between 1890 and 1962.
The Baltimore–Columbia–Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as Central Maryland, is a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in Maryland as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It is part of the larger Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area. As of 2022, the combined population of the seven counties is 2,985,871, making it the 20th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the nation.
U.S. Route 40 in the U.S. state of Maryland runs from Garrett County in Western Maryland to Cecil County in the state's northeastern corner. With a total length of 221 miles (356 km), it is the longest numbered highway in Maryland. Almost half of the road overlaps or parallels with Interstate 68 (I-68) or I-70, while the old alignment is generally known as US 40 Alternate, US 40 Scenic, or Maryland Route 144. West of Baltimore, in the Piedmont and Appalachian Mountains / Blue Ridge region of the Western Maryland panhandle of the small state, the portions where it does not overlap an Interstate highway are mostly two-lane roads. The portion northeast of Baltimore going toward Wilmington in northern Delaware and Philadelphia in southeastern Pennsylvania is a four-lane divided highway, known as the Pulaski Highway. This section crosses the Susquehanna River at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay on the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge.
The Hagerstown and Frederick Railway, now defunct, was an American railroad of central Maryland built in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Chambersburg, Greencastle & Waynesboro Street Railway, now defunct, was an American railroad of south central Pennsylvania built in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Queen Anne’s Railroad was a railroad that ran between Love Point, Maryland, and Lewes, Delaware, with connections to Baltimore via ferry across the Chesapeake Bay. The Queen Anne's Railroad company was formed in Maryland in 1894, and received legislative authorization from Delaware in February 1895. The railroad's original western terminus was in Queenstown, Maryland, and was moved via a 13-mile (21 km) extension to Love Point in 1902, which shortened the ferry trip to Baltimore.
The Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway (WB&A) was an American railroad of central Maryland and Washington, D.C., built in the 19th and 20th century. The WB&A absorbed two older railroads, the Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad and the Baltimore & Annapolis Short Line, and added its own electric streetcar line between Baltimore and Washington. It was built by a group of Cleveland, Ohio, electric railway entrepreneurs to serve as a high-speed, showpiece line using the most advanced technology of the time. It served Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis, Maryland, for 27 years before the "Great Depression" and the rise of the automobile forced an end to passenger service during the economic pressures of the 1930s "Depression" southwest to Washington from Baltimore & west from Annapolis in 1935. Only the Baltimore & Annapolis portion between the state's largest city and its state capital continued to operate electric rail cars for another two decades, replaced by a bus service during the late 1950s into 1968. Today, parts of the right-of-way are used for the light rail line, rail trail for hiking - biking trails, and roads through Anne Arundel County.
The Fuller Syndicate was a group of American financiers that invested in railroads in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
John Mifflin Hood (1843–1906) was an American railroad and electric streetcar system executive.
The Baltimore, Chesapeake and Atlantic railroad, nicknamed Black Cinders & Ashes, ran from Claiborne, Maryland, to Ocean City, Maryland. It operated 87 miles (140.0 km) of center-line track and 15.6 miles (25.11 km) of sidings. Chartered in 1886, the railroad started construction in 1889 and cost $2.356 million ($2024=79,895,000).