Railroad Picture Archives
RDG 5304 and 5300 (See Comments Below)
Contributor Pick
2515 Views
6 Comments
Photo Details
Photo Date:
December 29, 1970
Upload Date:
January 16, 2008
Categories:
Dimensions:
1000 x 789
Location
City:
Hagerstown
State/Province:
MD
Country:
US
Photographer
Name:
Marty Bernard
Comments (6)
Today these tracks are completely reconfigured. The diamond is gone. The double track of the WM is now single track. The NS Cumberland Valley line merges into the WM main a little past that B&O hopper in the picture. Both companies use about 300 feet of main track to access their three routes. The turnout at the bottom of the screen is just about the same place that today the NS trains use to access the old Cumberland Valley. The CSX trains go past the old diamond on single track and those going to Security and the old East Subdivision make a hard right a little past the diamond. Going straight will take you to Pike and onto Chambersburg on the old Lurgan Subdivision.
Every so often the Reading Company would run a train of mtys out of Rutherford to Penn Road where the train was interchanged onto the Cumberland Valley. It got to Cumbo on the B&O at Martinsburg and exchanged mtys for loads with one crew making the round trip. Pretty good for a Reading crew! Of course, I never stayed over at Lurgan to see if the one crew made it back to Rutherford without a relief crew helping.
The Reading units are actually on the Cumberland Valley line and will cross over the diamond. THe foreground track is the WM. I know it looks tight but telephoto photography often that effect.
Boy I live here and this gets tricky. I believe that the far lines are the Chessie(old B&O and WM) to Highfield. The lines in the foreground are the old B&O to Chambersburg and the crossline would be to interconnect the NS to the Chessie/WM to Highfield. The hard right in the foreground right would be the old Cumberland Valley/ Conrail/NS to Chambersburg.
The Reading did not directly serve Haggerstown and my guess (for lack on memory) is that it is on the WM. Continuing my guess is the curving double track is PRR and the cross track is B&O but Haggerstown was also served by the N&W. I hope someone who really knows chimes in.
Interesting Location. Any idea what the other lines are in this photo? My guess on the 2 track line is Western Maryland