William Rich Hutton Metropolitan Railroad Map

The Metropolitan Railroad was a 19th-century Maryland corporation that proposed to build a railroad line from

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, to the vicinity of

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

, where it would connect with the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

(B&O), and continue to Hagerstown. The company was organized by businessmen from Washington and

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

, and was chartered by the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamb ...

in 1853. It conducted some initial land surveys, but had difficulty raising funds and went bankrupt in 1863. The B&O subsequently constructed a rail line on a similar route, and opened its

Metropolitan Branch Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

in 1873.

References

* Maryland General Assembly
“An Act to incorporate the Metropolitan Rail Road Company.”
1853 Md. Laws, Chap. 196. Passed May 5, 1853. * * 1853 establishments in Maryland Baltimore and Ohio Railroad lines Defunct Maryland railroads Defunct Washington, D.C., railroads Economy of Maryland Railway companies disestablished in 1863 Railway companies established in 1853 Transportation in Montgomery County, Maryland American companies established in 1853 American companies disestablished in 1863 {{US-rail-transport-stub