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Old Main Line (Baltimore And Ohio Railroad)
The Old Main Line Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Maryland. The line runs from Relay, Maryland, Relay (outside Baltimore) west to Point of Rocks, Maryland, Point of Rocks, and was once the main line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, one of the oldest rail lines in the United States. At its east end, it has junctions with the Capital Subdivision and the Baltimore Terminal Subdivision; its west end has a junction with the Metropolitan Subdivision. History The initial route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) followed the Patapsco River valley west out of Baltimore, with the first section (to what is now Ellicott City, Maryland) opening for service in 1830. The line left the valley to cross Parr's Ridge, which, after an abortive attempt to use a system of inclined planes, was crossed via a more round-about routing through Mount Airy, Maryland, Mount Airy. It continued west to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, passing s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the leading subsidiary of CSX Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. CSX Corporation was formed in 1980 from the merger of Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries, two holding companies that controlled railroads operating in the Eastern United States. Initially only a holding company, the subsidiaries that made up CSX Corporation completed merging in 1987. CSX Transportation formally came into existence in 1986, as the successor of Seaboard System Railroad. In 1999, CSX Transportation acquired about half of Conrail in a joint purchase with competitor Norfolk Southern Railway. In 2022, it acquired Pan Am Railways, extending its reach into northern New England. Norfolk Southern remains CSX's chief ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washington, DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with Maryland to its north and east. It was named after George Washington, the first president of the United States. The district is named for Columbia (personification), Columbia, the female National personification, personification of the nation. The Constitution of the United States, U.S. Constitution in 1789 called for the creation of a federal district under District of Columbia home rule, exclusive jurisdiction of the United States Congress, U.S. Congress. As such, Washington, D.C., is not part of any U.S. state, state, and is not one itself. The Residence Act, adopted on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of the Capital districts and territories, capital district along the Potomac River. The city ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abutment
An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end that provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls to resist lateral movement of the earthen fill of the bridge approach. Multi-span bridges require piers to support ends of spans unsupported by abutments. Dam abutments are generally the sides of a valley or gorge, but may be artificial in order to support arch dams such as Kurobe Dam in Japan. The civil engineering term may also refer to the structure supporting one side of an arch, or masonry used to resist the lateral forces of a vault.Pevsner, N. (1970) ''Cornwall''; 2nd ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin; p. 245 The impost or abacus An abacus ( abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a hand-operated calculating tool which was used from ancient times in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, until the adoptio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patterson Viaduct
The Patterson Viaduct was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) as part of its Old Main Line during May to December 1829. The viaduct spanned the Patapsco River at Ilchester, Maryland. It was heavily damaged by a flood in 1868 and subsequently replaced with other structures. In 2006, it was restored to limited service when a footbridge was built atop the surviving arch and abutments. History and design Original bridge The Patterson Viaduct was one of three (along with the Carrollton Viaduct and Oliver Viaduct) constructed for the first phase of the railroad, which ran between Baltimore and Ellicott's Mills (today's Ellicott City). Similar in construction to the Carrollton Viaduct, the Patterson Viaduct was named for B&O director and well known civic leader and merchant William Patterson, who also donated land for Patterson Park in east Baltimore. It was designed by Caspar Wever and built under the supervision of John McCartney, one of Wever's assistants. McCart ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double Track
A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lines were built as double-track because of the difficulty of co-ordinating operations before the invention of the telegraph. The lines also tended to be busy enough to be beyond the capacity of a single track. In the early days the Board of Trade did not consider any single-track railway line to be complete. In the earliest days of railways in the United States most lines were built as single-track for reasons of cost, and very inefficient timetable working systems were used to prevent head-on collisions on single lines. This improved with the development of the telegraph and the train order system. Operation Handedness In any given country, rail traffic generally runs to one side of a double-track line, not always the same side ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henryton Tunnel
The Henryton Tunnel, located near Henryton in southern Carroll County, Maryland, is the third-oldest tunnel in the world that remains in active railroad use.Steve Okonski'B&O RR Photo Tours from Woodstock to Henryton/ref> Constructed by the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad and opened around 1850, it was the first tunnel constructed on the B&O's Old Main Line. In 1865 the tunnel was widened to accommodate double track. It was rebuilt into its current form in 1903. The tunnel has brick portals and lining. The coping and footings are concrete. See also * Baltimore and Ohio Railroad * Industrial Archaeology Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the Industry (manufacturing), industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, si ... References External links *Steve Okonski'B&O RR Photo Tours from Woodstock to Henrytonphotos of the tunnel and its approac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henryton, Maryland
Henryton was an unincorporated area, unincorporated town in Carroll County, Maryland, Carroll County, Maryland, United States. It was located along the Patapsco River and is now within Patapsco Valley State Park. Henryton was the site of the Henryton State Hospital, which was originally constructed as a tuberculosis sanatorium and later housed mentally disabled people. History Henryton was a rural village of about 11 houses and a store near the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, B&O Railroad tracks and the Patapsco River, named for Henry DeVries, a 19th-century landowner. In addition to farming and trapping, residents sold pulpwood and worked in nearby quarries. A 1960 memoir recalls walking 4 miles along the railroad tracks each way to go to the movies in Sykesville, Maryland, Sykesville. In 1922–23, the Henryton State Hospital was built there, with its boiler house at the Henryton Road railroad crossing. This led to the roads being paved and the village becoming less rural. A s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually something that is otherwise difficult or impossible to cross. There are many different designs of bridges, each serving a particular purpose and applicable to different situations. Designs of bridges vary depending on factors such as the function of the bridge, the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed and anchored, the material used to make it, and the funds available to build it. The earliest bridges were likely made with fallen trees and stepping stones. The Neolithic people built boardwalk bridges across marshland. The Arkadiko Bridge, dating from the 13th century BC, in the Peloponnese is one of the oldest arch bridges in existence and use. Etymology The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' traces the origin of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benjamin Henry Latrobe, II
Benjamin Henry Latrobe II (December 19, 1806 – October 19, 1878) was an American civil engineer best known for pioneering railway bridges, notably the Thomas Viaduct, and serving as chief engineer for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. His innovations in wooden bridges and curved masonry viaduct designs significantly advanced American civil engineering in the 19th century. Latrobe also collaborated with Wendel Bollman, a prominent bridge designer, who contributed to early developments in iron truss bridges. His engineering survey plans for crossing the Allegheny Mountains were later incorporated into legislation guiding the construction of the Pacific railroads, establishing his lasting impact on national infrastructure. Family Benjamin Henry Latrobe II was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 19, 1806, Latrobe was the youngest son of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who, six years previously, had married his second wife, Mary Elizabeth Hazlehurst (1771–1841), the eldest daug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railroad Tie
A railroad tie, crosstie (American English), railway tie (Canadian English) or railway sleeper ( Australian and British English) is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties transfer loads to the track ballast and subgrade, hold the rails upright and keep them spaced to the correct gauge. Railroad ties are traditionally made of wood, but prestressed concrete is now also widely used, especially in Europe and Asia. Steel ties are common on secondary lines in the UK; plastic composite ties are also employed, although far less than wood or concrete. As of January 2008, the approximate market share in North America for traditional and wood ties was 91.5%, the remainder being concrete, steel, azobé (red ironwood) and plastic composite. Tie spacing may depend on the type of tie, traffic loads and other requirements, for example on North American mainline railroads to on London, Midland and Scottish Railway joi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rail Profile
The rail profile is the cross-sectional shape of a Railway track#Rail, rail as installed on a railway or railroad, perpendicular to its length. Early rails were made of wood, cast iron or wrought iron. All modern rails are hot rolled steel with a cross section Profile (engineering), (profile) approximate to an I-beam, but asymmetric about a horizontal axis (however see #Grooved rail, grooved rail below). The head is profiled to resist wear and to give a good ride, and the foot profiled to suit the fixing system. Unlike some other uses of iron and steel, railway rails are subject to very high stresses and are made of very high quality steel. It took many decades to improve the quality of the materials, including the change from iron to steel. Minor flaws in the steel that may pose no problems in other applications can lead to broken rails and dangerous derailments when used on railway tracks. By and large, the heavier the rails and the rest of the track work, the heavier an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies underground. It is common in the continental crust of Earth, where it is found in igneous intrusions. These range in size from dike (geology), dikes only a few centimeters across to batholiths exposed over hundreds of square kilometers. Granite is typical of a larger family of ''granitic rocks'', or ''granitoids'', that are composed mostly of coarse-grained quartz and feldspars in varying proportions. These rocks are classified by the relative percentages of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase (the QAPF diagram, QAPF classification), with true granite representing granitic rocks rich in quartz and alkali feldspar. Most granitic rocks also contain mica or amphibole minerals, though a few (known as leucogranites) conta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
