Freight Train on the Old Main

Freight Train on the Old Main

Heading west in the sunshine of a perfect late summer afternoon, a heavy CSX freight rumbles
through the grade crossing at Sykesville, Maryland on the historic B&O (now CSX) Old Main Line.
The "Old Main," built by the Baltimore and Ohio, was the first commercial railroad line in the United States, the first section opening in 1830. It diverges from the Baltimore to Washington mainline at Relay, and continues 58.5 miles as a single track (but with passing sidings) through the forests and craggy terrain of the Patapsco River Valley, through central Maryland to Point of Rocks (Washington Junction). There, at an iconic B&O built station (**), it joins the modern mainline, the Metropolitan Branch, to head west.

The Old Main once saw passenger service, but even those meandering steam-powered locals would
disappear in the years following World War Two. The Old Main is now entirely a freight operation, with the
exception of a MARC commuter service to Frederick operating on a short stretch from Point of Rocks.

Photo + Design ©2014 Steve Ember

** Where the Old Main joins the "new"