The Eckhart Branch Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Cumberland, Maryland area in the 19th century.
96-590: The company was a subsidiary of the Maryland Mining Company of Eckhart Mines, Maryland . The railroad operated from 1846 to 1870, when it was absorbed into the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad . The Maryland Mining Company (MMC) was incorporated in Maryland on March 12, 1829. The company built the railroad from Eckhart to Wills Creek , a length of 9 miles (14 km), along Braddock Run in 1846. It extended
192-466: A 5-foot gauge. Whistler got things going, but he died of Cholera in 1849. T. S. Brown, an American, was his replacement. Whistler's son (the painter) and his wife (the subject of the famous painting) went to England. Another son, George, stayed until his death in 1869. Whistler recommended that Winans take charge of the mechanical works at St. Petersburg. The Russian Colonels also wanted Joseph Harrison, of Eastwick & Harrison of Philadelphia to construct
288-552: A Russian Railroad Mission to assess the State of the Art. The Tsar was interested in a new passenger locomotive on the Reading, a design of Moncure Robinson. The Colonels reported back favorably on American Railroad practice, and recommended Major George Washington Whistler as consultant for the project. Various gauges were in use on American lines. Whistler went to St. Petersburg in 1842. He recommended
384-616: A Russian delegation, and he was asked by the Czar to build the Imperial railroad from Moscow to St. Petersburg . Winans sent his two sons, as well as engineer George W. Whistler (father of painter James Whistler ) to Russia for several years for that project. Winans may have sold as much or more equipment in Russia as he did in the United States, with both future 20th Century "super-powers" now setting
480-460: A classic wreck scene, circa 1860, shows that bridge collapsed into Wills Creek, with the engine C.E. Detmold hanging on. The original Potomac Wharf Branch bridge was a 203-foot (62 m) deck plate girder structure, with two support pillars in the creek. It was built in 1849, and rebuilt after the Detmold accident. It survived until a flood in 1936, and was not replaced. The Potomac Wharf Branch
576-700: A contemporary newspaper account that these were the same brakes commonly used on the B&;O line, but they were not adequate for the grades of the Eckhart Branch. Flooding in July 1846 also caused extensive damage to the line's lower end. From 1846 to 1870, the Winans Camel engines of the Eckhart Railroad eased the heavy coal loads down the mountain, around the horseshoe curve, and through the tunnels to Cumberland. These were
672-421: A distinctive pattern for railroad wheels for the next one hundred years or so. In the late 1820s also he became associated with the B&O, eventually entering their service as an engineer. One of his first and more important tasks was to help the famous inventor and industrialist Peter Cooper , (1791-1883), of New York City build the new revolutionary "Tom Thumb" steam-powered locomotive, to eventually replace
768-447: A firebox more than 8 feet (2.4 m) long, requiring lever-operated chutes for the fireman to feed the front of the fire. The fireman worked in the tender, as the firebox was behind the drivers. This design required that the drawbar passed beneath the firebox, and it typically heated to a cherry red color. Even after rebuilds with a more conventional cab design, the fireman worked in the tender. The standard Camel engine had 43" wheels, and
864-689: A large iron wheel with fins amidships. It did achieve a speed of 12 miles per hour on its trial in January 1859. He then lengthened the ship to 194, and then 235 feet. It went to England for further trials, but was never a great success. After the Civil War , Winans and his son took their enterprise to Europe, and several similarly designed boats were built in England and in St. Petersburg, Russia . None of these were also put to full sea trials, though press reports survive of trips in
960-731: A large parcel of property for a future park somewhere in the city. The Crimea purchase and park development was added to the Gwynn's Falls Park with the added name of Leakin Park. The contents of the "Crimea" mansion were sold at auction. Luckily, twenty-three boxes of Winans papers and journals were donated to the Maryland Historical Society in the old Enoch Pratt mansion on Park Avenue and West Monument Street in Mount Vernon-Belvedere neighborhood for safekeeping. The new municipal park
1056-525: A spring suspension that distributed the engine's weight over three points. In this arrangement, each of the four driving wheels could bounce independently as the engine negotiated rough track, greatly improving stability and traction. Later add-ons to the Russian contract, included another two million dollars, partially for the cast-iron bridge over the Neva River, the first time the river had been bridged. Much of
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#17330855826201152-587: A standard C&P class L engine would have been 21 cars. The articulated engine could have handled 24. The later Decapods pulled 28 cars. Maryland Mining Company The Maryland Mining Company is a historic coal mining , iron producer and railroad company that operated in Allegany County , Maryland , United States. The company was based in Eckhart Mines, Maryland ; the location in Braddock Run
1248-470: A testimony to his infamous pro-Southern sympathies. Also a water wheel apparatus still exists along the stream for drawing fresh water uphill along with a small family cemetery now wooded in by the forest. The Carrie Murray Nature Center was recently established here in the early 1980s in remembrance of the mother of a famous Baltimore Orioles baseball team player Eddie Murray of the time, who donated it, to educate and enlighten visiting school children from
1344-400: A thirty-day trial period to the purchasers. The engine Mountaineer was delivered on December 1, 1849, and accepted on Jan. 8, 1850. The engine Cumberland cost $ 11,000. and was delivered May 28, 1853. The engine Fire King, delivered 6/30/1851, came with a 4-wheel tender, holding 1½ tons of coal, and 900 gallons of water. The engine Frostburg went into service on Nov. 20, 1852. Service on
1440-455: A year early, and secured a new contract. They eventually got a third extension, but were subsequently bought out by a Russian government entity, formed to operate the facility and the railroad. Thomas Winans followed in his father's footsteps, and was on a trip to deliver locomotives to the Boston and Albany, when he met George W. Whistler. Whistler was impressed by the young man. This meeting lead to
1536-900: Is a complete list of Eckhart Branch locomotives. All of the listed engines except the first are of the "Camel" type. Hicks (ref. 23) recounts that the transfer records in the Maryland State Archives (from MMC to CC&I) mention five engines. Two of these are Winans, but lighter in weight than the listed engines, and three are much lighter. Rankin (ref. 46) mentions that the company motive power included three first class engines, two second class, and forty-one horses and mules. Rolling stock included sixty-eight iron hopper, gondola , scow, and passenger cars in 1853. No pictures of any of these engines are known to exist. The Transfer records mention "2 engines of 23 ton's weight, 1 second-class coal/wood burner of 15 tons, 1 English make, American built of 15 tons, and 1 second class engine of 12 tons." The use of
1632-505: Is documented in the poem, The Railway, by Nikolay Nekrasov. After 10 years of construction, the line opened in November 1851. George Washington Whistler was involved with the Czar on the rail project, as a consulting engineer. Winans was related to James McNeill Whistler through marriage (Whistler's brother George married Winans' daughter Julia) Another participant was John Hazelhurst Latrobe, son of
1728-489: The Allegany County coal short line railroads . The B&O supplied at least eight Camel engines to the MMC, as evidenced in notes by locomotive builder Ross Winans . These included B&O engines nos. 161, 162, and 163, among others. In addition, Winans, among other builders, sold engines, tenders , and coal hoppers to the various mining companies. Passenger service was provided on the Eckhart Branch sometime before 1853, and
1824-489: The Baltimore City Public Schools . A clap-board Gothic stylish small chapel also exists on the grounds along the entrance road, Eagle Driveway from West Forest Park Avenue. Winans' next important development in steam locomotive design was an 8-wheel connected freight locomotive in the early 1840s. In 1843, Gillingham and Winans built their own shop to maximize their profits. The company's most notable product
1920-602: The Eckhart Railroad , from Eckhart Mines, Maryland to Wills Creek (Eckhart Junction). 1850 - Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad (C&P) is chartered. 1850 - Eckhart Railroad completes the Potomac Wharf Branch into Cumberland. 1853 - Georges Creek Coal & Iron Company builds the Georges Creek Railroad between Lonaconing, Maryland and Piedmont, West Virginia . 1863 - C&P acquires
2016-596: The Georges Creek and Cumberland Railroad were merged into the Georges Creek and Cumberland Railroad . 1907 - Western Maryland Railroad assumes control of the GC&;C as part of the George Gould empire (merged into WM in 1917). 1939 - GC&C abandoned west of Eckhart Junction. 1944 - WM acquires C&P. 1953 - C&P formally merges with WM. 1982 - State Line Branch abandoned. These railroads were built by
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#17330855826202112-606: The Gwynns Falls stream valley named "Crimea", off the Franklintown Road. "Alexandrofsky", located near what is now the Hollins Market, built in the 1830s, was demolished a century later to expand the housing stock of the city and fill in the regular street grid of white marble-stepped brick rowhouses. "Crimea" was later sold to the city, using a substantial money bequest from Mr Leakin in the 1920s to be set aside for purchasing
2208-732: The Solent and the English Channel . The boats themselves remained tied up in Southampton into the 1880s, but inspired no imitators. The Russian Naval Journal reported on the ships in 1858. Winans shifted his interests outside of the United States during the Civil War. His son William had gained experience in naval construction during the Crimean War, outfitting gunboats for the defense of St. Petersburg. The Railroad Shops at Alexandrovsky were employed for
2304-513: The West Coast . C&P's Master Mechanic Sarby calculated he could get the same tractive effort by boring out the cylinders out on a C&P Class L 2-8-0. Engine number 23 was selected. Number 23 was a Mount Savage-built engine that entered service in October 1904. For some reason, Sarby was fired a short time later. The engine remained in service until scrapping in July 1944. There are no details on
2400-555: The West Point Foundry . No extant records support the sales of an engine from any of these companies to Eckhart. The West Point Foundry had supplied the machinery to the Georges Creek Coal and Iron Company or the blast furnace at Lonaconing . The Eckhart was a "second class" engine, with 17-inch (430 mm) cylinders. The Braddock was a first class engine, with 19-inch (480 mm) cylinders. Winans customarily gave
2496-526: The " Enoch Pratt " label is questionable, although it may be the "American built of 15 tons" mentioned. A 2-2-2 wheel arrangement is unusual. The Robert Stephenson Patentee locomotive of 1834 was of this pattern. American manufacturers known to have copied Stephenson's work from Britain include Baldwin Locomotive Works , Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works , the Locks & Canal Company of Lowell, Ma., and
2592-470: The "Camel." They were all acquired from predecessor roads. Engine sales to the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad (C. & P.) were recorded in 1863. James Millholland, the C. & P. Master Mechanic, was familiar with keeping these "Camel" engines running, and making improvements to them. Winans set trends in locomotive and car design rather than followed them. His steam locomotives, popularly known as "Crabs," "Muddiggers," and "Camels" were used all over
2688-420: The 1834 lease of Phineas Davis and Israel Gardner of the B. & O. Company's shops at Mount Clare and continued the manufacture of locomotives and railroad machinery. " As far back perhaps as the year 1836, the firm of Gillingham and Winans, and, after the dissolution of that firm, I myself, down to 1841 or 1842, manufactured a Rail Road Wheel... " (letter #322). In 1841, he opened his own shop adjacent to
2784-456: The 1950s. Before World War I , locomotive manufacturer Baldwin and the C&;P management discussed the building of a small articulated engine to work the Eckhart Branch. The catalog Baldwin 2-4-4-2 was rated at 44,200 pounds of tractive effort, and grossed 188,000 pounds. It was rated for 475 trailing tons on a 3 percent grade. It used 51-inch (1,300 mm) wheels, and 200 psi boiler pressure. It
2880-532: The B&O's Benjamin Latrobe. He served as legal council for Winans, because he spoke Russian. The Winans Brothers and Harrison bought out the interests of Eastwick, and formed a company for operations and future railroad construction. Winans and Eastwick also seemed to get involved in the manufacturing of gunpowder in Russia. This was eyed by American gunpowder manufacturer DuPont with some suspicion.. The Crimean War had broken out in 1854. The U. S. Department of State
2976-424: The B. & O. He invented and patented an improvement in the construction of axles, or bearings on July 20, 1831. Also in this productive year he built the "Columbus", his first double-truck car, which he immediately patented, even though it is widely known he stole the idea for after the original inventor failed to do so. In 1835, Winans went into partnership with George Gillingham and in 1836 they succeeded to
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3072-467: The B. & O.'s new Mount Clare Shops , along West Pratt Street, between Arlington and Schroeder Streets in southwest Baltimore, with that railroad as his primary customer. He was a pioneer in the development of substituting coal-burning steam locomotives, for the less efficient wood-burners. He was eccentric, and his locomotive business made him independently wealthy. His customer relations were simple—he built engines his way, and you bought them. Bored with
3168-687: The B. & S.'s successor line, the Northern Central Railway . Two units went to the Elmira & Canandaguia Railroad in New York, and were subsequently sold to the Cumberland & Pennsylvania . The P. & R. engine "Susquehanna" is described in detail in rail historian White's book (ref. 71). Two Winans engines went to the Huntingdon & Broad Top Mountain (H. & B.T.M.) Railroad in southwestern Pennsylvania in 1863. One unit blew up in 1868, with
3264-464: The C&P continued to use a gravity passenger car on that line. The passenger car was then hauled back up the mountain at the end of a string of empty coal hoppers. Servicing, watering, and coaling facilities were located in Eckhart. The C&P maintained an engine house and servicing facilities here, and the foundations of these were still evident in 1999. The term "Eckhart Branch" seems to date from
3360-503: The C. & P. shops in Mount Savage, Pennsylvania from 1866 through 1875. There are only three documented catastrophic failures in "Camel" engines. Non-catastrophic failures were more prevalent, but fewer were documented. Railroad historian/author Roberts (reference 48) gives the performance of a Winans "Camel" on the B. & O.’s 17-mile (27 km) grade, circa 1855, as 144 trailing tons. Rail historian James Dilts (reference 17) gives
3456-448: The Camel 0-8-0 type, favored by Winans. The early models are sometimes referred to as the "Baltimore engines". The "Camel" name derives from the first of class of that name, delivered to the B. & O. in 1848. All "Camel" engines were of the 0-8-0 wheel arrangement. Winans did not believe in the use of leading (pony) trucks. The "Camel" engines were all low-speed, heavy haul units. The speed
3552-536: The Eckhart Branch railroad in that area, including the tunnels. The MMC rail line connected with the Mount Savage Railroad at the west end of the Narrows. After passing through the Narrows on the north side, it recrossed Wills Creek on a bridge (no longer present) just east of the present U.S. Route 40 bridge. Some of the tracks were still visible as of 1999 near some billboards, and a gas station. A picture of
3648-635: The Eckhart Branch was hard, as evidenced by a series of correspondence with the Winans works in Baltimore in 1856. On June 16, 1856, CC&I ordered a replacement right-hand crosshead for the Braddock. The Braddock had gone into service on July 1, 1854. On September 24, they needed the same part for the Eckhart. The Eckhart had been placed into service on August 1, 1849. A frantic telegram on December 9, 1856, emphasizes
3744-632: The Georges Creek Railroad after purchasing the Mt. Savage Railroad. 1870 - C&P absorbs Eckhart Railroad. 1876 - The Maryland and American Coal Companies start building the George's Creek and Cumberland Railroad (GC&C). 1879 - The Pennsylvania railroad in Maryland company completes its line between the Pennsylvania State Line and Cumberland. 1888 - Pennsylvania railroad in Maryland and
3840-559: The Journal of the Railroad and Locomotive Historical Society: In the mid-19th Century, Winans and his son Thomas designed and built a series of spindle-shaped boats, usually referred to as the "cigar ships" or "cigar boats". The first was constructed in 1858 and featured an unprecedented (and in the end, technically unfeasible) midship propeller, enclosed in a shroud. This propeller was driven by steam engines located in each hull section. The intent
3936-552: The Mssrs. Winans, the entire force is engaged in the making of pikes, and in casting balls of very description..." (Brown, 65). On May 14, one day after martial law was declared in Baltimore, Winans was again arrested while returning from a special session of the Maryland legislature in Frederick (the session in which the Maryland legislature considered, but ultimately rejected, secession). He
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4032-766: The Naval work. Winans presented a proposal to the Russian Government entitled, "War Vehicles on the Spindle Principle," July 1861. This was favorably received by the Grand Duke Nuikolaevich, Chief of the Russian Navy. A Winans Cigar boat was tested on the Neva River, and ran to Kronstadt, where it conducted tests in the Gulf of Finland. The Russian Shipbuilding Technical Committee were not impressed.. Winans then proposed to
4128-666: The Potomac River through the guard locks . The original Potomac River wharf had been built by John Galloway Lynn of Cumberland , and was known as the Lynn Wharf. It ran along what now is Avirett Avenue. It was deeded to the Maryland Mining Company in 1849. The Cumberland Coal and Iron Company (CC&I), chartered in 1850, purchased the MMC mines and railroad property, including the village of Eckhart, in April 1852. The rail line
4224-499: The Russian Treasury." Russian America was sold for nine million rubles, and Winans received six and a half million. William Winans retired to England with an estimated 25 million rubles ($ 18–29 million). He wisely used some of this to buy shares in the new railroad venture in Russia, and became an influential, but not controlling, stockholder. The St. Petersburg to Moscow remains in daily operation at this writing. References from
4320-706: The September 1814 Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812 for many years, (later the site of the Port Covington railroad and harbor piers of the Western Maryland Railway built in the late 1890s and early 1900s) after a series of trials and modifications. It was never subjected to a sea trial. In his own words, "the length of the vessel was more than eleven times it breadth of beam, being 16 feet wide by 108 feet long." It included four high pressure steam engines, driving
4416-579: The Thames. Winans wanted to register his yacht at the Imperial Saint Petersburg Yacht Club. Numerous problems preventing the ship making the voyage. Thomas Winans stayed for a time in Russia and contracted with the Czar's government to develop Russian railroads . Winans took an interest in sanitary engineering and public health, publishing a number of pamphlets on sanitation, particularly in regard to water and ventilation. He lobbied for
4512-497: The U. S. Government the design of his ships, in what he saw as a pending conflict with England. Nothing came of this. Winans took his cigar boat construction to England with his experimental Russian craft loaded on the British steamboat Nautilus. He built another cigar ship in Havre, France. He constructed a private yacht for himself in England, the fourth cigar ship. It was launched in 1866 on
4608-492: The accumulated capital to make loans for commercial purposes. The records of the Philadelphia & Reading contain detailed information on "Camel" engine mileage's and rebuildings. This line received a series of forty-eight deliveries from 1846 to 1855. By 1858, the P. & R. had racked up in excess of 3.5 million miles on its 44 engines, with the "Camel" fleet representing 20 percent of the P. & R. motive power roster. By
4704-479: The arrival of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in Cumberland, Maryland in 1842, local interests began lobbying for the construction of branch lines leading to the coal mines at Eckhart Mines, and the iron furnaces at Mount Savage, Maryland . The B&O didn't want to invest into branches for political as well as financial reasons. Eventually the Maryland & New York Coal & Iron Co. chartered and built its own Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad with
4800-436: The boiler. A "Camel" was about 25 feet (7.6 m) long, with an 11-foot (3.4 m) wheelbase. There were three major variations: the short, medium, and long furnace models. The small units had 17" × 22" cylinders, and the others had 19" × 22" cylinders. The medium unit had about 23 square feet (2.1 m ) of grate area, expanded to more than 28 square feet (2.6 m ) in the large furnace model. The long furnace model had
4896-525: The business, and having a design disagreement with the B. & O., he closed his shops, which were later leased to the Hayward, Bartlett, and Co. iron and steel foundries. He went on to do significant work for the Czar's railroad from the new imperial capital St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea to the old traditional medieval capital of Moscow in central Russia. All of the listed engines are type 0-8-0 , called
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#17330855826204992-413: The conversion, but if we assume that the cylinders were bored an additional 1", the tractive effort would have increased by about 10 percent. This is following Baldwin's published formula for tractive effort (ref. 78). Boring out the cylinders would have required new pistons, of course. The weight of the unit would not have changed significantly. The steam capacity of the boiler would have been sufficient for
5088-430: The days of manual car brakes , and link-and-pin couplers . Brakemen ran across the tops of cars, in all sorts of weather, to manually set and release the handbrakes. Later, the Camels would haul the empty coal hoppers and the lone passenger car back up the mountain in preparation for another day's work. The legacy of the Eckhart Branch railroad continued with the C&P, and with Western Maryland Railway equipment into
5184-516: The development of a public water supply for Baltimore . Winans was a pioneer in the development of low income housing building a housing project he called "workingmen's housing" in Baltimore. Today a public housing project remains on the site and is named Mount Winans . He also published religious writings, including a pamphlet on religious tolerance and a collection of Unitarian sermons. The Winans' cigar ship and its shape inspired Captain Nemo 's submarine ship, in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under
5280-433: The end of the Civil War period in 1865, 28 of its 48 engines had not yet been rebuilt. By 1870, only 4 of the 48 were not yet rebuilt, but these four had accumulated almost one million miles of road service. The average service life before a rebuild was about thirteen and one-half years. Similar data for the B. & O. gives an average service life of 8.5 years before rebuilding. A total of 15 "Camel" rebuilds are recorded at
5376-406: The fledgling rail network of the burgeoning industrial northeastern United States, from the 1840s until after the turn of the 20th century. The B. & O. was Winans' largest locomotive customer, with one hundred and forty locomotive deliveries going to that road. Winans had a disagreement with Mr. Hayes of the B. & O., which delayed delivery of some engines into 1863. Winans' second best customer
5472-424: The headwaters of the North Branch Potomac River . As part of its operations, the company built the Potomac Wharf Branch rail line from Wills Creek , west of Cumberland, between 1846 and 1850, as an extension to its Eckhart Branch Railroad . The Cumberland Coal & Iron Company , chartered in 1850, purchased the Maryland Mining Company's mines and railroad in April 1852, including the village of Eckhart. With
5568-443: The horse-drawn rail cars then being pulled along the short route of the Baltimore and Ohio that had been built so far - from the city's waterfront temporary depot facing "The Basin" (today's "Inner Harbor") at East Pratt Street and South Charles Streets to the southwest 20-some miles to its first terminus at Ellicott Mills on the upper Western Branch of the Patapsco River . By 1831, he was appointed assistant engineer of machinery on
5664-527: The inventor of the Winans Steam Gun , said to be among the weapons bought from the five hundred thousand dollar fund that Baltimore Mayor Brown and Maryland Governor Hicks gathered "for the defense of the city. This experimental weapon was in fact not designed by Winans, but was invented by Charles S. Dickinson, and built in Boston in 1860. It passed through Winan's machine shop during the period when his workers were making pikes, shot and other items ordered by city authorities. When it emerged, its former history
5760-439: The iron and coal companies in the early 1840s, in anticipation of connecting with the B&O Railroad and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal , both then under construction to Cumberland. Some of these standard gauge mine roads owned and operated their own equipment, while others were operated with early B&O motive power and rolling stock. By 1870, all of the lines were absorbed into the Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad, which
5856-407: The late 1820s and did business with the newly founded Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B. & O.). Following the death of his wife Julia in 1850, he married Elizabeth K. West (1807-1889) in 1854. Winans came from a New Jersey family of horse breeders, but successfully made the transition to other forms of motive power. In 1828 he developed a friction wheel with outside bearings which established
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#17330855826205952-416: The later period of the 1870s. In a schedule published in the Frostburg Mining Journal, the line is referred to as the "Cumberland Branch." In the earliest accounts, the line is simply called the "Maryland Mining Company Railway." During the Civil War , the rail line was most probably used to transport supplies and patients to the Military Hospital facility at Clarysville. (ref. 100). It is not known if this
6048-457: The line as the Potomac Wharf Branch between 1846 and 1850, totalling 14 miles (23 km). The railroad was acquired by the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad (C&P) in 1870. Wills Creek was bridged at the west end of the Cumberland Narrows with a four arch brick structure that stood until removed for flood control in 1998. The railway included two tunnels , the one closest to Cumberland (lower tunnel) being 506 feet (154 m) long, and
6144-461: The loss of four lives. The H. & B.T.M. ran along the west side of Broad Top Mountain , best known for the narrow gauge line on its east side, the East Broad Top Railroad . The C. & P. interchanged with the H. & B.T.M. at State Line, Pennsylvania . Most of the Winans "Camel" engines sold for around $ 10,000. Engine sales were expedited by syndicates of what we would now call investment bankers, such as Mr. Enoch Pratt. Banks did not yet have
6240-413: The low speed operations of the Eckhart Branch. One of the limitations of the Eckhart Branch, besides the tunnel clearances, curves, and grade was the load capacity of the Wills Creek Bridge, at the West End of the Narrows. After the acquisition of the C&P by the Western Maryland Railway , the Eckhart Branch was worked by WM number 1102, a Baldwin Decapod (wheel arrangement 2-10-0). This class of engine
6336-436: The machinery for the railroad, and the equipment came from the United States. Winans brought a "large and powerful locomotive" as well as "three steam pile driving machines." Four Otis steam shovels were imported from the U. S. By the order of the Czar, equipment was brought in duty-free. The firm Harrison, Winans, and Eastwick was organized in Russia for the venture. Winans had impressed the Russians with his rail wagons, and he
6432-422: The need for urgency for shipment of the replacement left-hand crosshead for the Eckhart . The engines Black Monster and Cumberland were at work at that time. The parts were delivered to the B&O Railroad at Cumberland. It is not known whether the repair work was done at Cumberland, or at Eckhart. The engine Eckhart was later rebuilt at the C&P shops in Mount Savage in 1868. At the opening ceremony of
6528-437: The performance of B&O engine 71 as 117 trailing tons up a 2.2 percent grade at 18 mph (29 km/h). Engine 71 was a Winans "Camel", built in April 1851. The Winans engine could haul 40 empty coal hoppers up the Eckhart Branch, based on a tare weight of 3 tons for the Winans-designed 6-wheel hoppers in use in 1854. During the Civil War Winans was elected a member of the Maryland House of Delegates (the lower house of
6624-405: The purpose of connecting with, and hopefully later selling out to, the B&O near the Cumberland Narrows . The line to the Mt. Savage works was finished and operating in December 1844, while Maryland Mining's Eckhart branch entered service in May 1846. Throughout the following years, the Mt. Savage operation fell on hard times, and the Eckhart coal business has always been the more prosperous of
6720-407: The railroad on Wednesday, May 13, 1846, a special train took the board of directors and guests from Cumberland to Eckhart, and returned. About two weeks later, an accident occurred on the line near the junction with the Mount Savage Rail Road, at the west end of the Narrows. A dozen passengers were injured when the brakes burned out on the train, and it overturned due to excessive speed. It was noted in
6816-420: The rolling stock, under a contract for three million dollars. The company had built a locomotive in 1839, the Gowan and Marx, an 11-ton 4-4-0 unit for the Philadelphia and Reading. this locomotive had several technological innovations, which impressed the Russians. The boiler was set over the driving wheels, resulting in excellent traction. Also, Eastwick and Harrison of Philadelphia introduced the equalizing lever,
6912-489: The stage by building up their industrial and transportation networks on a continental scale, unknown in the smaller countries and kingdoms of Europe. Winans' son Thomas returned to build a Russian style estate in west Baltimore, named "Alexandrofsky", surrounded by a somewhat forbidding-looking wall which also enclosed an eclectic sculpture garden. Further west, another country estate of Italianate design with fieldstone walls in future suburban Baltimore County overlooking along
7008-406: The state legislature) for the 1861 special sessions called to discuss the issue of secession , and was arrested twice due to his anti-Federal activities and speeches. On the day before the Baltimore riot of 1861 , Winans moved a resolution "protest[ing] in the name of the people of Maryland against the garrisoning of Southern forts by militia drawn from the free States" and 'calling upon citizens of
7104-456: The state unite "to repel, if need be, any invader who may come to establish a military despotism over us." He was arrested shortly after the riot, was released, and elected again on April 24 as part of a States Rights ticket. Meanwhile, Winans' firm was reportedly preparing weapons and munitions for the defense of Baltimore against union troops. According to the American of April 23, "At the works of
7200-510: The two. The C&P later became the initial stretch of B&O's main line to Connellsville, Pennsylvania , first via trackage rights and following 1903 by way of lease. Eckhart Jct. was established just west of the Narrows, Mt. Savage Jct. a few miles to the north. 1845 - Mount Savage Coal & Iron Company (later Maryland & New York Coal and Iron Company ) completes the Mount Savage Railroad , from Mt. Savage furnaces to Cumberland, with branches. 1846 - Maryland Mining Company completes
7296-463: The upper tunnel being 335 feet (102 m) long. The tunnels were separated by 0.6-mile (0.97 km). The grade (slope) reached 3 percent in places. This branch was also the location of a large horseshoe curve , at Clarysville , with 180 degrees of a 30-degree curvature. The construction of Interstate 68 from the Vocke Road intersection to the bridges at Clarysville removed most of the evidence of
7392-430: The very lucrative Russian Contracts. The Moscow to St. Petersburg Railway by built under the direction of Czar Nicholas I to connect his summer palace and his winter palace. There was a concern that the railway would enable social upheaval if the serfs were allowed to travel, so the service was restricted to the affluent and the aristocracy. The serfs were used to do the heavy labor, with a reported large loss of life. This
7488-819: The western Maryland town of Frederick to avoid the Union Army -occupied state capital of Annapolis in April–May 1861 to consider the possibilities of state secession during the early decisive period of the American Civil War . Winans was related to James McNeill Whistler through marriage (Whistler's brother George married Winans' daughter Julia). Ross Winans was born in Vernon Township, New Jersey on October 17, 1796. His parents were William and Mary Winans. He married Julia de Kay (1800-1850) in 1820 and they had five children. He moved his family to Baltimore, Maryland in
7584-527: Was a Mallet design, with the high pressure rear cylinders rigidly attached to the frame, and the front low pressure cylinders pivoted, in the manner of a pilot. The high pressure cylinders were 19" x 26"; the low pressure ones were 29" x 26". Baldwin built at least two engines to this design for the Little River Railroad in Tennessee . The first was rejected, and eventually went into logging service on
7680-589: Was among the first bituminous coal mines developed in the Georges Creek Valley . This region saw significant industrialization, with the first pig iron to be smelted at Mount Savage, Maryland to the northwest by the Maryland and New York Coal and Iron Company . Coal mining began in Eckhart Mines after " The Big Vein " was opened in 1820. The coal was originally transported by flatboats placed together on
7776-518: Was briefly arrested after the Baltimore riot of 1861 . His outspoken anti-federal stance as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates , the lower chamber of the General Assembly , (state legislature) led to his temporary arrest on May 14, 1861. At the time of his arrest, Winans was returning on a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad train from an early session of the legislature that was being held in
7872-584: Was consulted, and Winans was assured that U. S. interests were not involved. William Winans served for a while as U. S. vice-consul to Russia at St. Petersburg, but resigned to continue his private business. The great St. Petersburg fire in May 1862 was partially contained by a steam pump from the Winans factory. A financial crisis in 1865–66 lead to the Russian Finance Minister initiating a special Railroad Fund to ensure continuity of operations. One key point
7968-484: Was designated and designed as a "wilderness forest reserve" to preserve the natural foresting along the stream valleys Gwynns Falls-Leakin still maintains the original fieldstone mansion, with extensive porches and balconies, with a variety of interior uses. Surrounding the estate is the remnants of an intriquing cannon embankment with slotted places for carved logs resembling iron artillery pieces, supposedly Winans' attempt to deter Northern troops from camping on his grounds,
8064-615: Was extended to the nearby Hoffman mines in 1859. Cumberland Coal & Iron was in turn acquired by the Consolidation Coal Company in 1870. At that point, the Eckhart Branch became part of the C&P Railroad, also owned by Consolidation Coal. However, for a period of 20 years, from 1850 to 1870, the Eckhart Branch Railroad operated independently of the C&P. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) provided early motive power ( locomotives ) and rolling stock to
8160-411: Was forgotten, and word spread that it was built by Winan's to oppose Federal troops. Though this novelty ultimately had no military impact, it was widely discussed at the time and its connection to Winans, along with his political views reputation as a threat to federal control of Maryland. Railroad construction began to be of interest in Russia in the 1830s. Two colonels were sent to the United States as
8256-467: Was invited to go to Russia and set up a factory. He declined, but sent his sons Thomas and William. Harrison sent a large portion of his Philadelphia manufacturing machinery to Russia, and installed it at the Alexandrovsky Works at St. Petersburg. This factory produced locomotives and rolling stock. It had a 5-year contract to develop locomotives and rolling stock. They impressed the Czar by finishing
8352-499: Was itself absorbed into the Western Maryland system. Ross Winans Ross Winans (1796–1877) was an American inventor , mechanic , and builder of locomotives and railroad machinery. He is also noted for design of pioneering cigar-hulled ships. Winans, one of the United States' first multi-millionaires, was involved in national and state politics, a southern-sympathizer and was a vehement " states' rights " advocate. Winans
8448-439: Was limited to 10–15 miles per hour by the steam capacity of the boiler, and the lack of a pilot truck. However, at that speed, a single "Camel" could haul a 110 car train of loaded coal hoppers on the level. The most distinctive feature of the "Camel" was the cab atop the boiler. They had a large steam dome, slide valves, and used staybolts in the boiler. More than 100 iron tubes, each over 14 feet (4.3 m) long, were installed in
8544-602: Was noted for its light axle loading, and had no flanges on the main drivers, for negotiating sharp curves. The figure of merit on the Eckhart Branch was the number of empty hoppers that could be pulled uphill. This figure depends on the rolling resistance of the car, the grade resistance, and the curve resistance. The Winans engine could handle 40 hoppers, based on a tare weight of 3 tons for the Winans-designed 6-wheel hoppers in use in 1854. The later engines would haul 55-ton capacity hoppers, of tare weight 20 tons. The capacity of
8640-526: Was painted green. "Camel" tenders were 8-wheeled, generally with brakes on the rear truck only. They held 5 tons of coal, and 8 1 ⁄ 2 tons (more than 2000 gallons) of water. Fully loaded, the tenders weighted 23 tons, only 4 tons less than the locomotive. Ten "Camels" were delivered to the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad , which was running its lines from the north near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania including one "engine sold them from Maryland Mining Co., $ 8000 cash." Ten more sales were also recorded to
8736-454: Was quickly released, after signing a "parole" guaranteeing his loyalty to the federal government. Winans' arrest, by Benjamin Butler's Federal troops, was one of the cases where Lincoln's emergency suspension of habeas corpus was employed. Winans' brief incarceration was not legally challenged, as it was in the case of Johns Merryman ( Ex parte Merryman ). While Winans is often credited as
8832-424: Was the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad . These two customers represented 70 percent of his sales. Winans typically offered a thirty-day trial period at the customer site. About three hundred engine deliveries to twenty-six American railroads by Winans are documented during the period 1843–1863. He is also credited with being the first manufacture to export a locomotive to Europe. The Winans engine designs impressed
8928-490: Was the " camelback locomotive ". Winans quit the locomotive business in 1857 after a dispute with Henry Tyson , then head of motive power for the B. & O., over the use of leading bogies (trucks) on his locomotives. Winans generated a great many patents and was heavily engaged in litigation (legal lawsuits) over ideas he claimed as his own. The majority of the Winans engines were burden (freight) as opposed to passenger type. Engines delivered after June 1848 are almost all of
9024-460: Was the privatization of the railroad. The Winans' contract with the government was highly profitable for William Winans, but was draining the Imperial coffers. The Czar raised some money by selling Russian America (Alaska) to the Americans, and decided the privatization of the railroad would proceed. It was to go to the recently formed Grand Society of Russian Railroads. Winans was seen as "the robber of
9120-638: Was to allow the ship to progress with less disturbance from weather and waves. This ship was discussed at length in the pages of the "Scientific American" national journal/magazine, and in the end remained tied up at the Winans docks at Ferry Bar, southside of the Whetstone Point peninsula and along the north shore of the Middle Branch or Ferry Branch of the Patapsco River , just west of old Fort Covington and Fort Babcock which supported Fort McHenry in
9216-585: Was used to carry coal to flat-bottom Potomac River boats, and to canal boats, before a canal wharf facility for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O Canal) was completed. The flat-bottom boats ferried coal down the Potomac to Georgetown, Washington, D.C. and Alexandria, Virginia during the Spring, when the water level was high enough for navigation. After the C&O Canal reached Cumberland, canal boats could enter
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