Western Maryland Chapter National Railway Historical Society

MARCH 15 SOCIAL MEETING of the WM Chapter NRHS will be held at 7 PM on Wednesday evening in the Cumberland Railroad Museum at 17 Howard Street, among the shops at Canal Place in Cumberland MD. Admission is free and open to the public. The nearest parking is available in the area beneath the Interstate Route 68 bridge on the north side of Howard Street, across from the historic Footer’s Dye Works building. Parking space is free on a first-come basis. Be careful when crossing Howard Street because motor vehicles do not always fully stop at the bottom of westbound Exit 43B ramp.

Railroad photographer and author Tom Biery will show his Kodachrome slide collection of the Western Maryland Railway in the Cumberland area. The photographs will be projected on a large screen; they cover the 1960-1970 era, before Wild Mary was absorbed into the Chessie System.

The program will feature an interesting railroad video selected by Meeting Program Chairman Jeff Geiger, who will show the 2010 Green Frog Production about the nearby narrow-gauge steam-powered railroad based in Orbisonia PA, the EAST BROAD TOP. This social meeting will begin at 7 PM on Wednesday evening, February 15, in the Cumberland Railroad Museum at 17 Howard Street among the shops at Canal Place near the historic Footer’s Dye Works building. Admission is free and open to the public.

All WM Chapter members, family and friends are cordially invited to attend the holiday party that will be held in the Puccini Restaurant at 12901 Ali Ghan Road NE, about three miles east of downtown Cumberland near Exit 46 on eastbound Interstate Route 68, on Wednesday, December 21 at 6 PM (please note the hour-earlier time). The party will take place on the second floor of this historic building that was once a roadside inn on the old Baltimore-Cumberland Pike. The two and a half story brick structure was built in 1819 by Jacob Hoblitzel, on land that was a grant to Colonel William Lamar after the Revolutionary War. The house was later owned by George Hinkle during the Civil War, and on 1 August 1864, the Battle of Folck’s Mill took place nearby. After the battle, the Hinkle home served as a temporary battlefield hospital for wounded soldiers, both Union and Confederate.
Civil War graffiti can still be seen on the walls and slanted ceilings of the attic dormitory. For more in-formation about the building’s history and the restaurant’s menu, visit the website (puccinirestaurant.com). This occasion will be a strictly informal event with good food and fine fellowship, celebrating the completion of yearly activities and the beginning of the winter season. No individual reservations are required; just come enjoy the festivities. Best wishes are extended for a joyous holiday season and for happiness that continues throughout the coming year! Let’s make 2023 a year to remember.

THE ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING ON NOV. 16 will be held at 7 PM in the Cumberland Railroad Museum at 17 Howard Street among the shops at Canal Place. The nearest parking is available in the lot along Howard Street beneath the Interstate Route 68 bridge, opposite the historic Footer’s Dye Works building. Parking is free on a first-come basis. Be careful when crossing Howard Street because motor vehicles do not always fully stop at the bottom of westbound Exit 43B ramp.

Since the event is the last public business meeting of the year, chapter officers and committee chairmen will present final reports on their activities. The admission of any prospective members will be considered, and dues payments for 2023 will be received from current members. A review of the fourth year of operation for the Cumberland Railroad Museum will be given. Preliminary plans for next year will be discussed. The major item of business will be the election of officers and directors who will serve next year. All WM Chapter members are urged to attend this important year-end meeting.

 OCT. 19 SOCIAL MEETING PROGRAM of the WM Chapter NRHS will be held at 7 PM in the Cumberland Railroad Museum at 17 Howard Street, among the shops at Canal Place. Nearest parking is in the parking lot along Howard Street beneath the Interstate Route 68 bridge, opposite the historic Footer’s Dye Works building. Parking is free on a first-come basis. Be careful when crossing Howard Street because motor vehicles do not always fully stop at the bottom of westbound Exit 43B ramp. Meeting is open to the public at no charge.

     Railroad photographer and historian Tom Biery will give an encore presentation of his program, Kelly-Springfield Tire Company and the B&O Railroad in Cumberland. It is a short history of Cumberland’s Kelly-Springfield Tire plant and the role that railroads played in providing transportation service for a major tire company. While doing historical research in preparing this program, Tom discovered many interesting facts about the interplay between a tire manufacturer and local railroads. For example, when comparing sections of USGS topographic maps between 1900 and 1925, Tom noticed that over a twenty-five-year period, the dual tracks of the B&O Railroad on the West End of the Cumberland Division were re-aligned for a half mile to provide more useful property for the construction of the Kelly-Springfield Tire plant. Tom will reveal more fascinating historical facts during his interesting talk.