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Western Maryland Railway Historical Society  Established in 1967, one of the most comprehensive repositories of WM information available. Membership is a bargain, and includes the annual color calendar, the quarterly Blue Mountain Express, an annual convention at an interesting railroad venue, and more! I"ve been a member since 1982. Be sure to make a pilgrimmage to their museum in Union Bridge, Maryland.

The Alphabet Route.com - The Alphabet Route was an agreement between a group of railroads that formed a route to link the Midwest (Chicago, St. Louis, great lake ports) and the Northeast (Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston).  The Western Maryland played a pivotal role in moving freight across the Alleghenies and speeding it along to the markets of the Northeast.  This site provides a good overview and modeling information for all of the Alphabet Route roads.

The Western Maryland Railway's West Sub  A terrific site that shows views of the West Sub as it exists today, mostly as a hiking trail, with many side-by-side views of action shots from the "60"s and "70"s. This was a great resource as I was designing the layout. 

Western Maryland Scenic 2010 Winter Special  A slide show of outstanding photos by Walter Scriptunas II featuring WMSR 734 pulling a Carl Franz photo freight on January 31, 2010.  Put on your mittens for this one... it looks pretty chilly up there in the Alleganies!

Western Maryland Photos by John Van Horn An incredible gallery of black and white images from the late 1960's covering operations at Hagerstown and Port Covington.  Detailed views of the roundhouse, shops and yard, and at Covington unbelievable views of the coal pier and ore pier.  A must see.  Prints are offered for sale.

Western Maryland Photos by A. Aubrey Bodine Unparallelled images of an unparallelled railroad by an unparallelled photographer.  If this collection doesn't make you hate cats, you have no soul.  Prints are offered for sale.

The Railwire Forum  This is a great discussion forum for N scale model railroaders as well as for other scales. Features include discussions of operations, prototype news, and a monthly freight car weathering contest. Participants include a number of published model railroad authors, terrific photographers, and some cutting edge thinkers. There"s also a great sense of humor that pervades the chat. Stop in and enjoy.

WMRY Western Lines Blog  Home of the new and improved layout progress blog.  Check it out, and sign on as a follower!

WM Diesel Roster by North East Rails   A comprehensive look at the entire WM diesel fleet. Includes photos, paint schemes, and information on Chessie and CSX renumbering. Also lists current status of many surviving locomotives. Includes a link to the WM Steam Roster as well.

The Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum   Located in the old engineering offices of the Western Maryland, the HRM is working to preserve artifacts of the WM shops at Hagerstown. A neat museum with rolling stock outside, and a growing model railroad inside.

Western Maryland Scenic Railroad   If you are even the most passive railroad enthusiast, this is a must-do. The WMSR operates a 1916 vintage 2-8-0 Baldwin steam locomotive from Cumberland to Frostburg over the former WM tracks. The scenery can"t be beat, the accomodations in Cumberland are exceptional, the sound of a steam engine thundering through the Narrows is unparallelled in this earthly realm. Trains leave from the historic WM station, which I"m modeling on my layout.

Greg Shindledecker's WM To Elkins in the '70's Greg's got a great plan to move freight and haul coal up Black Fork Grade.  Get in on the ground floor and watch this HO WM layout come to life.

Pete Brown's Western Maryland Site   Pete's an active modeler, photographer and member of the WMRHS. Check out his excellent site that includes his evolving HO Chaffee Branch layout, and tons of great prototype information.

Gleisplan-Datenbank An interesting site in Germany that highlights a variety of layout styles for the European market. They included my layout in their database, so I'm including a link to their site here! Just click on "vorwarts" at the top of the page to go, well, forward through their track plans.

Allegheny Highlands Trail- Maryland

The Western Maryland Rail Trail

Allegheny Highlands Trail- Pennsylvania

Allegheny Highlands Trail - West Virginia  Much of the west end of the WM was abandoned in the 1970's, but you can still see much of it's right of way as it becomes part of a regional network of hiking/biking trails. Personally, I'd rather see locomotives, but I'm looking forward to hiking across Salisbury Viaduct, or up Black Fork Grade just the same.

West Virginia Railroad Museum at Elkins - This ambitious project hopes to reconstruct some of the Western Maryland's shops that once stood near the Elkins Depot, which now serves as the town's visitor center.  The station has been beautifully restored, and houses a nice gift shop and museum.  Recently, tracks were re-laid to the depot for use by the West Virginia Central for it's tourist trains.

The Moose Caboose A cool hobby shop located on Liberty Road west of Eldersburg, Maryland who specializes in regional roadnames of the mid-Atlantic. Good prices, helpful staff, and a great selection for all scales. They also do custom painting, decoder installations, and helpful clinics. Stop by and see Glen and the gang.

Site Design and Technical Consideration Provided by Ed Kapuscinski  Ed created this site's design and created a framework that I could easily work with to add all of this WM goodness. Ed is a freelance web developer who is extremely helpful, resourceful and creative.

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Chaffee Sign WMRHS

The WMRHS Museum in Union Bridge contains a plethora of artifacts, archives and information about the Western Maryland.  The museum is open every Sunday from 1-4 p.m.

132 at HRM

Baldwin switcher VO-1000 no. 132 is preserved at the Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum along with other locomotives and rolling stock.  While you're there, you can also see real CSX action as freight continues to roll through on WM rails to Shippensburg, Hanover and Baltimore.

Helmstetters

The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad at Helmstetter's Curve.

Ohiopyle

The High Bridge at Ohiopyle offers incredible views of the rugged Youghiougheny River Valley any time of year.  It's part of the Pennsylvania portion of the Allegheny Highlands Trail.

Elkins Depot

Now the town's Visitor Center, the Elkins Depot also serves as a stop for the West Virginia Central's tourist train rides.  Nearby will be the West Virginia Railroad Museum on the site of the WM's old shops.

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