Friday, June 23, 2017

B&O Bridge over Wills Creek in Cumberland, MD

(3D Satellite)
This is the first of three photos posted by Mark Hinsdale with the comment:
"Cumberland's SD50's"
During my time on the CSX Cumberland Coal Business Unit, (1993-1996) which presided over the former B&O and WM coal routes in northern West Virginia, the SD50 was the mainstay of our assigned locomotive fleet. Deemed troublesome throughout their careers on Chessie and Seaboard, they finally found an application that they were suited for, as long as the mechanical pros at the CSX Cumberland Locomotive Shop could keep them close and look after them. SD50's were extensively used on both the daily coal and empty hopper trains across the torturous Mountain Subdivision between Cumberland and Grafton, as well as regular use on merchandise trains Q316 and Q317 between Cumberland MD and Russell KY. Here are a few images of the EMD's at work.
1) Westbound, crossing Wills Creek on the viaduct for which Viaduct Junction was named, Cumberland MD... 10-93
1
I assume this was B&O's route because it appears the Western Maryland route is now a scenic railroad. A Street View indicates that there are several more arches that from a viaduct over the valley. Another Street View shows that there are arches all the way to Centre Street.

All of that concrete to channelize Wills Creek emphasizes how dramatically mountain rivers can swell if there is a thunderstorm in its watershed. And the big base for each pier indicates that the river not only gets a lot bigger, it has a strong current.

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