Hagerstown and Frederick Railway

Hagerstown & Frederick Railway
Jefferson Boulevard in Braddock Heights, Maryland with a H&F trolley
Overview
FleetThree locomotives[1]
Parent companyPotomac Edison Company[2]
HeadquartersFrederick, Maryland, U.S.
Key peopleEmory L. Coblentz
LocaleFrederick and Hagerstown, Maryland
Dates of operation1896–1961
PredecessorMartinsburg Street Railway
SuccessorsThurmont Trolley Trail, Boonsboro Trolley Museum
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge[1]
ElectrificationOverhead wire[3]
Track length90 miles[1][2]

The Hagerstown and Frederick Railway was a suburban and urban trolley (and later interurban) company and system in central Maryland built in the 19th and 20th centuries. The network transported freight and passengers,[4] operated amusement parks, and operated an electric company. The system consisted of two systems; the Hagerstown Railway and the Frederick & Middletown Railway.

History

Frederick & Middletown Railway

The Frederick & Middletown Railway was developed by George William Smith. The technology was seen as a "technological marvel." Construction began in 1896, service began between Frederick and Braddock Heights with a trip time of half an hour. The line was complete to Middletown by October.[2]

Two years later an extension was built to Myersville, nominally called the Myersville and Catoctin Railway, but leased to the F&M and operated as an integral part of the F&M.

The Jefferson branch was added in 1906, running down the east side of Jefferson Boulevard. This extension served the H&F investors, who were largely the same as the Braddock Heights investors, by opening up more mountaintop resort land for development. An extension of this branch planned in 1907 would have taken the line to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad yard facilities in Brunswick;[5] the town even paid for a section of track installed in the center of the town's main street, however, a connecting link between wasn't completed.[6]

Hagerstown Railway

An H&F trolley at Hagerstown's public square
Hagerstown's public square with an H&F trolley

The leading investors for the Hagerstown Railway were Christian W. Lynch, William Jennings, and John A. Herman,[7]: 321 [8]: 199  who took a different approach to development by creating inner-city trolley service within Hagerstown, which included an urban loop and crossing lines on Washington Street[5] and South Potomac Street. This costed between $175,000 and $200,000 dollars.[8]: 199 

By January 15, 1896, the Harrisburg Construction Company bought the plant from the Martinsburg Street Railway, in Martinsburg, West Virginia, to extend the Hagerstown Railway to Funkstown and Leitersburg.[8]: 40  [9]: 46  On March 12, a charter was granted to the Hagerstown Railway.[10]: 757  On April 2, the Hagerstown Railway purchased three trail and three motor cars for $900 from the Martinsburg Street Railway.[11][12][13][9]: 313  The cars were delivered on April 4.[14][15] In May, the contract to construct the Hagerstown Railway was awarded to the railway's leading investors.[7]: 321  On August 8, the railway began operations.[10]: 757  In September, the line to Williamsport opened.[7]: 552 

The extension of the Potomac Street line to Funkstown was completed by 1897.

By June 1899, plans were drawn up to build a railroad from Hagerstown to Myersville, connecting the Hagerstown Railway to the Frederick & Middletown Railway.[16] The railroad was completed by 1904, reducing travel between Frederick and Hagerstown from two days to two hours.[2] The line made interurban through service between Frederick and Hagerstown possible, however, transfers were made at Myersville to the F&M for the time being.[5]

In 1901, work began on an extension east to Wagner's Crossroads (later Boonsboro Junction) and from there south to Boonsboro itself. This section was completed in 1902. Work began immediately on the connection from Wagner's Crossroads to Myersville.

In 1905, a new line was started, running north from Hagerstown to Shady Grove, Pennsylvania. This permitted a connection to the Chambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro Street Railway. Passengers could then take the CG&W on to the mountaintop resorts of Pen Mar and Blue Ridge Summit. Incompatible rail gauges prevented direct transfer.

Growth and consolidation

H&F trolley near the Potomac House in Williamsport in 1906

Emory L. Coblentz, a Middletown lawyer and stockholder in the F&M, took over the management of the F&M in 1908. In the same year, the Hagerstown Railway bought all capitol stocks from the Hagerstown & Boonsboro Railway, the Hagerstown & Northern Railway, and the Hagerstown & Myersville Railway. At a later period of time, the railway also bought most stock from the Myersville and Catoctin Railway Company (which was leased to the Frederick Railway at the time.)[10]: 757  Coblentz bought the Washington, Frederick & Gettysburg Railroad, which ran from Frederick to Thurmont, and incorporated it into the F&M in 1909, renaming the F&M as the Frederick Railroad. He also bought the Chambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro Street Railway (an over 30 mile railway) for $1,300,000.[17][18] During the next two years, the network in Frederick expanded and its facilities were improved and electrified; lines were laid on Fifth Street, South Street and Market Street with connections to the Washington, Frederick & Gettysburg Railroad.[19] The Hagerstown Railway and the Frederick Railway merged on March 22, 1913, and were organized by April 17, becoming the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway.[10][20][2]

In 1915, a seven-mile extension from the H&F's Thurmont line was proposed, bringing the line to Emmitsburg.[21][22][23][19] Further proposals brought the line to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.[19]

Trolley Parks

Roller rink in Braddock Heights Park

In common with many more urban trolley systems, the H&F owned and operated two amusement parks, both as business ventures in their own right, and as traffic generators for the trolley business. In pre-air conditioning days, mountaintop parks like Braddock Heights Park (which was racially-segregated)[24] were popular summer getaways where city dwellers could entertain themselves and breathe cool mountain air. The Electric Park in Funkstown had to rely on Antietam Creek for coolness, but served much the same function.

Electricity

The Hagerstown & Frederick had always run what originally amounted to a side business, selling electricity to customers in the vicinity of its operations. As time went on, it became apparent to Emory Coblentz that the real business opportunity was in the electric utility business.

The R. Paul Smith Power Station

In the 1890's, the Hagerstown and Frederick Railway brought power to rural communities; serving residential, commercial, and agricultural use.[2] In 1896, the H&F built the Williamsport Power Station. In 1898, the company built the Hagerstown Power Station.[25] On March 1, the Hagerstown railway bought the Hagerstown Electric Light and Power Company which was responsible for electric lighting in the city of Hagerstown.[10]: 757  In 1913, the railway built the Security Power Plant.[25] Electricity was expanded after the railway's merger that year.[2] In September 1914, the H&F signed a contract to power the town of Thurmont after power shortages from an inadequate power station.[26] In 1922, the railway constructed the R. Paul Smith Power Plant.[25][5]

Potomac Light and Power Company

The Potomac Light and Power Company operated power plants and was affiliated with the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway and Northern Virginia Power. The company sold electricity and used water power, distributing it to Jefferson and Berkeley County in West Virginia and nearby counties in Maryland and Virginia. The company was incorporated under West Virginia, abiding by their laws. The Potomac Light and Power Co. took over the plant from the Martinsburg Electric Company on August 1, 1916.[27] In 1917, the H&F acquired the Chambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro Street Railway, which came with its own utility service. In 1922, the entire system, including the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway, became the Potomac Public Service Company. The next year, the PPS absorbed the Cumberland utility known as the Potomac Edison company (which included the Cumberland and Westernport Electric Railway), and applied its name to the entire operation.

Immediately thereafter, in another consolidation, Potomac Edison became a subsidiary of a holding company, the American Water Works & Electric Company, which operated a group of companies in Maryland and Pennsylvania under the West Penn Electric Company brand. For a period of time, the Potomac Light and Power company went by "Potomac Edison," which was carried on until the 1990s when the Allegheny Power brand was applied.[25]

Competition and decline

Streetcar tracks along Jefferson Blvd in Braddock Heights, Maryland
Jefferson Blvd and paralleling streetcar tracks in Braddock Heights, Maryland in 1923

By the 1920s the H&F faced competition from two sources: the automobile and the Blue Ridge Transportation Company, a bus company owned by Potomac Edison. According to Reuben Moss, president of the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Historical Society, the H&F bought its final brand-new trolley car in 1921.[2] A gradual decline set in starting with the closure of the Washington Street line in Hagerstown and the end of Electric Park, both in 1927. In 1929 the loop line on Mulberry Street closed,[5] and in the same year the Braddock Hotel burned and was not replaced.

The Great Depression made things worse. The Chambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro was shut down in 1932, and the Shady Grove line followed suit. Emory Coblentz was caught in the financial collapse of his bank, and was indicted (and later acquitted) on fraud charges. Having resigned from Potomac Edison and dealing with his other struggling businesses; he was effectively destitute. He died in 1941

The reconstruction of US Route 40 to better suit the automobile took another toll. Trips between Hagerstown and Frederick by streetcar were slower than by car; a trip that took 90 minutes.[2]

End of the line

Frederick's enumeration district from 1940 bounded by the H&F Railway

Passenger decline during the 1930s left the H&F's business dependent on freight service, primarily between Frederick and Thurmont. The network in Frederick was kept busy switching freight between industrial sidings and connections between the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) and Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) lines.

The last day for trolley service between Frederick and Hagerstown was October 8, 1938.[2] Track between Myersville and Hagerstown was abandoned, leaving Myersville as the terminus of the line.[28]

Passenger service to Jefferson halted in 1940, and tracks were removed in 1943, although the line along Jefferson Boulevard to Dean's was kept in operation to cater to the resort trade in Braddock Heights at the Vindobona Hotel. The Middletown-Myersville section was closed and the track was lifted in 1945.

In 1947, preliminary work was completed to dismantle the Frederick and Hagerstown line between Frederick and Middletown, including the spur to Braddock heights.[29] Later that year, service was discontinued on the Middletown and Braddock Heights lines. On August 4, the Hagerstown-Williamsport line closed, the last service in Washington County.[30][5]

Trolley service in Frederick terminated on February 20, 1954. According to Reuben Moss, the closure was caused by a reroute of streets in downtown Frederick, to be one way for traffic, in 1947, which limited the trolley's travel.[2]

In 1947, most freight on the Thurmont line was gone, with only service to Fort Detrick a significant contributor. Many utilities, including Potomac Edison, were ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission to leave non-utility-related businesses, such as transportation. In 1954, the line terminated passenger service.[5] Freight carried on, but the electric lines were removed on the Thurmont line in 1955 and diesel equipment was substituted. Nevertheless in 1958 the track between Thurmont and Fort Detrick was taken up. Potomac Edison stopped all service on April 26, 1961.

Lines

Route[10]: 1809  Major Stops[5] Miles[10]: 1809 
Braddock Heights to Jefferson Braddock Heights, Braddock Junction, Jefferson, Vindobona Hotel 5 mi
Fredrick City Lines H&F Frederick Terminal 2 mi
Frederick to Thurmont H&F Frederick Terminal, Lewistown, Thurmont (Main Street,) Western Maryland Railway interchange 17.3 mi
Frederick to Schleysville H&F Frederick Terminal 1 mi
Hagerstown City Lines Hagerstown City Square, Hagerstown, Hagerstown Fairgrounds, Western Maryland Railway station[a] 6.05 mi
Hagerstown to Frederick Hagerstown City Square, Myersville, Middletown, Braddock Junction, Boonsboro,[b] H&F Frederick Terminal 30.34 mi
Hagerstown to Shady Grove Hagerstown City Square, Reid, Shady Grove, Pennsylvania 11.2 mi
Hagerstown to Williamsport Hagerstown City Square, Williamsport 6.15 mi

Remnants

Landmarks

The 1910 H&F Frederick Terminal and Offices in Frederick at 200 East Patrick Street survives as the former headquarters of the Frederick News-Post. The exit for trolleys onto Patrick Street is still visible as the main entrance.

Beachley's Store in Braddock Heights long did duty as a store, post office, station and electrical substation.

The Boonsboro H&F Station is now the Boonsboro Trolley Museum and opens to the public once a month.[31]

The former H&F Powerhouse and later Carbarn for Hagerstown still stands at the intersection of Summit and Lee Streets in that city.

While it is now an apartment, Myersville's station on Main Street is still designated by the H&F's "MYERSVILLE" sign.

Trolleys

Trolley Car nearby the Thurmont Trolley Trail.
Freight Motor #5 in Thurmont[25]

Four "Trolleys" are extant:[25]

  • Freight Motor #5 is displayed at the former site of the H&F Thurmont Station along Main Street.
  • Suburban Coach #150 was privately owned in Catoctin Mountain and Myersville, and was the centerpoint of the Myersville Trolley Festival. It is now owned by the Town of Myersville and is on display in the new public library.
  • Interurban Combine #168 is displayed outside of the Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum.
  • Interurban Combine #171 is used as a private residence between Frederick and Thurmont.

Right of way

Power lines on H&F's right of way near Lewistown[25]
The Thurmont Trolley Trail in 2014

Traces of the old right of way are still visible where sidewalks have been set back from the street:[25][5]

  • Frederick - Along Rosemont Avenue from Culler Avenue to Hood College
  • Braddock Heights - Along Maryland Avenue
  • Middletown - Along Main Street from Broad Street to Pine Road
  • Funkstown - Baltimore Street from Stauffer Avenue to Sturgis Drive and Frederick Street's west side
  • Beaver Creek - From Cool Hollow Road to Mapleville Road
  • Boonsboro - Along Main Street from Park Lane to Mapleville Road
  • Bethel - OpposumTown Pike next to Bethel Lutheran Church

Additionally, bridge abutments survive at creek crossings, and traces of old embankments remain visible in undeveloped areas. In some cases, Allegheny Energy feeders still use the right-of-way.

The Thurmont Trolley Trail in Thurmont, lies in the former interurban's right of way. The trail ends across Main Street from where the H&F station once stood.[32] A rails to trails project was proposed, taking the Thurmont Trolley Trail to Frederick via the old H&F line's right of way.[33] A non-profit organization was formed in 2018 to promote the proposal.[34]

Preservation & culture

Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Historical Society

A Historical Society was formed in 1999 to preserve artifacts and documents from and educate the public about the history of the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway.[35]

Myersville Trolley Festival

The town of Myersville celebrates the H&F at an annual festival.[36] The festival was founded in 1993 when Don Easterday purchased and refurbished an old H&F car, which was the centerpiece of the festival. The festival was discontinued in 2012 due to Easterday's health; he died in 2016. After his death, the city took over the car and a trolley shelter and displayed the former in the Myersville's library.[25][37] The festival was brought back at Doub’s Meadow Park on October 5, 2024.[37]

See also

Works cited

  • Harwood, Herbert H. Jr. (1970). Blue Ridge Trolley. Golden West Books. ISBN 0-87095-034-7.

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Official Railway Equipment Register. Vol. 30. Railway Equipment and Publication Company. 1915. p. 814-910.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Anderson, Erik (June 7, 2023). "A look back at electric trolleys in their Frederick County heyday". The Frederick News-Post. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
  3. ↑ Frederick (Md.) (1920). Frederick City Code. King Brothers. p. 384.
  4. ↑ "Historical Marker Unveiling to Recognize Legacy and Heritage of the Frederick & Middletown Railway". Maryland Department of Transportation. December 1, 2025. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Interactive System Map". Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Historical Society. Retrieved May 29, 2026.
  6. ↑ Tracing the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway (Video). Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Historical Society. 2021-10-30. 4:22 minutes in. Retrieved 2026-07-29 – via YouTube.
  7. 1 2 3 Transit Journal. Vol. 12. Havemeyer Building, 26 Courtlandt Street, New York: Street Railway Publishing Co. 1896.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  8. 1 2 3 Electrical Review. Vol. 28. Delano and Company (published 1885). 1896.
  9. 1 2 The Street Railway Review. Vol. 6. Windsor & Kenfield Publishing Company. 1896.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Poor's Manual of Public Utilities. Lee, Higginson & Co. (published 1913). 1914.
  11. ↑ "Apr 03, 1896, page 2 - The Last Of A Trolley Line". The Daily Register. April 3, 1896. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  12. ↑ Electrical Review. Vol. 28. Delano and Company (published 1885). 1896. pp. 40, 199.
  13. ↑ A Street Railway Sold. Vol. 180. Baltimore American. April 3, 1896. Retrieved May 28, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Local News". Martinsburg Independent. April 11, 1896. p. 3. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Little Locals". Martinsburg Herald. April 11, 1896. p. 3. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  16. ↑ Local and General. Gettysburg Compiler. June 13, 1899. p. 2. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  17. ↑ $1,300,000 For Railway Line. Adams County News. June 30, 1917. p. 18.
  18. ↑ Merger Complete. The Gettysburg Times. December 1, 1917. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  19. 1 2 3 Adams County News. Adams County News. August 6, 1910. p. 6. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  20. ↑ Consolidation of Maryland Companies. Vol. 41. McGraw Hill Publishing Company (published 1884). June 7, 1913. p. 1937.
  21. ↑ Electric Railway Journal. Vol. 46. McGraw Hill Publishing Company. 1915. p. 654. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  22. ↑ For Trolley To Maryland Town. The Gettysburg Times. September 2, 1915. p. 4. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  23. ↑ Want Trolley Line. The Star and Sentinel. September 11, 1915. p. 2.
  24. ↑ Fletcher, Patsy (December 7, 2015). Historically African American Leisure Destinations Around Washington, D.C. Arcadia Publishing. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-4671-1867-5.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Surviving Trolleys". Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Historical Society. Retrieved December 7, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ↑ Not Enough Water. Adams County News. September 5, 1914. p. 2. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  27. ↑ Annual Report. State of West Virginia, Public Service Commission. 1922. p. 522.
  28. ↑ "Interactive System Map". Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Historical Society. Retrieved May 29, 2026.
  29. ↑ Trolley Lines To Go. Farmers Advocate. March 28, 1947. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  30. ↑ McMillion, Dave (August 6, 2017). "Visitors go back in time on old Hagerstown trolley". Herald-Mail Media. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
  31. ↑ "Trolley Station Museum | National Road Heritage Foundation". nationalrdfoundation.com. May 29, 2026. Archived from the original on 2018-04-27. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
  32. ↑ "Tale of a Trail". Thurmont Lions Club. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2026.
  33. ↑ "Frederick County". Maryland Greenways Commission. Archived from the original on June 30, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
  34. ↑ "Hagerstown & Frederick Trolley Trail Association". Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Historical Society.
  35. ↑ "Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Historical Society". Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Historical Society. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. ↑ "Myersville Trolley Festival". Archived from the original on 2011-09-24. Retrieved 2012-06-22.
  37. 1 2 Peterson, Joseph (October 1, 2024). "Myersville Music and Trolley Festival expands to offer barn sale, live music, activities for all ages". The Frederick News-Post. Retrieved June 2, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

Notes

  1. ↑ Trolleys likely stopped here but it isn't confirmed.[5]
  2. ↑ Served by a branch of the line[5]

Photographs of the trolleys

Wikimedia Commons logo
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hagerstown and Frederick Railway.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.