The Bachman Valley Railroad (BV) was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

that operated in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, United States, in the 19th century. The 13 mile (21 km) line ran from Valley Junction, Pennsylvania (5.5 mi (8.9 km) east of

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

) to Ebbvale, Maryland (slightly north of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

). The railroad was built to transport

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

to local

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure. In a ...

s; it also carried some passengers. The railroad became part of the

Western Maryland Railway The Western Maryland Railway was a small American Class I railroad (1852–1983) that operated in 3 Southern United States, Southern US States, Maryland (Western Maryland, Western Region), West Virginia (Potomac Highlands of West Virginia, Easte ...

in 1917.

History

The railroad was chartered by the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of Pennsylvania and separately in Maryland, in 1871. At Valley Junction it connected with the

Hanover Branch Railroad The Hanover Branch Railroad Company was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania in the mid-19th century. The company was incorporated on March 16, 1847, and began operating trains in 1852. It represents the oldest portion of the Western Maryland ...

. At Ebbvale the line terminated at an iron ore mine. The railroad began operation in early 1873. The

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

was provided by the

Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad The Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad was a List of defunct Pennsylvania railroads, railroad line in Pennsylvania in the 19th century. The 38 mile (61 km) main line ran from Orrtanna, Pennsylvania, Orrtanna to Hanover Junctio ...

, which operated the railroad. In 1879 the

Baltimore and Hanover Railroad The Baltimore and Hanover Railroad (B&H) was a railroad that operated in Maryland in the 19th century. The 20 mile (32 km) main line ran from Emory Grove, Maryland north to the Pennsylvania state line near Black Rock Junction, where it connec ...

connected to Bachman Valley near Lineboro. This new line ran south to Emory Grove, where it connected with the WM. In 1886 the BV merged with the Baltimore and Hanover Railroad and the Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad to form the

Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway The Baltimore and Harrisburg Railway was a railroad that operated in Maryland and Pennsylvania in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The 59 miles (95 km) main line ran from Emory Grove, Maryland to Orrtanna, Pennsylvania, with a 6 miles (9.7 ...

. The merged main line ran from Valley Junction to Emory Grove. The new company was controlled by the Western Maryland, and the WM bought the company in 1917. Mines in the Ebbvale area closed in the early 20th century and the section of track from Black Rock to Ebbvale was abandoned around 1922.WTTR Radio
“WTTR Celebrates Manchester, MD.”
Accessed 2009-11-14.

References

* H.V. and H.W. Poor Co
"Poor's Manual of Railroads of the United States: 1885."
Accessed 2009-06-23.. pp. 227–228. * Johnny Johnsson and Mary Ann Ashcraft (2006)
‘’Carroll County Times.’’
2006-09-10. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bachman Valley Railroad Defunct Maryland railroads Defunct Pennsylvania railroads Predecessors of the Western Maryland Railway Railway companies established in 1871 Railway companies disestablished in 1886

History

See also

References