The Canton Railroad is a Class III switching and terminal railroad, operating in eastern Baltimore City and Baltimore County. It serves the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore and local shipping companies, and connects with two

Class I railroad Railroad classes are the system by which Rail freight transport, freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportatio ...

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

and the Norfolk Southern Railway.

History

After the federal government enacted legislation in 1905 approving the dredging of shipping channels to the Baltimore harbor to a depth of 35 feet, the Canton Company of Baltimore, a marine terminal operator, sought to develop property it owned in southeast Baltimore for use by manufacturers and shippers. This necessitated access to rail services. Since neither of the two local railroad companies, the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) and Pennsylvania Railroad Companies, were willing to extend their lines to undeveloped areas, the Canton Company decided in 1905 to build its own local railroad. The Canton Railroad Company was chartered in 1906 by the Canton Company, to serve industrial, manufacturing, and shipping customers in the Baltimore port area. Its tracks, starting from the interconnection with the Pennsylvania Railroad, were laid during the period from 1905 through 1914. The Canton track interconnected with the B&O Railroad in 1910. Rail operations began in 1907. Canton Railroad Engine

The Canton Company was purchased by the conglomerate International Mining Company in 1960. It passed through several owners in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1984, alleged financial improprieties by the owners of the Canton Development Company, then the owner of the railroad, led to its being placed into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...

. The State of Maryland purchased the Canton Railroad at a

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

auction An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...

in 1987 for $875,000 to provide railway access to the Seagirt Terminal of the Port of Baltimore. Although Canton Railroad Company was acquired by the State of Maryland, the Railroad operates as a for-profit enterprise with no State fund involvement. The Canton Railroad dispute with Maryland involving whether the state franchise tax on railroad activities in the port of Baltimore violated the Import-Export or

Commerce Clause The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and amon ...

s of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

led to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

case '' Canton Railroad Company v. Rogan'', 340 U.S. 511 (1951).

Current operations

Today the Canton Railroad is owned by the

Maryland Transportation Authority The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) is an independent state agency responsible for financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining eight transportation facilities, currently consisting of two toll roads, two tunnels, and four bridg ...

and operates as a for-profit enterprise. Engines used by the Canton Railroad are painted yellow and black in a pattern similar to that used in the

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 ...

and

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

flags. The railroad currently operates 6 miles of mainline and 17 miles of secondary track.Facts & Stats: Freight Rail
Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. Retrieved 2010-06-22.

References

External links

Canton Railroad Company website1941 Map of Canton Co. and Canton Railroad Co. property

Canton Railroad Company Photographic Roster

Canton Railroad diesel locomotive roster, past and present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canton Railroad Companies based in Baltimore Maryland railroads Switching and terminal railroads Transportation in Baltimore