The Keystone Subdivision is a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

. The line runs from Cumberland, Maryland, west to McKeesport, Pennsylvania, (near

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

)CSX Timetables: Keystone Subdivision
/ref> along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line. The line includes the well-known Sand Patch Grade over the Allegheny Mountains. The east end of the Keystone Subdivision is at Viaduct Junction in Cumberland, where it meets the Cumberland Terminal Subdivision at the east end of the Cumberland Viaduct. The west end is at Sinns, on the west (left) side of the Youghiogheny River at

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

,Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad 1960 System Map
/ref> where it continues as the

Pittsburgh Subdivision The Pittsburgh Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line runs from McKeesport northwest through Pittsburgh to West Pittsburg (near New Castle) along a former Pittsburgh a ...

through

and on to West Pittsburg. The Keystone Subdivision also joins with the S&C Subdivision at Rockwood, Pennsylvania.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

's '' Capitol Limited'' uses the Keystone Subdivision.

History

The Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad (P&C) was first incorporated in 1837, but did not succeed in raising money until 1846. Work began in 1847, and the line opened from Pittsburgh to Connellsville in 1857 and to Cumberland in 1871. The B&O leased the P&C for 50 years effective January 1, 1876, and it was merged into the B&O in 1912. A new bridge over the Youghiogheny River at Sinns opened in 1968, connecting the old P&C to the parallel Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (which the B&O had trackage rights over to New Castle) on the opposite shore. This allowed B&O trains to bypass downtown McKeesport; the B&O line through McKeesport was closed in 1970.Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: P&LE Bridge McKeesport
/ref> The P&LE is now CSX's

, while the old B&O tracks in the Pittsburgh area are mostly abandoned or operated by short lines. In summer 1985, the

Chessie System Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Trains operated u ...

(the B&O's

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

at the time) announced that it would sever its St. Louis line through Ohio, rerouting all through traffic over the Alleghenies at Sand Patch rather than along the older

Mountain Subdivision The Mountain Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and West Virginia. The line runs from Cumberland, Maryland, west to Grafton, West Virginia,CSX Transportation, Huntington, WV"Moun ...

References

{{Reflist Transportation in Cumberland, MD-WV-PA CSX Transportation lines Rail infrastructure in Maryland Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania Baltimore and Ohio Railroad lines

History

See also

References