The Western Extension is a

Western Maryland upright=1.2, An enlargeable map of Maryland's 23 counties and one independent city Western Maryland, also known as the Maryland panhandle or Mountain Maryland, is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that typically consists of Washing ...

section of

railway 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 ...

line between

Highfield-Cascade, Maryland Highfield-Cascade is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The CDP is, however, more commonly referred to as just Cascade, MD. The official CDP name encompasses two closely-spaced unincorporated communitie ...

, and

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; ) is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough had a population of 7,106 people. Gettysburg was the site of ...

. The extension of 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 ...

westward from the

Gettysburg Battlefield The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first shot & at Knoxlyn Ridge ...

Marsh Creek (Monocacy River) Marsh Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Monocacy River in south-central Pennsylvania and north-central Maryland in the United S ...

was completed in 1884, crossing the north-south

Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad (G. & H. R. R.) was a railway line of Pennsylvania from Hunter's Run southward to Gettysburg in the 19th century. The north junction was with the South Mountain RR, and a crossing with the Hanover Jun ...

and its 1884

Round Top Branch The Round Top Branch was an extension of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad from the Gettysburg borough across the Gettysburg Battlefield to Round Top, Pennsylvania. The branch ran southward from the terminus of the railroad's main line (it ...

in the borough (site of a 1909 Reading and

collision of freight trains.) The line was completed to Orr Station by June 30, 1885, then after an 1886 merger formed 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 to the mainline at Highland near the

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, sometimes referred to as Mason and Dixon's Line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. It was Surveying, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason ...

was completed in 1888-1889. The B&H leased their line to 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 ...

until the WM purchased it in 1917. The Western Extension used portions of the 1830s Tapeworm Railroad bed (e.g., the McPherson Ridge railway cut on the

) and required construction of the Jacks Mountain Tunnel south of Maria Furnace.

References

{{Reflist Predecessors of the Western Maryland Railway