Virginia Rails - The Thomas Sub

CSX's Thomas Subdivision

Coal Along The River

Current Owner: CSX Transportation (Via the C&O in 1987)

Previous Owner(s):

The West Virginia Central & Pittsburg Railway who built the line from West Virginia Central Junction, WV, to Sincel, WV between 1881 and 1884 led by Henry G. Davis.
The Piedmont & Cumberland Railway who built the line from West Virginia Central Junction, WV, to Twenty First, MD between 1886 and 1887 led by Henry G. Davis.
The Western Maryland Railroad who purchased the West Virginia Central & Pittsburg Railway on November 1st, 1905.
The Western Maryland Railway who purchased the assets of the Western Maryland Railroad on January 1st, 1910. (Merged into the B&O in 1983 which then merged into the C&O in 1987)
CSX Transportation who absorbed the C&O in 1987 and still operates the line today although only a section of the original route is currently used.

Constructed: The segment from West Virginia Central Junction, WV, and Sincel, WV, was built between 1881 and 1884 by Western Maryland Railway predecessor West Virginia Central & Pittsburg Railway. The WVC&P ended up under the control of the George Gould led Fuller Syndicate in 1902 and subsequently merged into the Western Maryland Railroad in 1905. After Gould and his cronies lost control in 1909, the Western Maryland Railroad was reorganized as the Western Maryland Railway. The segment from West Virginia Central Junction, WV, to Twenty First, MD, was built by the Piedmont & Cumberland Railway between 1886 and 1887. This line was entirely controlled by the West Virginia Central & Pittsburg. The Piedmont & Cumberland was also involved in the takeover by the Fuller interests and later Western Maryland purchase. In the 1970's, a new alignment between Hampshire, WV (BAH 29.9) and Chaffee, MD, (BAH 38.3) was built due to the creation of Jennings-Randolph Lake. The contract was awarded to S. J. Groves & Son and later Green Construction Company with all work being completed in October of 1976.

Length: 63.7 Miles from Twenty First, MD (BAH 19.35) to Sincel, WV (BAH 63.7) (OOS between BAH 19.35 and BAH 27.9)

Connections:

Twenty First, MD (BAH 19.35) - Connection with CSX Mountain Subdivision (OOS)
Westernport, MD (BAH 26.75) - Connection with CSX George's Creek Subdivision/Georges Creek Railway (OOS)

West Virginia Central Junction, WV (BAH 27.9) - Connection with CSX Mountain Subdivision

Bayard, WV (BAH 62.0) - Connection with CSX Stony River Subdivision
Sincel, WV (BAH 63.7) - Connection with CSX Sincel Industrial Track

Current Businesses:

Alliance Coal's Mountain View Mine via Mettiki Loadout. - Wilson, MD

CSX Thomas Subdivision Photo Album

CSX C049

CSX C049-18 heads westbound under the eastbound cantilever signal in Piedmont, West Virginia, at 6:49 P.M. on Wednesday, June 21st, 2023. Piedmont is where the modern day CSX Thomas Subdivision begins but long ago, when the Western Maryland Railway still owned the line, the Thomas Sub ran all the way to Cumberland. Over time, due to Chessie System's creation and the Baltimore & Ohio having a parallel route, the Thomas Sub east of Piedmont was abandoned or sold. Some of the original Thomas Sub does remain but is currently out of service in McCoole, Maryland. Back to Piedmont, this Bailey Mine 80 car loaded coal train for Mount Storm is currently on what is called the "interchange track". Yet another historic Western Maryland reference, this track used to be the Western Maryland's interchange track with the Baltimore & Ohio. Although the purpose of the track has since changed, the name has stuck. Note this train ran the same day as the E050-20 featured on this page. Catching two Thomas Sub trains in daylight all within the span of a day is incredibly rare.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

CSX E050

CSX E050-20 passes underneath the former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Bloomington Viaduct in Beryl, West Virginia, at 2:22 P.M. on December 22nd, 2023. This Mount Storm empty coal train is crawling at this point to maneuver the tight curve at Beryl. Just east of the curve is West Virginia Central Junction, West Virginia, where the Western Maryland Railway had once interchanged with the Baltimore & Ohio. Nowadays, West Virginia Central Junction is where all CSX trains enter or leave the Thomas Subdivision. From West Virginia Central Junction, this train will enter the CSX Mountain Subdivision for the short trip to Keyser, West Virginia. After getting a crew at Keyser, this train will retrace its steps however instead of crossing onto the Thomas Subdivision at West Virginia Central Junction, it will continue west, ultimately crossing the Bloomington Viaduct. The final destination is Bailey Mine via Grafton, West Virginia, and Newell, Pennsylvania.

CSX empty VEPCO coal train E050-20 rushes through Blaine, West Virginia, at 1:40 P.M. on December 22nd, 2023. Running from the large VEPCO Mount Storm Generating Station in Stony River, West Virginia, to Grafton, West Virginia, this coal train traverses infrequently used former Western Maryland Railway trackage in Western Maryland. Like all Stony River empty trains, this empty man is destined to load at Bailey Mine in Southwestern Pennsylvania via Newell, Pennsylvania. Blaine is the West Virginia equivalent town to Kitzmiller, Maryland, which is just across the North Branch of the Potomac River. This river serves as the boundary between Maryland and West Virginia.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

CSX E050-20 runs along Althouse Hill Road just north of Gorman, Maryland, at 12:53 P.M. on December 22nd, 2023. Althouse Hill Road is named after the W. D. Althouse & Company which once operated a coal tipple near this site. The CSX Thomas Subdivision runs through many ghost towns that once hosted communities with populations numbering in the thousands. Harrison, Shallmar, Chaffee, Barnum, Shaw, are a few that come to mind. This train, like those long forgotten towns, exists because of the coal industry. Like all E050's, this train is heading back to Southwestern Pennsylvania to load at Consolidated Coal's Bailey Mine Complex.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

CSX empty coal train E050-20 begins to accelerate as it departs Bayard, West Virginia, at 12:51 P.M. on December 22nd, 2023. Now in Maryland, the North Branch of the Potomac River is located to the left and designates the state boundary with West Virginia. The CSX Thomas Sub crosses from Maryland to West Virginia and back again on many occasions, Bayard; Chaffee, and Hampshire, being some of those locations. The 76 empty coal hoppers that make up this train are heading to be loaded in Southwestern Pennsylvania at the Bailey Mine Complex near Graysville, Pennsylvania.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

My trusty 1999 Toyota Camry sits on the Old Corona Road bridge after safely transporting me to the once busy Western Maryland yard in Bayard, West Virginia, on December 22nd, 2023. At 12:44 P.M., a few minutes after arrival, CSX E050-20 slowly accelerates past the grade crossing after traversing the switchback which connects Bayard to the Stony River Subdivision. Interestingly, this switchback necessitates that the crew be transported from one end of the train to the other for the trip north. Thanks to this, I had enough time to eat my lunch before continuing the chase farther north. This E050-20 is heading back to Bailey Mine for reloading via Keyser, Grafton, and Newell.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

CSX E050-20 grinds through the sharp curve in Beryl, West Virginia, at 4:03 P.M. on Wednesday, June 21st, 2023. Note the remains of the second track to the left of the locomotive. That track used to be the yard lead for Luke Yard which served the massive WestVaCo paper mill in Luke, Maryland. By the time of this photo, the Luke Mill had been decommissioned, the yard closed, and the track ripped up. Farther behind the locomotive lies the famous Bloomington Viaduct on the old Baltimore & Ohio. The Thomas Sub crosses under the former B&O, now CSX Mountain Sub, just east of the viaduct. Catching an over under there would be a one in a million shot with how uncommon trains are on the Thomas Sub.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

With the North Branch of the Potomac River to the east, CSX E050-20 cruises northbound through Gorman, Maryland, at 12:53 P.M. on Wednesday, June 21st, 2023. The Potomac River serves as the state boundary between Maryland and West Virginia seperating what is one town into two seperate unicorporated communities. On the West Virginia side is Gormania and on the Maryland side is Gorman. Both towns are named after prominent Maryland politician Arthur P. Gorman. The Thomas Sub is located on the Maryland side hence this location being Gorman, Maryland.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

CSX E050-20 prepares to depart Bayard, West Virginia, at 12:41 P.M. on Wednesday, June 21st, 2023. A far cry from the days when the Western Maryland owned this yard, Bayard has been whittled down to a single main and a pair of yard tracks presumably used for MOW storage and other car storage. Once, Bayard was home to a yard office, multiple tracks, and even a locomotive maintenance facility. Nowadays, only a few trains a week pass through the yard rendering almost all aspects of the property obsolete. However, there is one interesting aspect of Bayard Yard that remains today. Due to the fact that there is no wye to enter the Stony River Subdivision straight out of the yard, all Mount Storm coal trains, like this E050, have to perform what I call the "Bayard Shuffle". Due to this move, all power plant trains have two locomotives on the front and two on rear. This allows for more convenient operations as no locomotives need to be moved from one of the train to the other. Basically, the shuffle is just that the crew has to move to the other side of the train to take it north.

*Nick A. Jobe Photograph*

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