Big Pool Junction

The eighteen miles of rails between Hagerstown and Big Pool were the busiest of the Western Maryland Railway. In 1892 a connection was made here with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad across the Potomac River at Cherry Run, West Virginia, and the Big Pool Train Station was constructed. By the turn of the century other structures were added, including a siding, a storage building, and company houses. In 1904 construction of the Cumberland Extension began at Big Pool. The Western Maryland reached Hancock by December of that year and Cumberland by March two years later. In 1906 a coal chute 758 feet long and 37 feet high was built to empty coal from train coal cars into steam engines' tenders. A water tower was also built to fill the steam engines with water for conversion to steam. A freight station and a train order office were also located here, and the train order office operated until March 1, 1977.

Big Pool, Maryland · United States