A Stop in Cumberland, MD

The route I ended up taking brought me through Cumberland, MD.  If you haven't figure it out by now, I like trains and Cumberland makes a pretty good place to stop for them.

 Cumberland was built on the site of Fort Cumberland which was established in 1754.  It was constructed by troops of the Maryland Militia.  It marked the westernmost point of the British in America at the time and was used as the jumping off point for General Braddock's disastrous campaign against the French in Pittsburgh.   When the General was killed, the troops were led back to the Fort by a Virginia militia major named George Washington.  The town of Cumberland was established in 1787 and served as a major rail, river and road crossroads and was the second largest city in Maryland after Baltimore.  It was the western terminal of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (more about that later).  It was also a point along what would later become known as the National Road (now US-40).

Cumberland is also the home to a fairly large CSX yard.  This one is similar to one of my n-scale engines.