Heading Home

I only spent a couple hours in Washington.  As I was heading out, I saw the traffic coming back on the turnpike and I figured that I would try to avoid that section of the turnpike.

 This would mean a trip on I-68 and a few other interstates.  It's actually a pretty nice drive but I think it adds about 100 miles to the trip.  I will have to say that I-68 is a little more interesting than the turnpike.  Both go through the mountains but I-68 isn't graded quite as well.  In total it goes 120 miles from Hancock, MD to Morgantown, West Virginia.  It took close to 25 years to complete.

 This is at a rest area near the place called the Sideling Cut.  There is a rest area there with a really cool feature.

 That feature is that you can go up on a bridge that crosses over the freeway.  The cut itself is pretty unique.

 I had to make one more stop in Cumberland.  This time, I was treated to some better lighting for trains.

 I just wish I was paying attention as this train approached.  It gave me a pretty good view of the city though.

 I've stopped at this station before.

 A church.

 One of the things I like about older towns is that they have some character.

 Another old church.

 Another view of the train.

 The rest area as you enter the West Virginia border.  I think I may have to wander down here one of these days.  I think I would be happy in Wheeling because I saw a few tugs as I passed over the Ohio River.

 If I had to guess, I would say this was used in lumbering or coal.

A group of flags.

So that was my quick trip out east.  Next time I will plan it a little better.

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.