Maryland Midland Railway

he Maryland Midland Railway is a 75 mile freight shortline operating in northeastern Maryland, northwest of Baltimore. Organized in 1980 to operate the ex Pennsylvania Railroad branchline from Taneytown to Walkersville, Maryland, the shortline soon added to former Western Maryland mainline from Emory Grove to Highland. At its start, the shortline used the historic Union Bridge depot for its offices, but that complex is now occupied by the Western Maryland Railway Historical Society. Offices and shops are now across the street from the depot, still in Union Bridge. For a brief time in the 1990s, the line hosted a tourist train operation known as the EnterTRAINment Line. In 2008, the freight operation was purchased by shortline giant Genesee & Wyoming. Today 63 miles of the 75 mile system are in service over two routes. The shortline also connects to the tourist-hauling Walkersville Southern Railroad at Woodsboro. Freight interchange is with CSX Transportation at either end of the former Western Maryland segment, at Emory Grove and Highfield.