The Keystone Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The line runs from Cumberland, Maryland, west to McKeesport, Pennsylvania, (near Pittsburgh)[1] along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line. The line includes the well-known Sand Patch Grade over the Allegheny Mountains.[2] [3]

Keystone Subdivision
Overview
StatusActive
OwnerCSX
LocaleMaryland, Pennsylvania
Termini
Service
TypeFreight rail
SystemCSX
Operator(s)CSX, Amtrak
Technical
Number of tracks2
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map

MP.0
311.7
262.9
308.7
Center St. Versailles
303.1
301.6
299.8
297.8
295.9
294.5
292.7
290.5
Fitz Henry
defect detector
289.3
286.6
W&LE
Pittsburg Subdivision
285.5
Hagerman's Rock
281.7
276.1
275.3
272.7
SWP Mt. Pleasant
Industrial Track
270.3
W&LE
Pittsburg Subdivision
269.7
Amtrak
Connellsville Yard
268.6
SWP FM&P
Subdivision
266.2
262.9
253.4
252.1
251.8
HK Tower (Closed)
243.3
240.9
240.0
Benford Tunnel
239.8
239.6
Brook Tunnel
238.7
237.0
Shoo Fly Tunnel
235.2
Pinkerton Tunnel
239.8
Casselman defect detector
227.0
Siding
226.8
219.5
219.2
Siding
218.4
216.0
Salisbury Junction
Romania Industrial Track
215.1
211.0
209.6
Sand Patch Tunnel
206.5
NA Tower (Closed)
200.2
199.4
FO Tower (Closed)
196.9
190.2
187.0
Cooks Mills
defect detector
184.2
State line
183.8
Mt Savage jct.
181.3
Georges Creek jct.│Eckhart jct.
178.2
Viaduct Junction

The east end of the Keystone Subdivision is at Viaduct Junction in Cumberland, where it meets the Cumberland Terminal Subdivision at the east end of the Cumberland Viaduct. The west end is at Sinns, on the west (left) side of the Youghiogheny River at Liberty,[4] where it continues as the Pittsburgh Subdivision through Pittsburgh and on to West Pittsburg. The Keystone Subdivision also joins with the S&C Subdivision at Rockwood, Pennsylvania.[1]

Amtrak's Capitol Limited uses the Keystone Subdivision.

History edit

The Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad (P&C) was first incorporated in 1837, but did not succeed in raising money until 1846.[5] Work began in 1847,[6] and the line opened from Pittsburgh to Connellsville in 1857[7] and to Cumberland in 1871.[8] The B&O leased the P&C for 50 years effective January 1, 1876, and it was merged into the B&O in 1912.[9]

A new bridge over the Youghiogheny River at Sinns opened in 1968, connecting the old P&C to the parallel Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (which the B&O had trackage rights over to New Castle[4]) on the opposite shore. This allowed B&O trains to bypass downtown McKeesport; the B&O line through McKeesport was closed in 1970.[10][11] The P&LE is now CSX's Pittsburgh Subdivision, while the old B&O tracks in the Pittsburgh area are mostly abandoned or operated by short lines.

In summer 1985, the Chessie System (the B&O's holding company at the time) announced that it would sever its St. Louis line through Ohio, rerouting all through traffic over the Alleghenies at Sand Patch rather than along the older Mountain Subdivision.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b CSX Timetables: Keystone Subdivision
  2. ^ "MH-Keystone Sub - the RadioReference Wiki".
  3. ^ http://www.multimodalways.org/docs/railroads/companies/CSX/CSX%20ETTs/CSX%20Baltimore%20Div%20ETT%20%234%201-1-2005.pdf CSX Baltimore Division Timetable
  4. ^ a b Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad 1960 System Map
  5. ^ "PRR Chronology, 1837" (PDF). (98.8 KiB), June 2004 Edition
  6. ^ "PRR Chronology, 1847" (PDF). (40.7 KiB), April 2005 Edition
  7. ^ "PRR Chronology, 1857" (PDF). (54.1 KiB), March 2005 Edition
  8. ^ "PRR Chronology, 1871" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2006-11-21. (72.9 KiB), January 2005 Edition
  9. ^ Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Timeline
  10. ^ Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: CSX Bridge at Liberty Boro
  11. ^ Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: P&LE Bridge McKeesport