Echoes Of "All Aboard!"

Gene Walls

Echoes Of "All Aboard!"

The Western Maryland Railway Station in Cumberland, Maryland has been wonderfully restored to preserve the rich heritage of times past. This station is located at the very point where the C&O Canal ends. The canal was used to transport mail, coal and goods all the way between Washington, DC and Cumberland, and for distribution to points farther west.

The Cumberland and Pennsylvania (C&P) and B&O and railroads were very important additions to the transportation system in the mid 1800s. The railroads eventually replaced the need for the C&O Canal completely. The railroads continued on to Ohio and beyond, but the canal was never extended beyond Cumberland. The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad still operates tourist train excursions between Cumberland and Frostburg, MD.

The dark history of the competing railroad lines and the C&O Canal is truly quite fascinating. The historic details and stories are kept vividly alive at Canal Place National Park, in Cumberland, Maryland, for all who are interested. This railway station is an integral part of the large National Park complex.

The official website for the Western Maryland Railway Station at Canal Place contains the following:

Originally opened in July 1913, this grand terminal rivaled stations in larger cities. The Station remained in use as a passenger terminal until 1958, serving the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Western Maryland Railway. Under the care of the Western Maryland Station Center, Inc., and subsequently the Canal Place Preservation & Development Authority, the building underwent a series of renovations, completed in 2000. The Station now houses the Authority’s offices as well as several other offices, visitor services, and attractions.

The official website for Canal Place contains the following:

In 1993 the State of Maryland created the Canal Place Preservation & Development Authority to oversee the preservation, development, and management of the Canal Place Preservation District, a designated area within the City of Cumberland surrounding the western end of the C&O Canal.

This photo was taken on July 11th, 2009, with a Canon EOS 10D using a Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8L zoom lens, set to the 31mm focal length. The shutter speed was 1/180th sec. at f/8. The camera’s ISO was set to 200. A Manfrotto tripod was used with a remote shutter release cable.

Your comments are always welcome! Constructive criticism is appreciated.

© 2009 Gene Walls

All copyright and reproduction rights are retained by the artist. Artwork may not be reproduced or altered by any process without the express written permission of the artist.

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! 100% !, Communities (NO SUNSETS OR SUNRISES OR CLOSEUPS OF PERSONS, PLACES OR THINGS!!), Historic Places *2 per day*, Live, Love, Dream: , Nostalgic Art and Photography, That One Great Shot, That's Entertainment! (Fun & Recreation Photos), The Male Photographer, The World As We See It , or as we missed it., Which Way - walkways, pathways, stairways, and roadways and Your Magic Place (PLACES only!!) Available for sale as

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Echoes Of "All Aboard!" by Gene Walls
Echoes Of "All Aboard!" by Gene Walls
  • DebraLee Wiseberg

    DebraLee Wiseberg

    Good capture Gene…it feels like you can step right into the scene! Good work.

    Debra

  • Gene Walls replied

    Thanks, Debra!

    It was a very interesting trip back into our nations past (and my own). I was raised in this city, but hadn’t been back for many, many years. HS reunions can be very “informative”. LOL

    Best wishes,

    Gene

  • kalaryder

    kalaryder

    Lovely scene, agree with DebraLee above

  • Gene Walls replied

    Thank you so much!

    Gene

  • bubbleblue

    bubbleblue

    Excellent work.

  • Gene Walls replied

    Thanks, Joy!

    Gene

  • Rainy

    Rainy

    Beautiful colors and capture Gene!!

  • Gene Walls replied

    Thank you very, very much, Rainy!

    Gene

  • shaneran

    shaneran

    beautiful capture!!! love your title! gives character to your amazing image!!

  • Gene Walls replied

    I really appreciate your very kind comment! Thank you!

    Gene

  • Jan Timmons

    Jan Timmons

    Good curves in this, and great to see such restoration. Brave man – a HS reunion!
    If I had a nit, since you asked, I might only suggest that either one of the rails or brick platform start out of the lower right corner. And I’m not even certain of the need for that. The child on the platform is a good catch. Lots to view, but you pull it all together with the rails and two long horizontal overhangs – what are those called?

  • Gene Walls replied

    Thank for your kind words and input, Jan!

    I am trying to see the point of view that you described, but I think I’m missing it. Were you talking about a crop of this shot, or an alternative shooting location? I have about 20 frames of this scene, but I was severely limited by the lens I had decided to take to this spot.

    I was using a fast 28-70mm zoom and it turned out not to be quite as wide as I would have preferred for this frame. I wanted to capture everything from the train to the entire station. A wider lens would have made that much easier to do.

    If you are talking about cropping this shot, please describe where it would be most effective. I would love to see what your suggestion looks like. I could also make some original images available, if you would like to show me what you envisioned.

    Oh, the long covered areas are called “platforms”. This is a “two platform” station.

    Gene

  • DonDavisUK

    DonDavisUK

    Hi Gene, this is a wonderful capture, I like old railway stations, somehow they have more character than modern ones. Thanks for the history behind this too, always makes a picture more interesting. Do people still use the canal as well? Thanks for sharing. Don.

  • Gene Walls replied

    Thank you, Don!

    Yes, I totally agree, the old stations have so much more “character”. The C&O Canal hasn’t been used for barge traffic since the early 1900s. However, it has been converted into a wonderful national park, all 184 miles, from Cumberland, Maryland, all the way to Georgetown in Washing, DC! You can actually hike or bike the entire length of the canal on the old “toe path”. It’s a wonderful park with lots of historical buildings, a very long tunnel and many of the original locks along the way.

    Best wishes,

    Gene

  • Scott Hendricks

    Scott Hendricks

    Gene, you took me back years with the photo. My great-grandfather, his father and his brothers built part of steepest railway incline in the U.S. the Big Cut going out of Madison Indiana toward Ohio. So this photo brings a special interest to me, a student of history and of family history.

  • Gene Walls replied

    I am so pleased that this photo reminded you of some important memories of your family, and their history. My father worked for B&O railroad as a machinist in Cumberland, MD, while I was a young student there. This beautiful train station didn’t look anything like my picture back in those days. The historic society did a fantastic job of transforming this run-down site into a fully restored treasure!

    My best,

    Gene

  • Edge-of-dreams

    Edge-of-dreams 29 days ago

    Lovely !!

  • Gene Walls replied 29 days ago

    Thanks!

    Best wishes,

    Gene

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