This is a discussion about trains and railroads. It spans a more than 150 year period, from 1844 through the current day. The discussion is centered geographically on the City of Cumberland, Maryland, in Allegany County, near the western end of the State. Cumberland is called the Queen City of the Alleghenies. This discussion does not focus on the equipment or operations of any one particular railroad. Many different railroads, and many different forms of locomotion are discussed. Why Cumberland? Besides being my home town, the answer is found in looking at a topological map. There are many ways into the town, but only two ways out. In the early 19th century, on the way from the Eastern seaboard to the Ohio River, there were not too many choices. The routes had already been surveyed, in part by a young Virginian in the employ of Lord Fairfax. His name was George Washington, and he would figure prominently in the history of the region, and the country. Heading west from Cumberland, the choices were to continue to follow the Potomac River Valley to the south, or to use the natural gateway of the Narrows, and the water level route of Wills Creek. The National Road, built in 1807 pushed over the mountains, but the resultant grades limited the weight of the freight traffic that could be carried. The choices delineated by Washington and other early surveyors and explorers are as valid today as when they were made.

Cumberland was predestined by geography to become a transportation nexus, where various rail lines, the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) canal, and the National Road would come together. The Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad's concept was to push westward quickly to tap the lucrative grain trade of the Ohio Valley. Cumberland was just an intermediate goal. The coal fields of the nearby Georges Creek Region proved a powerful traffic source that continues to today. Local industries thrived, serving not only the transportation needs, but providing export goods to world markets. These industries also shaped and defined the region's railroads. Numerous significant railroad related activities happened in the Cumberland area. The first iron rail manufactured in the United States was rolled at Mt. Savage, a few miles from Cumberland. Also at Mt. Savage, the shops of the C&P railroad turned out their unique steam engines for their own use, and for sales to other lines.