Cumberland Subdivision
The CSX Cumberland Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and West Virginia. The line runs from Brunswick, Maryland, west to Cumberland, Maryland, along the old Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road main line. At its east end, the Cumberland Subdivision becomes the Metropolitan Subdivision; at its west end at Cumberland, Maryland it becomes the Cumberland Terminal Subdivision. It meets the Shenandoah Subdivision at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and the Lurgan Subdivision in Cherry Run, West Virginia.
History
The Cumberland Subdivision was opened in 1842 as part of B&O's main line. In 1914 B&O opened the Magnolia Cutoff, a more direct route through mountain ridges, running between Hansrote, West Virginia and Paw Paw, West Virginia. The project included construction of four tunnels, two bridges, and many deep rock cuts. B&O continued to use the original route along the Potomac River, called the "Lowline," until 1961.In 1987, CSX absorbed the subdivision and the rest of the B&O system.