Fort Frederick/B103.7

Fort Frederick is a restored Revolutionary War fort. It is a State Park and is open to the public. Their is a museum and a camping area here in the park. The park is a great place to visit, camp, and to photograph the Western Maryland. Click on the photo above for an in depth look at Fort Frederick State Park. If interested, Fort Frederick is also the headquarters for the Western Maryland Rail Trail. The WMRT is a paved rail trail that runs west on the abandoned WM right-of-way from Big Pool Jct. 19 miles west to Pearre. More information can be found on this site on the relating pages where the WMRT was constructed.

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WM tracks along the B104 milepost. Here the WM right-of-way is in great shape. The pole line is intact and there is a great view of Big Pool along the C&O Canal. It still looks as if the WM is in control of these rails and any time a set of F7's might appear around the curve. This is also the location where a third track started that ran west to Big Pool only one mile away. A telephone call box was also here, it's concrete base can be seen just behind the whistle post.

This photo was taken from the eastern end of Big pool on the C&O Canal. A mule is seen pulling a canal boat west into the large body of water. When the canal was built the area here was a natural depression, so it was filled with water. The WM ran beside the canal here, where the B104 milepost is located. Big Pool remains pretty much unchanged today. Only the water level is lower and the canal boats have been replaced with fishing boats.

This is the sweeping curve along the WM in Fort Frederick State Park. The crossing here leads to camping facilities and a boat ramp on the C&O Canal's Big Pool. (6/94)

CSX coal train U820 with pushers passes the road crossing in Fort Frederick State Park in January 1999. Pushers is a rare move by CSX as most eastbound trains received enough head end power at Cumberland needed for Williamsport Hill.

CSX train D721 is westbound at Fort Frederick. By now the crew has already called the operator at Miller Tower for clearance onto the B&O. Today Miller Tower has been dismantled as was moved to the B&O Martinsburg Roundhouse for display. The WM signals have been removed and the tracks shortened at Cherry Run. They now connected to the CSX main just west of the road crossing in Cherry Run.

D721 heads west at Fort Frederick on January 19, 2019 at 1008 am. Chased this train from Williamsport and by the time I got out of the car D721 was blowing for the Shanktown Road crossing just east of this crossing.

I've caught CSX train D721 as it rolls west passing Shanktown Road in the setting sun. Shanktown road is the next road crossing east of Fort Frederick State Park.

CSX D70 on January 6, 2019 at 1231 pm. D721 had just went west and was stopped at cherry Run for a moment then D720 came east after D721 had cleared. We are here again at Shanktown Road on an overcast and rainy day.

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