Louis O'Donoghue

Dedicated to my Great Grandfather, John Donoghue

Chapter 1 - Introduction

(7/2022) In 1866 when the citizens of Emmitsburg found out that the Western Maryland Railroad (WMRR) would bypass their town and go to Mechanicstown instead, they formed a Rail Road Board. This board had the General Assembly authorize them to incorporate so as to form the Emmitsburg Railroad Company (ERR).

The Charter and By-Laws for the ERR were approved March 28, 1868. In April the ERR published a ‘Notice To Contractors’ in a nationwide railroad trade magazine announcing to contractors that the ERR was soliciting bids on construction of a seven mile long railroad. Twenty- three bids were submitted.

The contract was awarded August 19, 1871 to John Donoghue and the ERR released to him $43,000 to pay for the construction of the line. The grading of the road was completed in 1872, but not enough money was available to pay for rails, rolling stock and crews. In 1875 the WMRR, under contract, laid the seven miles of track and began running trains for the ERR. The WMRR furnished the rolling stock and crews without charge, being satisfied with the tariff from the increased traffic that the ERR brought. By 1879 the ERR took over the managing and operation of the railroad. It had acquired its own rolling stock which was manned by its own crews.

Actually, there were two Emmitsburg Railroad Companies. The first company, organized in 1868, went bankrupt and was succeeded by the second company in 1898. Both companies used the same name and can only be differentiated by dates. Both operated under the same authority of the General Assembly. The first company began running trains in 1875, seven years after being organized. The financial panic and great depression of 1893 caused a cash flow problem, which the company withstood for five years. By 1898 it was forced to reorganize. In 1930 a great depression again caused the company financial problems. This, along with the proliferation of motorcars and trucks drained away much of the traffic, severely reduced revenue. Passenger service was stopped on June 15, 1935. By 1937 the ERR was relieved from paying taxes due to insolvency.

From the beginning and throughout its 65 years (1875-1940) of operation, the company and the railroad were very much a product of the desire of the Emmitsburg community; a desire for a better life within the greater Emmitsburg area. A unique relationship existed between the Sisters of Charity at Saint Joseph’s Academy and the ERR. Because the Sisters wanted safe and comfortable travel conditions for their students and parents, they financially backed construction of the ERR. They invested enough cash to assure that the road would be built. During the entire 65 years of operation the Sisters again and again invested in this lifeline to the outside world. Indeed, they owned considerably more than half of the stock and bonds of the Company.

Between 1900 and 1920 its best years, the ERR operated as many as eight to ten round trips a day. On May 2, 1935 the ERR made application to the Maryland Public Service Commission for an order permitting and approving the discontinuance of passenger train service. On June 15, 1935 passenger service was suspended. Freight service and all other operations were stopped in 1940. In 1941 the line was physically dismantled and all equipment including the engines and rails were sold as scrap.

Throughout its 65 years of operation, the company and the railroad were very much a product of the desire of the Emmitsburg community; a desire for a better life within the greater Emmitsburg area.

Chapter 2 - A Railroad In And Of Its Time

As early as the first half of the 1830s, long before the Civil War, the people of Frederick County aspired to having a connection to the nation growing railroad system. A need to connect to Gettysburg, and west to Carlisle and on to Pittsburgh as well to the east to Hanover and Philadelphia were very much desired.

in 1832 John Henry Alexander was commissioned, to plan a rail route from Frederick Town to Emmitsburg. He had been appointed Chief Engineer of Maryland in 1833. Also, he had been commissioned to create a complete map of Maryland and a map of the "Proposed Rail Road from Frederick Town to Pennsylvania." One, the Catoctin Line, following the base of the mountain and the other the Monocacy Line, following the river.

In the 1820s Baltimore business men, stung by the loss of trade to Philadelphia via the Delaware River and future expected losses to Georgetown and Alexandria via the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, convinced the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland to join in building a railroad to the west.

The first part of the WMRR line opened to Emory Grove, August 11, 1859, seven years after being chartered. In 1861 the line opened to Westminster. The WMRR construction had reached Union Bridge by 1862, when due to the Civil War, construction stopped for about six years. In 1870 the line to railroad had reached Rocky Ridge, and in 1872, Hagerstown.

The WMRR Company prospered and grew by two means. First, by building its own main line from Owings Mill to Hagerstown and second, by consolidating, merging and reorganizing over 30 smaller railroads.

Railroads were utterly essential to changing America’s economy from an agrarian one to an industrial one. Trains were seen as instruments improving the quality of life. Goods were shipped by rail; people traveled by rail. The culture of America was deeply influenced by them. In the 1830s while the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was pushing west from Ellicott Mills it passed south of Frederick-town by three miles just as the WMRR did in 1871 while passing south of Emmitsburg by seven miles.

As early as 1866, the people of Emmitsburg knew for certain that WMRR has chosen the Thurmont route, rather than the Emmitsburg route. The Emmitsburg folk redoubled their efforts to organize and establish their own railroad.

Although the WMRR was reputed to have been a heavy investor in the ERR, they actually owned none of the ERR Co. stock. However, the WMRR did, under contract, manage the operations of the ERR railroad during the first four years of its existence. Also, The WMRR fostered much needed encouragement and support, as they had done for many other branch railroads which act as feeder for their mainline.

For the ERR, the actual construction work which consisted of grading the road bed, making cuts, fills and embankments, putting in culverts and making trestles was done by John Donoghue who had just completed construction on several sections of the WMRR near Charmian just north of Blue Ridge Summit on the Dutch line.

The people in and around Emmitsburg wanted the ‘prosperity and advantages’ that comes from a railroad, so soon after the 1866 announcement that Emmitsburg would be bypassed, the people of Emmitsburg formed a Railroad Board. In 1886 the state of Maryland granted the Board a charter to organize the Emmitsburg Railroad Company and build their own railroad.

All hauling of merchandise from Baltimore to the West in early days was by teams, usually six-horse teams. Emmitsburg was on the route to Pittsburgh, and hundreds of teams passed through town each year as they traveled west and then coming back east. As new railroad construction reached a town, the western terminal point of the railroad usually became the western terminal point for horse drawn traffic.

As the railroad terminal points moved west, commerce, in many towns that did not have a railroad, was reduced and the taverns and stables along a turnpike closed because of a lack of business. The through stages ceased coming to Emmitsburg when the WMRR reached Thurmont. The Guthrie and Bean Stage, the local stage line between Emmitsburg and the WMRR at Thurmont ceased to run when the Emmitsburg railroad was opened in 1875.

After it was certain that the WMRR was going to be extended to Hagerstown the people of Emmitsburg began to speculate about how a railroad would improve their lives. In 1866 this speculation abruptly changed when the WMRR announced it would pass through Mechanicstown, leaving Emmitsburg seven miles off the main line.

Soon thoughts of a plan to connect to the WMRR were beginning to formulate in the minds of Emmitsburg’s business men. A ‘Railroad Board" was proposed and established. Parties interested in establishing a rail link were Mount Saint Mary’s College, Saint Joseph’s Academy, the local bank, cattle dealers and milk producers.

At Mount St. Mary’s, the Council, keenly aware of their heavy financial indebtedness, nonetheless clearly saw the needs of the college and the benefits which would accrue to the college, resulting from a major investment in ERR stock.

At St. Joseph’s, the administrators, with a frugal, but practical entrepreneurial spirit (they operated a water powered mill, a shoe factory, and power belts), donated the land for the right of way and built its own station. The Sisters of Charity felt obliged to refrain from attending such meetings. To be sure they made their wants and desires known and they got their own private station at the end of their lane, they requested a priest always be included as a member of the board.

Chapter 3 - Actions of The ‘Railroad Board’ and the ‘Board Of Directors’

Before a railroad company could be organized a group of men had to assemble and agree on their intention to build a rail road. They had to establish an exploratory board then agreed among themselves who would be on the board and who would be directors. This constituted a company with a Board of Directors (BOD). The company then had to incorporate itself and persuade the Maryland General Assembly to pass an Act authorizing the formation of a corporation. The board then formed a railroad company. The company then had to elect a permanent BOD who would act as the governing body of the railroad company. The newly formed BOD needed to oversee the following procedures:

• agreeing on the terminal points of the line.

• hiring of a surveyor to delineate the line of the railroad and draw up a profile map of the line showing all earth work that the building contractor would encounter.

• identification of all the private land owners over which the line traversed and then buy the land for a clear right of way (ROW).

• advertising for a contractor to build the road bed on the ROW.

• selection of a contractor for each section of the ROW or for the entire length of the line.

• development of a financial plan for raising the money needed to build the ROW, acquire rolling stock and hiring a management team and a crew to operate the line.

With high expectations investors organized a Railroad Board, became legally incorporated, formed a railroad company and advertised for a construction contractor and saw the road-bed completed.

After the road-bed was finished there was no money for rails, cars, engines or crew. The early enthusiasm waned. A wait of four years almost destroyed the viability of the company.

A memorandum of an agreement between the ERR & the WMRR called for:

Witnesseth, that whereas the said Western Maryland Railroad Company finds it to its advantage to substitute a heavier rail for that now in use in its track between Hagerstown and Williamsport, and whereas the said Emmittsburg Railroad Company desires to purchase the same for use on its line between Rocky Ridge and Emmittsburg Maryland.

Now therefore, the parties to the agreement, in consideration of the benefits to be derived by each from the other, do hereby covenant and agree with each other as follows.

First - The said Western Maryland Railroad Company furnish the said Emmitsburg Railroad Company all the light rails and joint fasteners that are in good condition, and now in use in the main track and sidings of the Western Maryland Railroad west of Hagerstown and if when laid on the main line and sidings of the Emmittsburg Railway between Rocky Ridge and Emmitsburg aforesaid, they are found insufficient for their completion, then they said Western Maryland Rail Road Company shall furnish a sufficient quantity of fair quality old rails to complete said main track and sidings of the Emmittsburg Railroad.

Second – The said Emmittsburg Railroad Company shall pay the said Western Maryland Railroad Company for the iron rails and joint fastenings furnished under this Contract, at the rate of $45–per ton for the old rails and 67½ cents per joint for the fish plate fastenings, it being understood that the said Western Maryland Railroad Company will at once contract for 600 tons of new 56 lb. Rails, and on receipt of the first consignment will lay them in the main track between Owings Mill and Westminster and that it will take the rails thus relieved and ally them west of Hagerstown thus relieving a portion of the light rails which shall at once be delivered for use of the Emmitsburg Co. at Rocky Ridge and that as soon as possible thereafter the said Western Maryland Railroad Company will deliver the remains of the iron necessary for the completion of the Emmittsburg Railroad and in payment therefore the said Western Maryland Railroad Company shall receive from the said Emmitsburg Railroad Co. $20,000 - cash, in two equal installments payment at the office of the Western Maryland Railroad Company Sept. 18th and October 18th 1875 and a note of The Emmitsburg Railroad Company at 12 months from October 18th 1875 for $5,000 - with 6% interest at from date and secured by endorsement of individuals Directors. It is understood that if on completion of the track aforesaid the cost of iron and joint fastenings falls short of $25,000 - or the price herein specified, then a note for the actual and in excess of $20,000 - shall be substituted for that of $5,000.

Third – The said Western Maryland Railroad Company to load the cars and deliver convenient to the work, any ties purchased by the Emmittsburg Railroad Company on the line of The Western Maryland Railroad, at a cost of six cents per tie for labor and transportation.

Fourth – The said Western Maryland Railroad Company to lay and finish the track superstructure of the Emmitsburg at the actual cost of such work to the Western Maryland Railroad Company, including a fair but moderate compensation for the use of any engines or cars that may be used in such service. – It being understood that The Western Maryland Railroad Company shall also furnish the necessary frogs, switch fixture and spikes and other necessary track supplies and will perform the work of constructing the cattle guards and road-crossings but will not furnish the material for the same.

Fifth – The said Emmittsburg Railroad Company to complete its road bed in first class condition and to construct a bridge of Calamus Branch, both to be completed in time not to hinder the work of track-laying, to be performed by the Western Maryland Railroad Co.

Sixth – The Emmittsburg Railroad Company shall make available to the Western Maryland Railroad Co. the subscription of $6,000 – to it Capital Stock by the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s and Mount St. Mary’s College, both of Emmittsburg Md., it being understood that if the said subscription of $6,000 – does not cover the expense incurred by the said Western Maryland Railroad Co. in completing the track superstructure, etc. – aforesaid, then the Emmittsburg Railroad Company shall make up and pay over at the completion of the work any amount that such work has cost the Western Maryland R. R. Co. in excess of $6,000 – or the amount derived from the stock subscription aforesaid, and it is understood on the other hand, that any excess there may be from the said subscription over and above the actual cost of work performed and material furnished by the said Western Maryland Railroad Company, shall be refunded to the Emmittsburg R. R. Co. on the completion of the track superstructure by the Western Maryland Railroad Company.

Seventh. – It is understood by the parties hereto that the object of this agreement is, to secure the completion of the Emmittsburg Railroad at the earliest practicable time and each promises and agree to use its best effort to secure this end.

In Witness whereof the said J. M. Hood and Jas. A. Dwin as such President aforesaid have hereunto set their hands and affixed the corporate seals of their respective Companies the day and year within mentioned.

Following the signing of the memo of agreement, the WMRR laid the rails, furnished the rolling stock and provided the crews to get the ERR into service. The WMRR ran the ERR trains for the next four years.

After the WMRR demonstrated that the ERR was a viable railroad, the ERR was anxious to establish itself as an independent service. The ERR had gotten well-used equipment from the WMRR that only had a few years of useful life in them.

Under its own leadership the ERR was run by investors, not active businessmen. It was a poorly run company. But in 1881 James A. Elder, an astute businessman began a ten-year directorship that brought ERR back from poor management to a properly run business. Ten years later Vincent Sebold also showed how a railroad needed to be managed by using good management practices.

Following the great depression of 1930-1935, business for the line got worse and worse. Passenger service stopped in 1935. Motor trucks took over the mail service. Bankruptcy followed in 1940.

Financing

In 1874 the Emmitsburg Railroad Co. secured a $100,000 first mortgage from the Central National Bank of Baltimore. Andrew Annan, Edward Taney, and Joshua Motter were the trustees. Lewis Motter was treasurer and James Dwen was president. Four hundred bonds were issued, 250 bonds valued at $100 each and 150 bonds valued at $500 each, for a total of $100,000. The bond specifically states that the money is for iron rails and equipment.

After the Civil War there was a series of depressions leading to the major depression of 1873. By 1877 another depression undermined the financial stability of the ERR, which eventually led to a need for financial restructuring of the company. In 1893 another major depression hit the financial world. By 1897 a major capital stock issue of $50,000 was offered to raise cash to revitalize the company.

In 1886 the ERR secured a $75,000 first mortgage from the Citizen National Bank of Frederick. Isaac Annan, Edward S. Taney, and James McSherry were the trustees. C.T. Zacharias was treasurer and James A. Elder was president. Seven hundred and eighty bonds were issued, 80 valued at $500 each and 700 valued at $50.00 each, for a total value of $75,000.

In 1887 The Emmitsburg Railroad Company (ERR) was authorized the issuance of $75,000 worth of bonds. The first list indicates that $69,300 worth of stock was issued. The company accomplished this by selling bonds of both $50 and $500 denominations. They sold 585 of the $50 bonds totaling $29,300. These bonds were numbered from two to 586. They sold 5 of the $500 bonds totaling $4,000. These bonds were numbered from 701 to 780. The combined value was $69,300.

The Daughters of Charity at St. Joseph’s Academy, listed as The House of St. Joseph’s, felt a strong need for a safe, convenient and reliable transportation for their students and the student’s parents so all could come and go without undue delay or added cost. Therefore, The House of St. Joseph’s became the largest investor, purchasing over 24 percent of the bonds, totaling $23,000.

John Donoghue, whose construction company did most of the building of the railroad, was the second largest investor. He personally purchased over 15 percent of the bonds, totaling $11,500. He was given $5,000 worth of bonds in lieu of payment.

In all, 34 investors bought bonds. Two investors bought 50 percent of the issue, which was about $34,800 worth. Ten additional investors purchased amounts ranging from one to five thousand dollars each, or about 40 percent of the bonds, while the remaining ten percent, about $7,000 worth, was owned by the other 22 investors.

Chapter 5 - Layout Of The Right Of Way

Travelers from Baltimore, going to the west, crossed the broad rolling hills of the Piedmont Plateau of Central Maryland until they approached the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The first of these hills is an almost imperceptible ripple called Rocky Ridge. Rocky Ridge is a ridge that traverses north from the Monocacy River at Owing Creek to the town of Emmitsburg. The Emmitsburg Railroad is built atop this ridge. The stony spine of the ridge makes a firm and stable foundation for a good railroad bed.

In 1867 Joseph Gitt carried out his preliminary survey for the ERR right of way. He determined that the top of the ridge provided a better footing for a railroad bed being that it was slightly raised from the local streams and wet lands. It followed the old Ridge Road on broad rolling Rocky Ridge. The railroad ran south out from the town of Emmitsburg. The town is situated at the base of the foothills of the Catoctin Mountains, almost due south across the gently rolling tablelands of the upper Piedmont Plateau that were dissected by incised streams, to Rocky Ridge where it connected to the Eastern Division of the Western Maryland Railway (WMRR). A profile drawing showing elevations taken from US Geological Service topographic maps shows that the right of way was remarkably flat, having a total rise of only about eighty feet. In railroad parlance this is known as an ‘air line,’ being almost level and with gentle curves. The elevation of the station at Emmitsburg was just 14 feet above the station at Rocky Ridge.

The land for the ERR’s right of ways traversed 17 different properties as it traveled south to connect at the junction with the WMRR at Rocky Ridge.

The line begins at the Rocky Ridge Junction and go north 7.3 miles to the Emmitsburg Station. The town of Emmitsburg is clustered about the intersection of old route 15 (now route 806) and route 140.

The ERR provided rail service to Saint Joseph Academy campus as well as the Academy’s Siding, Dry Bridge Stop (Long’s), Motter Station, Davidson’s Stop, Appolds Stop and Rocky Ridge Stations.

The line of the ERR survey followed the old Rocky Ridge Road which had been built on the top of the ridge of the same name. The ridge extended north from the Monocacy River at Owings Creek up and east of Emmitsburg. Also shown are the approximate alignments of the WMRR that was built in 1870. The ERR wasn’t surveyed until 1870, the road bed was built in 1871. ERR began in 1875.

The ERR Station and freight yard was situated two blocks south of the center of the town square on the east side of the road. The station was a wooden frame building, with a large over hanging roof, and was 30 X 65 feet. It sat between two sets of tracks and had two 70-foot long platforms. There was a 40 X 60-foot hay shed, five 10 X 10-foot coal bins, a 90-foot-long train shed, and a platform scales. The station building was torn down in 1941. The ERR Station was located just south of Willow Rill (a small draw) which flowed from the west and emptied into Flat Run. Between the location of the station in Emmitsburg and the bridge that crosses Toms Creek, which flows to the east, the land required a long cut as the railroad ran out from town and past the foot of the Avenue leading to St. Joseph’s Academy. This cut was completely filled in about 1940.

The passenger station was in the southern end of the building. Boyle Brother had a warehouse in the north end of the station, hay shed and five coal bins were h a few feet to the north. Emmitsburg High School is to the west. The town square is to the north. A buried four-inch water pipe line cuts southeast to the Sisterhood.

As the tracks leave the ERR station they head south into a shallow cut. Between the location of the station in Emmitsburg and the bridge that crossed Toms Creek, which flowed to the east, the land rose no more than 10 to 15 feet. However, this rise required a cut about 1000 feet long and from a few feet to 10 or 12 feet deep as the railroad run out from town and past the foot of the Avenue leading to St Joseph’s Academy. This cut is now completely-filled in.

The first stop along the line was the station serveed Saint Joseph’s Academy. It was less than 5/10 of a mile from the start of the line. The St. Joseph’s station house was located 16 feet above the level of the tracks. A set of stairs led up from the tracks to a wooden bridge which has a metal pipe hand rail on both sides and along both edges of the cut. The bridge was supported by two stone abutments. The station house, a stately Federalist style building, was constructed of brick. It was two stories high and approximately 20 X 35 feet. The bottom story was cut into the bedrock on the east side of the cut at track level. The upper story looked as if it sat on the campus grounds. Within the station there was a freight elevator to accommodate luggage and freight. Also, there was a 50 foot long covered passenger platform.

In addition to the passenger station there was a spur track which ran back to the powerhouse at St. Joseph’s. The College used a coal-fired boiler to provide central heat to all of its buildings. St. Joseph’s received as many as fifty-five car loads of coal at one time. The Saint Joseph Siding was 1500 feet long.

Just south of St. Joseph’s station the tracks curved to the left and crossed Toms Creek’s wide flat flood plain on a low earthen levee which contained the foundation footings for a wooden pole trestle. As the track approached the creek bed the land dropped away requiring a trestle to maintain a level track. The pole trestling was about 17 feet high and consisted of four poles at each support. About 1885 the space between the supports was filled-in creating an embankment or berm. This berm can still be seen east of South Seton Street. A terrace like escarpment delineates the northern boundary of the Tom’s Creek flood plain.

The Tom’s Creek Bridge was 100 feet long and had a unique elevated structure. It consisted of three stone piers, each of different heights, each timber trestle had bents (towers) to bring the roadbed up to the required height, and timber trestle to support the rail bed between the stone supports. The abutment on the north bank, which actually sat on the creek bed, was constructed of cut stone blocks, and was about 12 feet high. It had a 10 to 12 foot timber bent built on its top. The center pier, set in the middle of the creek, was of similar construction. It was 18 feet high with a five to six foot timber bent on its top. The south bank had a 23-foot stone abutment. Years later, this timber bridge was replaced with a drive through steel truss bridge, however the original multi-level stone supports were used to support the new steel trusses.

Over the years McCarren’s Cut proved to be the most troublesome cut on the whole line. During winters snow storms would fill the cut with drifting snow, sometimes closing the road for days at a time.

Dry Bridge spans a cut made in a fill to allow the railroad tracks to pass over Dry Bridge Road.

College Lot, sometimes called College Stop, located at the east of College Lane on the Old Frederick Road where the Warthen family had their wagon making shop many years ago. Car loads of coal for the college were loaded directly onto wagons. The coal was then hauled up to the college by horse and wagon:

The railroad rose gently as it continued to climb to the highest point on the line, the stop at Long’s. At one time there was a siding at this stop. Several old maps show that Long’s consisted of just two buildings. South of Long’s Stop the tracks continue straight and level for 1/5 of a mile. The railroad bed has since been made into Wivell Road, which lead back to the Reaver’s farm. This section of road is in daily use.

Motter’s Station. About 1883 Ike Fisher built several buildings here consisting of a station/store building, and a warehouse east of the line with a passing track (575 ft). Orndorff had a second warehouse and siding (430 ft) that was located east of the main line. The orderly stack of railroad ties (right foreground) awaits the track crew.

Motter’s Run was slightly less than 5/10 of a mile south of the station. Motter’s Run (formerly known as Yellow Run) flowed about 1500 feet to the east where it joined Stony Branch. A fill was used to maintain the track level over the stream. The fill was about 20 feet high and was underpinned by a large arched stone culvert about 10 feet wide and 12 feet high. This arch allowed water of Motter’s Run to pass through the fill. The west side of the culvert was faced with cut stone. The east side was constructed from native fieldstone.

The Davidson / Ridgeway stops and siding (which were not shown on any of the 1920s or 1930s Post Office maps. The maps did show all of the Rural Free Delivery routes that were located between Motter’s and Appold’s. South of the Ridgeway Stop the railroad paralleled route 76, but about one to two tenths of a mile to the west, passing through a series of small cuts and fills. Today the alignment of the old railroad is easily viewed by the line of cedar trees have grown up and clearly define the right of way.

At about the six mile mark was the Appolds Stop, with a siding. Appolds Stop was at the crossroads formed by route 76, Appolds road, and Mumma Ford road. Appolds road connected to Old Frederick road to the west. Mumma Ford road went to the east and crosses the Monocacy River at Mumma Ford.

When, in 1870 the WMRR built their line through Rocky Ridge leading to Mechanicstown it was a straight through track. ERR wanted to tie into these WMRR’s tracks. About 1/10 of a mile before the ERR line met the WMRR line, which runs at almost a right angle to the ERR line, the ERR line splits into a wye. The left leg curved to the east while the right leg curved to the west forming a triangle with the WMRR line [now the Maryland Midland]. This triangle enclosed 3.5 acres of land. At the far end of the west leg, within the triangle, there was a "v" shaped platform, with the Rocky Ridge Station sitting between the sides of the "v". On the WMRR side the platform was 250 feet long; on the ERR side the platform was 75 feet long. The station house consisted of a 10 X 20 foot freight room, an eight by 15 foot office, and a 15 X 15 foot waiting room. Sometime later a large [approximately 300 x 75 foot] grain elevator and cattle chute was built south of the WMRR.

The ERR railroad junction with the WMRR was first known as the Rocky Ridge Station, but in 1913 the name was changed to Emmitsburg Junction. The Rocky Ridge station house was destroyed by fire in 1903 and rebuilt in 1905. The station was torn down in 1955. A water pump located next to the wye is still in service.

The village of Rocky Ridge, just 1/10 of a mile southeast of the junction, was at the intersection of State routes 76 and route 77. The WMRR rented to the ERR space to build a small station office and to install the required boarding platform. In 1905 the Emmitsburg Railroad Co. was paying the Western Maryland Railroad Co. $25 per six months for use of the Rocky Ridge station house.

All the land, tracks, and equipment at the Rocky Road Station belonged to the WMRR. They were leased to the ERR company. Most of the land that was within the wye of the junction is now in private hands. At least one house has been built on this land. The Station was destroyed in 1903 rebuilt in 1905.

Chapter 7 - Construction Of The Road Bed

After a railroad company is formed and granted a charter and before any construction can begin a survey must be completed. Generally, three surveys are required. To start with, the beginning and the terminal point must be established. The land that the roadbed will traverse must be delineated and the landowners must be identified and negotiated with.

Of necessity construction of the Emmitsburg rail line had to start by connecting both legs of a ‘y’ [wye] to the tracks of the Western Maryland line as it passed through Rocky Ridge. Of course. the WMRR was in agreement with this action, a Memo of Agreement (MOA) had already been worked-out in 1875.

All the construction work was done with hand tools and horsepower, in this case mule power. Tools were very basic, such as picks, shovels, scythes, wheelbarrows, and wagons and scoops, as well as mule drawn scrappers. These were the same tools that have been used by canal workers both here and in Europe. First, trees were cut or broken, stumps were pulled and burned or removed by dragging then on sledges; roots were removed by root cutting plows. Sledges were used to drag logs and rocks away. As many as eight teams of two horses were employed. The contractor hires teams of two horses, harness and drivers for grubbing at $2.00 a day. Grubbing, the cutting and removing of scrub undergrowth, was done with axes and scythes.

Picks, horse drawn scoops and plows were used to break up the surface, to dig down into the roadbed and loosen about a foot or two of the surfaces then horse drawn rakes and drags were used to level and smooth the road bed. This was repeated until enough material had been removed to get down to grade. Dirt was moved by using one horse dump carts. Scows and bin-like wagons were used to drag rubble to low areas. Mule drawn scrapers leveled the surface. Cuts and fills were made. Retaining wall, culverts and berms were constructed. Foundation footings were built for trestles. The bridge over Toms Creek was built under a separate contract by The Taylor Brothers.

As railroad companies go, the Donoghue Brothers Construction Company was a very small company. Mostly they did finishing work at either end of newly bored tunnels. They cleared away the tailings and dressed the rock face giving the setting a safe and pleasant look. They also built a few sections of straight and level track and worked on several water systems.

When the Donoghue Brothers Construction Company finished the Jack’s Mountain project, they brought along their own cadre of railroad workers to Emmitsburg. No pool of skilled workers was locally available as most of the men were farmers or day laborers. John Donoghue went to Baltimore and brought back 80 hands. However, a number of local people were employed, sometimes up to 140 men. Local folk would rent out horses to the construction company.

Railroad construction work required great strength and endurance. The construction workers were usually rather young, tremendously strong men, and with great endurance. As they moved into their middle years they usually sought less strenuous work.

John and his family continued to live in Emmitsburg for most of the next twenty years. John took contracts where he found them, resulting in his living away from home for various periods of time. In 1892 John still held some ERR stock. It was also the year the whole family, except David, went back to Altoona.

In late summer of 1871 a dozen or so shanties mounted on wooden sledges were pulled by mule teams down from Chairman on Jack’s Mountain to Zora, and then on into Emmitsburg. This was done by John Donoghue’s railroad work crew. John put these men to work building shanties for the 80 or so men he meant to hire from Baltimore. John arranged with local leaders to rent or use a field just northwest of town. The field was on a small road leading up to Poplar Ridge north of Elias Church. He had from 20 to 40 shanties built to house the 80 men from Baltimore.

The rails were laid five years later in 1875 by the WMRR’s track laying crew. There are no written records or are there any folk tales describing how the ERR rails were laid. However, typically the following account gives a good description of the work and how a track gang did its job.

This account is from the Frederick-Post of June 3rd 2013. It was written by Jorge Ribas, Ph.D. describing his ‘First Job’ "…crew that laid, repaired and aligned the rails using heavy tools and muscle power. This backbreaking job required teamwork whether we were replacing ties and missing plates and spikes, aligning rails or clearing brush. Working in a two-person team, we secured the new ties with steel plate nailed down on the tie with 7-inch spikes, or crampons. We hammered the spikes alternately and in a tight rhythm that required speed, precision, focus and trust. Track alignment required a unity of movement, too, in that we lined up on one side of the rail, wedged in our lining bars and leaned in on cue to move it. If even one person was off, there was a jarring sensation of failure against the rigid rail. But when we moved in unity over several repetitions the rail moved neatly – or danced, as it’s been called – and it was a beautiful feeling."

After the tracks were laid, Osage Orange trees were planted along the track bed in and near Saint Joseph’s College. Osage Orange trees grew to about 40 feet high but if trimmed grew as a bush or hedge. The cutting of the Osage stumps produces vigorous, thorny sprouts that form an impenetrable hedge that is "horse high, bull strong and pig tight." They were drought tolerant and pest-free. The hedge kept livestock off of the track and acted as a visual barrier screening the college from the unsightliness of the railroad. The use of Osage hedge faded after the invention of barbed wire in 1875.

The ERR’s prime source of locomotion was provided by steam driven engines. Over the years, the line had eight different engines. In addition, they had a gasoline driven work car that was purchased in 1920 for $950. During the last few years a motor truck was driven, over the state roads, to Rocky Ridge and back. The Emmitsburg Railroad consisted of seven and three tenths miles of standard gauge (five feet seven and three quarters inches) railroad track on a 60-foot wide right of way.

The original rails were made of iron. In 1896 these rails were replaced with 60-pound steel rails. The line had three stations, two bridges, three or four stops, and three or four sidings. The total length of the trackage, including the switches, was 8.0 miles. As the railroad left the Emmitsburg station it passed through a long cut in front of St. Joseph’s College. The railroad maintains a level course by crossing Toms Creek on an elevated bridge. The stream at this point was just 380 feet above sea level. The railroad then starts to climb to its highest point, about 470 feet, which was near Long’s Stop. It continued south through cuts and fills and across trestles and culverts until it reaches the station at Rocky Ridge, just 14 feet lower than the station at Emmitsburg.

Read George Wireman's History of the Emmitsburg Railroad