Mountain Subdivision

The Mountain Subdivision extends from Cumberland, Maryland west to Grafton, West Virginia along the original Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road (B&O) main line. At the east end of the Mountain Subdivision it becomes the Cumberland Terminal Subdivision and at its west end it continues as the Bridgeport Subdivision.

It junctions the Thomas Subdivision twice, near Keyser, West Virginia and near Piedmont, West Virginia and meets the Fairmont Subdivision near its west end at Grafton.

HISTORY:

The Mountain Subdivision was opened in 1852 as part of the B&O’s main line. In 1904 the B&O built the Patterson Creek Cutoff to alleviate congestion in its Cumberland rail yard. The cutoff line ran from McKenzie, Maryland to Patterson Creek, West Virginia providing a bypass of the yard for coal trains moving between Keyser and Brunswick, Maryland.

During the 1970s ownership of the subdivision passed from the B&O to the Chessie System, which closed the Patterson Creek Cutoff. Chessie was merged into CSX in the early 1980s.

The moniker “West End” harks back to this line being the western part of B&O’s “Main Stem”. More officially, it was known as the West End Subdivision of the Cumberland Division up to the B&O’s absorption into the Chessie System, and included the B&O’s original crossing of the Allegheny Mountains.. Chessie called it the Mountain Subdivision of the Maryland Division. For CSX it’s the Mountain Subdivision of the Huntington Division.

The Mountain Subdivision’s summit is at Altamont, Maryland, at the west end of the Seventeen Mile Grade; the grade’s east end is at Piedmont, West Virginia

Through CSX traffic to the west from Cumberland now uses the Keystone Subdivision over Sand Patch Grade.

CSX reminds the public that walking along or inside of railroad property is illegal.