Union Bridge MD is home to the
Western
Maryland Historical Society and their museum, housed in a former WM depot.
The museum houses collectables left over
from the days when the Western Maryland Rwy made its way thru valleys of
"northern" Maryland. It's a great little museum, staffed by some of
the friendliest guys around. If you happen to be around on a
Wednesday, when they are not open, you might be able to catch a few of the
guys hanging around working on things, and if you ask nicely, they'll walk
you thru!
While you're here, you can also go across
the street and get pictures of the Maryland Midland RR.
Please Note:
Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad signals, the railfan guides
are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate them. For those
of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, my
indexa page has a list of
almost everything railroad oriented I can think of to provide you with at least a few pictures to
help you detail your pike.
Aerial shots were taken from
either Google Maps or
www.bing.com/maps as noted, once
in a great while maybe MapQuest. The screen captures are made with Snagit, a
Techsmith product... a great
tool if you have never used it!
My RSUS philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a
thousand words, especially for railfanning. Text descriptions only
get you so far, especially if you get lost or disoriented. Take
along good maps.... a GPS is OK to get somewhere, but maps are still
better if you get lost! I belong to AAA, which allows you to get
local maps for free when you visit the local branches. ADC puts
out a nice series of county maps for the Washington DC area, but their
state maps do not have the railroads on them. If you can find em,
I like the National Geographic map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and
concise graphics, and they do a really good job of showing you where
tourist type attractions are, although they too lack the railroads.
Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels
inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have
something to add or correct.... credit is always given! Contact info
is here
Getting here is not as easy as a lot of other places
around the Baltimore area, due to its "remote" location.
From Baltimore, the easiest way to get here is
to come off the Baltimore Beltway using I-795, taking it to the end
where you can catch MD 140. Take 140 thru Westminster.
The former Union Bridge railroad depot, now home to the
museum.
A semaphore demonstration inside the museum with working
mechanism.
The train order signal is maintained as part of the museum,
and the MMid trains "pay no mind" to them.
Notice the signals were put together using standard traffic light signal parts
to keep costs to a minimum.
Wednesday's are "work" days around the museum, and most of the
volunteers have museum membership plates.
A few pictures of their N Gauge layout in the basement:
