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This page covers stuff related to the track on the Baltimore light rail
system - things such as the track itself, the ties, the switch machines,
interlockings, and junctions.
I count 39 interlockings, crossovers, and junctions on the line for branches, pocket tracks, and where the line goes from 1 to 2 tracks.
- Current Line End (7/2026).
- Interlocking, Hunt Valley, Schilling Rd, two tracks at station into one track.
- Interlocking, Hunt Valley, Gilroy Rd, north side of the station, where tracks go down to one for it's way thru the industrial park.
- Wye at Warren Rd with single crossover on the south side of Warren Rd.
- Campbell's siding along beaver Dam Rd at Texas Lane (switch is there, siding is not).
- Single crossover.
- Another Campbell's switch, but no siding.
** Note: For 50 years plus, the quarry in Cockeysville was known as Harry T. Campbell, hence, I refer to it in that manner.
- Switch for the pocket track at Lowe's.
-- Pocket track at Lowe's.
- Two crossovers for the pocket track.
- Double set of crossovers on the south side of the Timonium Station.
- MOW siding just north of Timonium Business Park Rd.
- Double set of crossovers under the I695 Baltimore Beltway.
- Double set of crossovers under I83, the Jones Falls Expressway, and south of the Falls Rd Station.
- Industrial Siding under Cold Spring Lane (no longer used).
- Double set of crossovers 3,000ft south of the Cold Spring Lane station.
- Interchange for NS connection and centerflow yard (yard removed, tail track stranded).
- Double set of crossovers immediately south of the interchange.
- Junction/interchange for the North Avenue Shops, both tracks, two yard leads: "A" and "B"..
- Interlocking and crossover for North Avenue pocket track.
> Junction/interchange/interlocking for the Penn Station branch.
- Single crossover between Franklin and Mulberry Streets.
- Interlocking for Camden Yards station, both ends.
- Double crossover just south of the Hamburg Street station (this one is a true double-crossover).
- Double set of crossovers immediately south of the Westport station.
- Single crossover while along the B&O/CSX South Baltimore Industrial Track.
- Interchange with the CSX, east track only.
- Double set of crossovers adjacent to Pennsylvania Ave in English Consul, just north of the Baltimore Highlands station.
- Double set of crossovers just north of the Nursery Rd station.
- Double crossover just south of Camp Meade Rd (this one is a true double-crossover).
> Double track junction/interchange/interlocking for the BWI Branch.
- Single track crossover by Eastern St, in prep for the Cromwell Yard north yard track - this track goes into the yard tail track.
- Interchange/interlocking for the Cromwell Yard north yard track.
- Single crossover for the Cromwell/Glen Burnie station.
- Switch for a second tail track.
- Interchange/interlocking for the Cromwell Yard south yard track, this track goes into the storage tracks, and the tail track.
- Current Mainline End (7/2026).
Note 1: Right-of-Way is private except for shared use between Mt Royal and Camden stations.
On the BWI Branch:
> Interchange with the mainline.
- Double set of crossovers.
- MOW siding.
- Interlocking where the line goes down to one track for going into BWI.
- Switch to have two tracks in the BWI station.
- Branch Line end (7/2026).
On the Penn Station Branch:
> Interchange with the mainline.
- Interlocking for two tracks into one to go into Penn Station.
Significant dates for track work:
- APR02, 1992 - Opening day from Timonium to Camden Yards, 12.9mi (20.1km), 15 stations.
- AUG20, 1992 - Extension to Patapsco opened, 3.1mi (5.0km) (added three stations).
- APR02, 1993 - Extension to Linthicum opened, 3.1mi (5.0km) (added four stations).
- MAY20, 1993 - Extension to Cromwell opened, 2.6mi (4.2km) (added two stations).
- SEP09, 1997 - Extension to Hunt Valley opened, 4.5mi (7.2km) (added five stations).
- DEC06, 1997 - Extension/branch to BWI opened, 2.7mi (4.3km) (added two stations).
- DEC06, 1997 - Extension/branch opened to Penn Station (added one station), 0.3mi (0.4km), mileage now 30mi (48.3km).
Note 2: Everyone lists the trackage at 30.0 miles (including Wikipedia), but using Google maps, I get
27.8 miles total length including the branches.
There are three routes:
- Hunt Valley to Cromwell.
- Hunt Valley to BWI.
- Penn Station to Camden Station.
Note 3: Trains leaving Hunt Valley alternate between Cromwell and BWI.
Note 4: Some off peak trains originate/terminate at either Fairgrounds or North Avenue.
Note 5: Trains originating/terminating at North Avenue are either going into the North Avenue yard, or have just come out of the yard.
Note 6: Trains terminating at Timonium head up to the pocket track at Lowe's in Texas to turn around.
Station name changes:
- The Hamburg St station which serves the Ravens stadium, is now the Stadium/Federal Hill station.
- The Timonium Business Park station is now the Timonium station.
- The Timonium Fairgrounds station is now the Fairgrounds station.
- The Mt Royal station is now the Mt Royal/MICA station.
This is an easy one because there are really only two of them, three if you
count the yard leads at the North Avenue Shops, so I will cover "it" first.
Going from north to south, we have the yard leads at the North Ave Shops, the
Penn Station branch, and the BWI Airport branch.
This is where the single track line that winds its way thru the industrial
park, splits into two tracks for the end-of-the-line station in Hunt Valley by the mall.
Gilroy
Warren Road
There is an interchange and a crossover here, but it is neither signaled or powered for the LRV's.
Once in a great while you will find MOW equipment parked on the siding.
The industrial spur into the park at the top of the photo has been unused
for many, many years, at least since 2005, and maybe earlier. The MTA
used to keep a speeder next to the Cockeysville freight shed years ago,
which is off to the right, but I Haven't seen the shed "up there" for at
least 10 years. The spur into the BG&E yard is also unused, so I guess
they truck in the new poles. I believe this is the only place on the
system where there is a wye, altho I don't know what kind of condition the
NW leg of the wye is in.
Rail is standard 115 pound rail, sourced by Bethlehem Steel. It is continuously welded
where it can be, and is standard gauged at 4ft 8-1/2in.
Here is an excellent resource on all types of rail and rail related items,
not just for the U.S., but the world over.
Some detail photos and info come from this website.
At Chain Marker (milepost) 525 in Riderwood, looking south during the double tracking project of 2005.
Above: At Lowe's in Timonium when the pocket track was going in.
Below: Welding rail at the Timonium Turnaround by Lowe's, on the south side of the crossing.
Before setting off the thermite charge, they would heat the two sections of rail
till they were red-hot with a (big) acetylene torch. FYI - Electrical bond
wires joining two pieces of rail (where fishplates are used) are also done using
a thermite weld, but the thermite contains a small amount of copper.
The close-up is from 7/2026, 21 years later, guess it's doin OK, huh? :-)
`
Ties
Most of us here in the U.S. call the rail supporting devices "ties". Seems the industry
is embracing the term "sleepers" as the go-to word to describe these fellas.
Here we are at "Lowe's" in Cockeysville, before this section was
double tracked with power, and the third track was installed for a possible
future station - now just used as a turnaround for the BWI trains.
Standard pre-stressed concrete ties are used except at switches.
Along Beaver Dam Road in Texas. The grade crossing equipment on the left,
and the siding are now gone.
While the MTA was prepping the roadbed for the second track thru the Texas
and Padonia area, they uncovered the marble ties of the Baltimore &
Susquehanna RR, put down in 1832. I tried to get the state to take
some of them out and put them on display, but they didn't. The "white
stuff" between the two ends of track on the left are the marble sleepers
(as they used to call them). The marble was a convenient material to
use, as it came out of the quarry on the other side of Beaver Dam Road from
where this picture was taken (to the right), and is the same marble used in
the construction of THE Washington Monument in Washington DC. As far
as I know, the sleepers exist from Industrial Lane, to south of Padonia
Road, and now that they are covered up by the light rail, no-one alive now
will ever see them again!!! I wish I had taken more and better
pictures of them, and I wonder if the Maryland Historical Society did?
If you want to read more about the old ties, or sleepers, I have a page on
them here.
At Industry Lane in Cockeysville.
Close-up of a sleeper.
Here are a few pictures of track done with wooden ties and spikes for comparison.....
Clips
The familiar railroad spike as we know it, a large nail-like fastener,
is not used anywhere on the system. This is probably due to several
factors: 1) The gripping power is poor compared to that of screws or clips, 2)
Because over time, the spike can loosen, or pull up, thereby no longer proving
the function it was intended - holding the rail DOWN, and 3) They are a pain to
install. Instead, clips as they are called, are used almost exclusively.
The clips use on the Baltimore system are Pandrol "e-Clip" fasteners.
The motorized switch machines on the mainline are the M3 model made by US&S.
More info can be found here.
In the yards, manual throw switches are used.
Bumpers are used at the end of the line where the trains can't go any
further... we all love the lit ones that are made for model railroads, I'm
not sure there are any like that out there in reality, but they look fun.
At least when I worked at light rail (1994-1998), there were no bumpers in the yard.
Hunt Valley (2)
BWI Airport (2)
Cromwell (2)
Penn Station (1?)
Not sure if Penn Station track has a bumper on it - because - the light rail
cars only have access to short section of Track 1, and the catenary runs out
way before the end of the track. Gotta check next time I'm down there.
Disclaimers:
New format 10/26/23: Please check out my disclaimer page for my standard
dribble and contact info here
At Industry Lane in Cockeysville.
Close-up of a sleeper.
