weaverton
Harpers Ferry,
West Virginia... Harpers Ferry is both scenically and
operationally an interesting part of the East End. As a
quirk of history, when the C&O canal and B&O railroad
were building west, they both wanted the north bank of the
Potomac River. Amazingly, the state of Maryland picked the
C&O canal to have the right of way, forcing the B&O to
go to the State of Virginia, for permission to build on the
south side. Since this was before the Civil War, this was
Virginia at the time, but has since become West Virginia.
This meant the B&O had to tunnel for a good approach to a
long bridge over the C&O Canal and the Potomac River to
reach the other shore. The B&O built three separate
bridges over the river, the last two of which exist today.
The piers of the original bridge can also still be seen in the
river.
The upper bridge on the map and plan
is the current 1931 built double tracked main line of the East
End.
The single track lower bridge is the 1894 built bridge that now
serves the Shenandoah Sub Division. A strange quirk of the
track layout in this area, but there is a turnout in the tunnel
approaching the bridge, to go to the Shenandoah
Subdivision. There are only one or two turnouts in tunnels
in the United States. The Shenandoah Sub runs through town
on a wooden trestle, which is depicted on the plan.
Between the two lines, on the coast, is a natural
depression. The
large rectangle is the famous Harpers Ferry passenger
station. I have a limited edition kit of the station, and
it will be a signature structure when built.
The Shenandoah Sub generates traffic for Brunswick
and a local turn ran between the two multiple times a
week. Rocks from the Millville Quarry were a common
commodity, but other industries such as lumber and fruit were
also served. The Shenandoah Sub is the only track on the
B&O still in the State of Virginia.
Below is the map of Harpers Ferry.
Below is my graph paper plans of Harpers
Ferry. The area is long enough, that I had to do it on
two sheets. You can see the overlap in the middle of
feet 0-3 on the top of both images.
Below is the current view of Harpers
Ferry. ((I haven't started this section yet, but will
post pics when I do)).
