This color-coded 1948 map helps sort what can otherwise be a confusing tangle of tracks. Canton Railroad (CTN) appears in tan, Pensylvania Railroad (PRR) in orange red, and B&O in blue. Some of this trackage has remained in use into the 21st century, with that of CTN forming roughly the shape of the letter K.

At map time, Canton's primary port facilities were found at the bottom left, where CONSOL Energy now operates a coal terminal. The red brown area at bottom center represents a then-planned new port that would not be realized until Seagirt opened there in 1990.

Much of the orange red north-south PRR line originated circa 1870 as Canton Company's Union Railroad. The company's subsequent Canton Railroad (tan) operated adjacent some of that same line. As of 2023, CTN handles local rail traffic to and from Seagirt.

To begin the tour, let us zoom into area at the lower left of the map above. We'll gradually head north to around Fifth Avenue and Fourteenth Street, which will later become the center of the aforementioned K-shaped CTN trackage. CTN would not be born for another eight years.

All tracks other than the segment labeled Balt. & Ohio belong to one of PRR's conglomeration of railroads. That's PRR's huge grain terminal at the south end of Thirteenth Street. Tracks along Ninth Street are labeled Union Railroad even though by map time they were part of Northern Central / PRR. Fifth Avenue is now Holabird Avenue. Fourteenth Street became Newkirk.

The pink line was the eastern limit of Baltimore City at the time. Multiple references place Gorsuch Point Mine at the southwest edge of the largest pond, a spot now occupied by a Maryland Transportation Authority building.

Left of the compass rose, curving tracks of the newish Canton Belt Line, as it was called, show where Canton Railroad Terminal would soon be added. Most of the other tracks are PRR-related.

Since this terminal was the reason for CTN's creation, and had some of its oldest trackage, we're starting the tour there. The terminal is near the bottom-left corner of CTN's K-shaped trackage.

By 1938, Canton Railroad Terminal has filled the bottom center.

Limited access roads had not yet arrived in Canton. IT represents an interchange track (connection) between CTN and B&O. It was later expanded into Penn Mary Yard, where CTN and CSX still exchange rail traffic. MCU is the building depicted as the quasi-secret operating location of The Wire's Major Crimes Unit, and in real life had previously belonged to the American Agricultural Chemical Company.

The diagonal line is the then-newish Harbor Tunnel Thruway, now I-895.

This 1970-dated map depicts Canton of the 1960s when trucks on interstates were finishing their ursurpation of rail transport. Ill-fated Penn Central is still listed as Penna RR Co.

Everything in color belonged to Canton Company at the time, with green representing CTN coverage. CTN's piers were at bottom center, an area now occupied by CONSOL Energy. The white trapezoid at the TO of Canton is a mid-tunnel opening of which more is shown below.

I-95's Fort McHenry Tunnel opened during 1985; material excavated for it was used as fill to create land for Seagirt. CONSOL's coal terminal took the place of CTN's piers, while CTN shifted east to Seagirt. The terminal's design echoes plans PRR had drawn up around 1950 (see Triumph VI page 304).

Link: digging the tunnel

This 1924 view looks from land toward the Patapsco River, which puts CTN's piers at upper left. This is the bottom-left endpoint of CTN's K-shaped trackage.

Among the few landmarks that would survive the next 100 years is Clinton Street, here seen reaching the waterfront at Lazaretto Point on the right. I-95's Fort McHenry Tunnel north toll plaza would later sprawl across the bottom left.

A zoom into CTN's piers finds numerous railcars, as well as early 20th century versions of cranes that lift materials between ship and shore.

Link: 1963

Dwarfing CTN's faciltiies were these of PRR built at the south end of Newkirk Street to compete with B&O in grain exports. The outdated structures were demolished during 2018, but are so large as to serve as landmarks in photos before then.

PRR and Canton had a love-hate relationship that saw Canton sue PRR, followed by PRR leasing CTN, and later PRR's gaining control of Canton Company. The last was accomplished via PRR's Pennroad Corporation, a separate entity created by PRR in order to skirt laws that prohibited certain investments by railroads.

The small building with lengthy boat dock at upper left is Sea Girt Restaurant.

Links: ~1920s waterfront photo, 1921, ~1930?

The same area looked very different seventy years later. CONSOL Energy's coal yard has taken the place of CTN's fan of tracks to the waterfront, as seen in this screen capture from the film Enemy of the State.

As part of a package deal for the waterfront property, CONSOL acquired CTN during 1980, but kept it for only two years.

CTN no longer serves this location, but it could via a connection near Boston Street that would make for a two-mile journey from the otherwise-adjacent Seagirt Marine Terminal.

Enemy of the State includes an exciting, if manic, chase around the Canton area, involving an impressive choreography of cars, helicopters, and multiple moving trains.

Muddy tire tracks ahead of the vehicles reveal this was not the movie's first take here. CR 5579 and CR 6140 make uncredited cameo appearances.

To get a better view of this ex-Canton RR area, you'll need to work at CONSOL. Keith Avenue runs parallel on the left.

The Reading & Northern, officially the Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad, is a Class II railroad. This is the most likely place in Baltimore to see cars from it and other regional rails in Pennsylvania.

The distant concrete (between cars at right) is the edge of an opening to the Harbor Tunnel, as seen below.

An original design put the Harbor Tunnel's east portal at the location of the main photo, but CTN negotiated with the State Roads Commission to bridge over the road's trench to permit more room above for CTN tracks. Two openings like this were left where tracks were not needed. Sadly, the characters of Enemy of the State did not employ one as an escape route.

As part of the modifications for CTN, the portal was shifted east to the location depicted in the 1999 photo at right.

Keith Avenue permits a glimpse into the swampy coal yard. Most often the terminal is served by Norfolk Southern, but on this day CSX 7506 and CSX 364 were spotted. The hill across the water is a landfill at Hawkins Point.

At distant left of the main photo are cranes at Seagirt Marine Terminal. About 3.5 miles away at center is Key Bridge, site of the next photo.

Seagirt is probably the destination of the tug McAllister Sisters with barge Columbia Freedom. Girt means to bind or encircle.

CTN 1751 is an EMD model GP16 built as a GP7 during the 1950s. Previously, it was CSX 1751.

Sea-Land was a container shipping company that since photo time has become part of Maersk. It is unrelated to the self-proclaimed "world's smallest country" of Sealand that exists on a North Sea platform.

Seagirt Marine Terminal shares its name with the Sea Girt House restaurant that had been located at the waterfront.

Links: Sea Girt House resaturant, Sealand principality

Much of season 2 of The Wire follows happenings at Seagirt.

"Cans" (containers) are shifted between railroad well cars (left) and the big ships via mobile Mi-Jack lifters. CSX 7767 and siblings have more presence at Seagirt than does NS, while the reverse is true at Dundalk Marine Terminal to the southeast.

Link: 2023

Seagirt as seen from about three miles away finds the ex-PRR huge grain elevator at left.

Seagirt is also visible from Catonsville, about 10 miles away.

Now we're looking away from the waterfront terminals. The coal below is en route to CONSOL. Over on the right, CSX and CTN exchange railcars at Penn Mary yard. Newkirk Street, where the Maersk container sits, runs between them.

The taller distant elevated road is I-95, and the shorter one I-895.

Link: 2022

To reach Penn Mary Yard (upper left) from Seagirt, CTN's two tracks have diamond crossings with Norfolk Southern track to Dundalk Marine Terminal. The NS route originated with Northern Central's connection to the Baltimore and Sparrows Point Railroad.

CTN also has track diamonds with CSX, as we'll see on a later tour page. Those are the only sets of track diamonds in the region and both are for CTN.

Change for: Baltimore & Sparrows Point tour at this site

CSX and CTN share Penn Mary Yard. Since photo time, fences have been added along I-895 that obstruct this view.

In the foreground, Newkirk Street parallels the railcars.

You can also peer into Penn Mary Yard fron Newkirk Street, but the view is obstructed. CTN 1307 is an ex-Santa Fe EMD model GP7R built during 1952.

The grade crossing at Holabird Avenue offers better viewing.

Rather than hand off such cars to CSX or NS, CTN directly serves local customers along its few miles of track. CTN 1203 is an EMD model SW1200 with 1200 horsepower built during 1954.

Link: some Canton Railroad engines

The central meeting spot of CTN's K-shaped trackage is just west (left) of where I-895 and I-95 pass overhead.

Per a 1915 atlas, the route on the right (the upper-right part of the K) began with the City and Suburban Railway, plus the Baltimore, Middle River and Sparrows Point Railway, both streetcar lines. CTN added a short segment adjacent around 1910, and a decade later extended it to Bay View, the route this train is following; it will be toured in part 3.

We'll see more of CTN's Knoxville Locomotive Works model NZE15B switcher when this tour resumes.