Popes Creek Subdivision
Encyclopedia
The Pope's Creek Subdivision is a CSX Transportation
railroad line in Maryland
, running from Bowie
to Morgantown
and the Chalk Point Generating Station
.
(PRR) and its ally, the Northern Central Railway
(NCRY), bought the company. The PRR at the time had access to Baltimore
via its own lines: the NCRY from the north and the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
from the northeast. However, it used the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
(B&O) and its Washington Branch to continue southwest to Washington, D.C.
The PRR and B&O were rivals, and the Maryland General Assembly
refused to grant a charter to end the B&O's monopoly
on Baltimore-Washington travel. However, the existing Baltimore and Potomac charter allowed exactly that, via the clause that allowed branches; all the PRR had to do was take the line within 20 miles (32 km) of Washington. The PRR obtained a charter for the section in Washington on February 5, 1867.
Thus the new Baltimore-Washington line opened on July 2, 1872, and the required "main line" to Pope's Creek on the Potomac River
, immediately relegated to branch status, opened on January 1, 1873.
's Northeast Corridor
main line, to the Morgantown
and Chalk Point Generating Stations. A wye track exists to allow trains to enter Amtrak's main line and go north or south, so that a second engine or cab car is not needed. Amtrak limits these trains to late night/very early morning runs and no more than 160 cars. The line is mostly single tracked
, with long sidings in Collington
, Upper Marlboro
and Brandywine
. At Brandywine the Herbert Subdivision branches off, carrying a single track to the GenOn Chalk Point Power Station. If the train continues straight through Brandywine, it will reach the Morgantown Generating Station. This line currently hosts 2 to 3 trains a day (a down-and-back coal
train and an occasional local freight train
serving a few businesses in the Waldorf
and La Plata
area).
The Navy
spur that branched off at White Plains
(between Waldorf and La Plata) going over to Indian Head, was in service from 1918 into the 1960s. After decades of non-use and efforts to start a tourist railroad, the spur was converted to a rail trail
in 2008.
, there is a growing call to begin MARC Train
service on this line. This would require only a minimal investment in raising track speed and the construction of new stations. The largest obstacle to this plan is the fact that the line must go to Bowie, then back down to Washington, which is not a direct route whatsoever; however, with sufficient track speed upgrades, this line could go a long way to relieving traffic on Maryland Route 5
and Maryland Route 4
.
An alternative (or possibly co-existent) future would be to bridge the Potomac River at Morgantown, and restore the Dahlgren branch of the former Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad
to allow a bypass of Washington, D.C. The slow speeds and majority single tracking of the line could prove difficult for this alternative.
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
railroad line in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, running from Bowie
Bowie, Maryland
Bowie is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 54,727 at the 2010 census. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous city and third largest city by area in the state of...
to Morgantown
Morgantown, Maryland
Morgantown is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland. It lies south of the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge on the Potomac River at Lower Cedar Point. It is known for the Mirant Morgantown Generating Station smokestacks. In 2007, a controversial coal barge loading facility...
and the Chalk Point Generating Station
Chalk Point Generating Station
The Chalk Point Generating Station is a 2,647-MWe electricity-generating plant owned by GenOn which is located near the tiny incorporated town of Eagle Harbor, Maryland, United States, on the Patuxent River.-Individual Units:...
.
History
The Pope's Creek Subdivision was originally built by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad. The company was organized on December 19, 1858, and began surveying the route May 3, 1859. Construction started in 1861 but progressed slowly until 1867, when the Pennsylvania RailroadPennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
(PRR) and its ally, the Northern Central Railway
Northern Central Railway
The Northern Central Railway was a Class I Railroad connecting Baltimore, Maryland with Sunbury, Pennsylvania. Completed in 1858, the line came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1861, when the PRR acquired a controlling interest in the Northern Central's stock to compete with the...
(NCRY), bought the company. The PRR at the time had access to Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
via its own lines: the NCRY from the north and the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad was the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania southwest to Baltimore, Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries...
from the northeast. However, it used the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
(B&O) and its Washington Branch to continue southwest to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The PRR and B&O were rivals, and the Maryland General Assembly
Maryland General Assembly
The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is a bicameral body. The upper chamber, the Maryland State Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives...
refused to grant a charter to end the B&O's monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
on Baltimore-Washington travel. However, the existing Baltimore and Potomac charter allowed exactly that, via the clause that allowed branches; all the PRR had to do was take the line within 20 miles (32 km) of Washington. The PRR obtained a charter for the section in Washington on February 5, 1867.
Thus the new Baltimore-Washington line opened on July 2, 1872, and the required "main line" to Pope's Creek on the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
, immediately relegated to branch status, opened on January 1, 1873.
Current operation
The Pope's Creek Subdivision currently runs from its interchange at Bowie with AmtrakAmtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
's Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
main line, to the Morgantown
Morgantown Generating Station
The Morgantown Generating Station is a 1,477 MW electric generating plant owned by GenOn , located in the unincorporated town of Newburg, Maryland, near Morgantown, on the Potomac River...
and Chalk Point Generating Stations. A wye track exists to allow trains to enter Amtrak's main line and go north or south, so that a second engine or cab car is not needed. Amtrak limits these trains to late night/very early morning runs and no more than 160 cars. The line is mostly single tracked
Single track (rail)
A single track railway is where trains in both directions share the same track. Single track is normally used on lesser used rail lines, often branch lines, where the traffic density is not high enough to justify the cost of building double tracks....
, with long sidings in Collington
Collington, Maryland
Collington, Maryland is a now defunct settlement in Prince George's County, Maryland dating from colonial times. Collington has been subsumed by the city of Bowie, Maryland.-Geography:...
, Upper Marlboro
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Upper Marlboro is a town in and the county seat of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The live-in population of the town core proper was only 648 at the 2000 census, although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger....
and Brandywine
Brandywine, Maryland
Brandywine is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, although the postal delivery area includes part of Charles County as well near Malcolm....
. At Brandywine the Herbert Subdivision branches off, carrying a single track to the GenOn Chalk Point Power Station. If the train continues straight through Brandywine, it will reach the Morgantown Generating Station. This line currently hosts 2 to 3 trains a day (a down-and-back coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
train and an occasional local freight train
Freight train
A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars or goods wagons hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain...
serving a few businesses in the Waldorf
Waldorf, Maryland
Waldorf, Maryland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is south-southeast of Washington, D.C. The population of the census-designated area only was 67,752 at the 2010 census...
and La Plata
La Plata, Maryland
La Plata is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,551 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Charles County.-History:...
area).
The Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
spur that branched off at White Plains
White Plains, Maryland
White Plains is an unincorporated community located in Charles County in the State of Maryland in the United States of America, just south of Waldorf, Maryland. It is located at latitude 38°35'25" North; longitude 76°56'26" West. The United States Postal Service has assigned White Plains the ZIP...
(between Waldorf and La Plata) going over to Indian Head, was in service from 1918 into the 1960s. After decades of non-use and efforts to start a tourist railroad, the spur was converted to a rail trail
Rail trail
A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding. The characteristics of former tracks—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various development. The term sometimes also...
in 2008.
Future operations
Due to its relativity low usage, the rapidly growing population in southern Maryland, and increased traffic congestionTraffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
, there is a growing call to begin MARC Train
MARC Train
MARC , known prior to 1984 as Maryland Rail Commuter Service, is a regional rail system comprising three lines in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. MARC is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration , a Maryland Department of Transportation agency, and is operated under contract...
service on this line. This would require only a minimal investment in raising track speed and the construction of new stations. The largest obstacle to this plan is the fact that the line must go to Bowie, then back down to Washington, which is not a direct route whatsoever; however, with sufficient track speed upgrades, this line could go a long way to relieving traffic on Maryland Route 5
Maryland Route 5
Maryland Route 5 is a long state highway that runs north–south in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs from Point Lookout in St. Mary's County north to the Washington, D.C. border in Suitland, Prince George's County....
and Maryland Route 4
Maryland Route 4
Maryland Route 4 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from MD 5 in Leonardtown north to Southern Avenue at the Washington, D.C. border, past which the highway continues as Pennsylvania Avenue...
.
An alternative (or possibly co-existent) future would be to bridge the Potomac River at Morgantown, and restore the Dahlgren branch of the former Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad
The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. It is now a portion of the CSX Transportation system....
to allow a bypass of Washington, D.C. The slow speeds and majority single tracking of the line could prove difficult for this alternative.