The U.S. state of Maryland is one of the original states in the United States of America. It was the state that donated the land that would become the Nation’s Capital. It is where the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ the National Anthem, was written. It was where a woman named Harriet Tubman created ‘The Underground Railroad’, an escape network for enslaved people in slave states to escape to the free states in the north, and this escape network is used in other parts of the world today. It is where the first balloon flight took place, and the oldest continuously operating airport in the world is located here. The largest estuary in the United States of America divides the state. The oldest Catholic church is also here. The eastern end of ‘The National Road’, is located here. The first tracks of the railroad were laid in this state. The Western Maryland Railway Locomotive Number 1309, the largest operating locomotive in the world that was originally owned by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, pulls excursion trains out of Cumberland. You have the coastline at the east end. You have the plains east of the Chesapeake Bay. You have the rolling hills west and north of the state with the mountains at the western end.
You then have a forgotten part of the state known as Southern Maryland. The region on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay south of Annapolis, the State Capitol, is a region not too many people know about. It is the home of Point Lookout where the Point Lookout Lighthouse is one of the most haunted lighthouses in the world. The Patuxent Naval Air Station has one of the longest airport runways in the world being one of the few runways where the space shuttle could land. The Patuxent River, sadly, was used by the British during the War of 1812 as they sailed up to a town called Upper Marlboro and then marched on to Washington D.C. to burn the city. The state was also settled down here, and it is where Saint Mary’s City, one of the oldest cities in the United States of America, is located.
You see all of this about Southern Maryland, but you wonder anything about the railroad. Well, there is some railroad history in the region of this state. Because of the Chesapeake Bay and the wideness of the Potomac River south of Washington D.C., most of the railroad lines ended here. The defunct Chesapeake Beach Railway brought vacationers from Washington D.C. to the then resort town of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. Sadly, the tracks are gone, and much of the railroad bed is on private property. The old train station in Chesapeake Beach is the only surviving train station on that line, and it is a museum today.
There is another railroad line that went south from the town of Bowie. It was originally built by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad, and it is owned by Chessie Seaboard Transportation (CSX) today. It connects with the Amtrak line in Bowie and winds its way through the southern region of the state to a coal plant on the Potomac River. One of the towns it passes through is the town of La Plata. What is special about La Plata? Well, it is the home of the only surviving train station on the line. Today, that train station is now a museum.
Some of you are saying, “This is nice. The train station is still there. It is not a major railroad line. Why do they not demolish the train station?”
La Plata, like many small towns in the railroad era, owes must of its history to the railroad. Before the automobile, the railroad was the fastest mode of transportation. Sure. It took a long while to ride the train to Washington D.C. and points south, but it played a major role in the development of the town. When you visit the old train station during its opening hours, you will see model trains, and you will see many photos of the railroad in the town. This includes photos of passenger trains that served the station. You can also see some of the old schedules.
Need a reason to visit Southern Maryland? The old train station in La Plata, Maryland, it a good reason. It really tells the story of the railroad in the region.
The Old Train Station is located at 101 Kent Avenue just north of Maryland Route 6 and less than one mile west of U.S. Route 301. Admission is free, but they could use your donations to keep the museum open for many years to come. The museum is owned by the town of La Plata and run by volunteers. Parking is on site, and the station is wheelchair accessible. You can get information on the opening hours on their Facebook page and on their website at Facilities • La Plata Train Station Museum.
The next time you think of the state of Maryland, think of a small southern town of La Plata. It is a town that keep the history of the railroad in the region alive.
John Cowgill: Stories of the Railroad 