Annapolis at one time hosted three railroad lines. A branch of the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis (WB&A), formerly the Annapolis and Elkridge Railroad (A&ER), ran northwest to Annapolis Junction. The Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad (B&A), formerly the Annapolis and Baltimore (A&B) Short Line, ran north, roughly parallel to MD 648, and connected to a branch of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O), just south of Baltimore, so that trains could travel to Baltimore. The Bay Ridge and Annapolis Railroad (BR&A) ran southeast from Annapolis to the Bay Ridge Resort, at the mouth of the Severn River.
Today, decades after their demise, fragments of these railroads can still be spotted if you know where to look. The construction of these railroads reshaped topography, established the alignments of future roadways and utilities, sliced through land parcels and even established towns and places such as Annapolis Junction and Ft. Meade. Most of the tracks have since been removed and many sections of the railroad Right-of-Ways (ROW) have been repurposed for a variety of uses, but their one-time dominance still has an influence on the logistics of our daily lives.
Annapolis is the only state capital east of the Mississippi that is not connected by rail service.
The B&A Railroad
The B&A is by far the best known of the old rail lines due to much of it being repurposed as a popular recreation trail along the north shore of the Severn River. “...it was the construction of the A&B Short Line Railroad, down the Severn's north shore and across the timber trestle to Annapolis, that was to change the area forever. Chartered in 1880 and completed in 1887, the first effect was to speed access to other cities and thereby stimulate local industry. But a later effect was more lasting: the railroad transformed the once-secluded banks of the Severn to a series of suburban communities.”
“Originally serviced by steam engines, the A&B Short Line switched to an electric system in 1908. After World War I the railroad became the catalyst for the rapid growth of the communities along the Broadneck Peninsula.” Meanwhile, state legislature invested in the growth and popularity of commuting by building roads - Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard had been completed in 1910, and Governor Ritchie Highway in 1939. “In 1921 the A&B Short Line was merged with the WB&A Railroad to become the North Shore Division of that railroad. However, due to the Great Depression and the increasing use of automobiles, the WB&A was forced into bankruptcy in 1935. The railroad was then re-incorporated as the B&A Railroad. Due to tire and gasoline rationing during the Second World War and the expansion of the cannery industry in the county, the B&A experienced a brief period of prosperity.”
“After the war however, the demand for automobiles from returning GI’s and competition from emerging bus lines spelled the end of passenger service for the B&A in 1950.” The suburban lifestyle that had been made possible by the B&A ultimately lead to the demise of the passenger service. “The B&A continued its freight service into Annapolis until 1968 when the Naval Academy switched from coal to oil to fire its boilers. Deprived of its largest customer the B&A abandoned all service south of Ferndale.”
The ROW ran through Wardour and crossed Annapolis Street, where the West Annapolis Fire Station now stands, curved along the southwest boundary of the Naval Academy and then ran parallel along the north side of Rowe Boulevard across College Creek and terminated along Bladen Street. At some point prior to 1892, a small connecting line was built between the A&B Short Line and the WB&A at the Bay Ridge Junction wye where the WB&A met the Annapolis and Bay Ridge Railroad.
Sources:
http://www.aacounty.org/SevernRiver/history.cfm
http://www.aacounty.org/RecParks/parks/trails/bandatrailhistory.cfm
Relic Series: B&A - Shiley Street
At this location the railroad ran north to cross the Severn River and south to the Naval Academy and the Bladen St terminal. The area is a now a small street end park with a pedstrian path linking both sides of the ROW.
Congrats to Blayk and ashleydrue on FTF