Combining Hobbies – Bicycling and Rail Fanning

web-admin Articles, Featured

This writeup is by David DiCarlo and his experience biking the Gap Trail.

Last October I had the opportunity to combine two of my favorite hobbies—railfanning and bicycle touring. I rode the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) Trail from Cumberland, Maryland, to Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, spending a night along the way.

The GAP follows the former Western Maryland Railway through some spectacular scenery, including familiar landmarks like Helmstetter’s Curve and the Keystone Viaduct. It also closely parallels CSX’s Keystone Subdivision over Sand Patch Grade through Meyersdale. Since the CSX line is the one I model, it was especially enjoyable to see many of the locations I know so well in person.

I’ve ridden this section of the GAP several times, but usually with non-railfan friends. This time I could stop wherever I wanted to photograph trains or simply enjoy the railroad. That freedom made the trip even more memorable.

My bike with all the gear needed for a night. As mentioned I had to pack a little heavy as the next day on the way back and later that night temps were about 20 degrees cooler. Lugging the bike with gear up a 20+ mile grade was a great workout!
Views from the Ramada on the “train side”of the hotel are great and there always seems to be train activity going on. This is the west side of the yard so often trains will hold here waiting for clearance to leave the yard. In this shot I had the Cumberland Virtual Rail website up which is a couple miles east of the hotel to give me notice of approaching westbound trains. The same intermodal train on my iPad is right outside the window!

I spent the first night at the rail- and bike-friendly Ramada Inn in downtown Cumberland, overlooking the west end of Cumberland Yard. Years ago, when it was still a Holiday Inn, I stayed there many times while traveling for work. If you request a trackside room, you’ll have a front-row seat to the yard activity throughout the night, especially between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m. You won’t get your best night’s sleep, but you’ll certainly see plenty of railroad action!

Before turning in for the evening, I spent some time railfanning at CP Mexico east of the yard and around downtown Cumberland. Dinner was at one of my favorite local spots, the Baltimore Street Grill, which serves great food, cold beer, and is just a short walk from the hotel.

The next morning I began the 32-mile ride to Meyersdale. While the trail is gentle by railroad standards, it climbs nearly 1,000 feet over the course of the trip, making for a steady uphill ride. I carried my overnight gear on the bike and packed far more clothing than I needed during the pleasant 60-degree ride. As it turned out, the extra layers came in handy when temperatures dropped into the low 30s overnight, making for a chilly and breezy ride back the next day.

In Meyersdale I stayed at the Red Lantern Inn, a charming seven-room bed-and-breakfast in a Victorian home located right beside the CSX main line on the 1.5% climb toward Sand Patch. Yes, that location was chosen very intentionally! Although the tracks sit in a deep cut and can’t be seen from the house, you can clearly hear trains working hard up the grade. A nearby road bridge with a sidewalk offers an excellent vantage point, and with several grade crossings nearby, the locomotive horns make sure you never miss an approaching train. Meyersdale has a handful of restaurants for dinner, but reservations are a good idea during busier weekends.

On the way to the Ramada Inn downtown I stopped to check out some of the action at Mexico Farm Road bridge on the east side of the yard. There is a nice gravel parking area just before the bridge on a hill overlooking the tracks.
Detailed information about the significance of the Narrows. This was the spot where for many years there used to be to be a Budweiser billboard between the tracks and the road and often when there wasn’t room in the yard for manifest trains to be switched dispatch would tell train crews to “hold at Bud Board”! On my layout which is set in the early 2000’s and the sign was still there I put a Budweiser billboard up and will have trains held there before entering the yard!

The following morning I set out in temperatures in the upper 30s. Before heading back to Cumberland, I rode a few miles west to enjoy the views from Salisbury Viaduct. Then it was time to enjoy the mostly downhill ride back.

One of the highlights of the return trip came at Keystone Viaduct. Hearing horns echoing from both directions, I waited long enough to witness a two-train meet on the bridge—a perfect reward for my patience. From there the GAP gradually moves away from the CSX main line until reaching the Narrows near Cumberland.Just east of Keystone Viaduct, a short ride on local roads leads to the west portal of Sand Patch Tunnel. I’ve made that side trip several times on previous rides, but skipped it this trip to stay on schedule.

Back in Cumberland that afternoon, I spent a little more time watching trains across from the hotel before loading up the bike and heading home. After a night of listening to freight trains, I finally got a good night’s sleep!

The Great Allegheny Passage remains one of my favorite rail-and-bike destinations. The combination of outstanding scenery, fascinating railroad history, and frequent CSX action makes it hard to beat. I’m already looking forward to doing it again this fall.

Description showing where you are along with the grades encountered. The Western Maryland scenic rail line runs right along side the Gap Trail from Cumberland to Frostburg. There are two narrow tunnels that both the trail and track share which make for interesting meets.
A few miles east of Meyersdale you reach the eastern continental divide. All rainwater to the east of this point goes to the Chesapeake Bay while west goes toward the Mississippi River.
The next day I actually rode a few miles west of Meyersdale to cross the impressive Salisbury Viaduct. The GAP trail follows the old Western Maryland Railroad and you can still see old remnants of the rail line. East of here I got a nice two train meet while on the Keystone Viaduct.
Heading back into Cumberland, like on the way out, you go through the very impressive Narrows with its 1100 foot overlook in a narrow gorge. Back in the day this was a huge transportation landmark with the B&O, Western Maryland, a river canal and the old National Highway heading west running sharing this narrow funnel. The double stack train in view is the Chicago to Chambersburg, PA intermodal train. This was before the Howard Street tunnel completion so this train was easy to pick out as the Baltimore to Chicago train was only single stack.

Leave a Reply