I have been freelancing CSX for the last 13 years or so witha single track main in a 8 by 10 room. In the near future I will have about double the space. I am considering the Magnolia cutoff as my locale. Any information on this area such as industries length and height of bridges and photos would be greatly welcomed. Thanks and Merry Christmas! Jeff
Jeff, Try Google or Bing maps of the area. Using the bird's eye view you can get a surprisingly good look at industries and their structures. Using an object of know size in the photo (like a freight car) can help you estimate the size of unknown objects. I use these sites a lot for track and industry planning.
It is an area on the old B&O mainline between Hancock, MD and Cumberland, MD where the B&O built a cutoff to eliminate the original route that followed the Potomac River. Jeff, there are really no industries in the cutoff. The nearest industries I can think of are the Sand plant at Hancock (off the mainline on a branch) and the Koppers tie plant at Greenspring, WV. Also the South Branch Valley interchanges with CSX there. There are 4 tunnels (Stuart, Magnolia, Graham, and Carothers) and the line crosses the Potomac on both ends of the Graham Tunnel. Most of the line is in WV, except for the stretch between the bridges in Graham tunnel which is in MD. I have tons of pictures of the area. We used to go camping down there a couple times a year train watching. I would post a few, but am in Arizona at the moment.
