The Frederick & Middletown Railway

Declining Roads

By 1893, there were several hundred trolley companies across the world.  The closest line to open was the Martinsburg Street Railway, which opened in 1891.  By this time, the regular railroads with their massive steam powered locomotives connected every major city and hundreds of smaller towns across the country, with several routes to the west following the famous Transcontinental Railway which had been completed in 1869.

Turnpikes such as the National Road were in trouble.

Maintenance of most roads relied heavily on toll income along those roads, and the tolls relied on travelers and especially on cargo transportation.  Most roads at that time  were privately owned and operated, while even with the state-owned roads such as the Cumberland to Grantsville section of the National Road,  the use of state taxes for road infrastructure was still a somewhat taboo concept and the tolls remained essential.

The Challenge of the Catoctin

Unlike some areas of the National Road, the route over Catoctin Mountain was a simple dirt and gravel surface which lent itself easily to ruts and washouts during bad weather, and that damage happened often faster than crews could keep up with making repairs.  Locals and farmers even attempted to help, throwing stones into the roadways on their own.  Fewer and fewer “wagoners” (sometimes called “teamsters”) with their large wagons and 6-8 horse teams and an ability to carry up to 5 tons of cargo over the mountain were available to hire, and some farmers were left to take goods to market themseves in farm wagons that might be able to haul about a ton worth of produce or grain.  At times the mountain route could be nearly impassible, and the slippery and uneven surfaces risked damaging to wagons and exhausting for horses.

This made the economic situation for communities like Middletown especially difficult.   A fertile valley filled with agriculture, once one of the greatest producers of produce in the nation and located along the artery of the nation, now found its farmers’ ability to transport goods to market harder and more expensive.  All the while, competing farms along railroad lines locally and around the country were suddenly able to reach more valuable markets farther from home.

Over the years, the residents of the valley had heard rumors of possible railroad routes which would have reached their area, but none ever came true.  Excluding the mountain climbs on the decaying road, they were nearly 10 miles from the nearest railroad line in Brunswick – a distance just as problematic as the mountain climb to Frederick.

Starting a Railway

In April 1893, a group of farmers from both sides of Catoctin Mountain and led by George William Smith, formed the Frederick and Middletown Valley Passenger Railroad with a desire to capitalize on the national trolley fever.  A month later they held a public meeting in Middletown to discuss their plans which drew a massive crowd, and they began seeking investors.  A year later, the company was reincorporated as the Frederick & Middletown Railroad and the ability to transport freight was added to their charter.  They struggled to raise money from investors in the bigger cities, and Frederick residents were skeptical about the railway, so most of the money to begin construction was raised from the Middletown Valley residents.  The acquisition of

Construction finally began in the spring of 1896.  Despite the misgivings of the Frederick community, construction began on the edge of that city, traveling west through fields and side roads rather that remaining with the National Road.  The rails finally reached the top of Catoctin Mountain in August, with the first trolley service to the end of the line began on Saturday, August 22.  At the time, the mountaintop was all farm land planted with grain.  Here, a large crowd rode on the company’s 2 trolleys to enjoy picnics in the cool mountaintop breeze. An observation tower had also been constructed nearby a few years before, overlooking both Frederick and Middletown.

The 2nd day of operation, Sunday August 23rd, such crowds gathered that the two trolley cars, #10 and #11, designed for 48 passengers, were constantly traveling back and forth between the ends of the line.  In the evening, #10 tried to descend to Frederick with 110 people on board including the company President George William Smith.  The trolley lost control down the mountain despite the efforts of motorman William Mantz, and ultimately derailed and crashed on a curve just east of Clifton Road.  Many were injured, and a week later one older lady passed away from complications made worse by a pre-existing condition.  Car #10 was repaired and no other such incidents were recorded on that steep slope after that.

Construction west to Middletown continued, following the National Road down the west slope and into town, and a third trolley was purchased which could transport both passengers and freight.  Some of the workers also worked to extend the line east through downtown Frederick and offer a stop for the Great Frederick Fair beginning on October 12th that year, where 15,000 fares were purchased for the ride on the trolley to the fairgrounds from downtown.  Finally, on October 21, 1896, trolley service between Frederick and Middletown commenced.  The original station was at the top of a steep hill outside of town, leading to many complaints, and plans were soon made to continue the line to Green Street were a small new station was built.

To power the trolleys, the company purchased electricity from the Frederick Light & Power Company on East Street on the edge of Frederick.

Founding Braddock

Many members of the railway Board of Directors together founded the Braddock Heights Improvement Company and purchased the farmland atop the mountain for the purpose of laying out and building a resort town.  This had been a goal of George William Smith since the days prior to the founding of the railway.  The scenic view and the breezy air made an ideal location for boarding homes (Bed & Breakfasts), hotels, and an amusement park which would be owned by the railway itself.

The town was named in honor of Major General Edward Braddock, the British general who had, along with his Aide-de-camp George Washington, crossed the mountain on his ill-fated mission to take Fort Duquesne during the French & Indian War.  It was a name that people would easily recognize and they hoped it would attract tourists from the cities to ride the train to Frederick and the trolleys between that city and the mountaintop resort.

While the amusement park was operated by the railway, each of the homes and hotels were privately run businesses.  The Braddock Heights Improvement Company would build a large home, and individuals or families could buy or lease-to-own as long as they would use the home as a business, opening up the many rooms for rent and providing hospitality for tourists during the summer months, giving the visitors places to stay.

During 1897, the Frederick & Middletown Railway steadily grew.  A new carbarn was built along Carroll Street (soon to be the site of the new Downtown Frederick Marriott Hotel) and a dedicated power plant was built near Middletown.  That August, the company reported in local newspapers that their freight business was exceeding their expectations and several new freight cars and an additional trolley were needed in order to keep up with demand.

In 1898, the people of Myersville, envious of Middletown’s railroad access, founded the Myersville and Catoctin Railway in order to construct rails from their town to Middletown and lease them to the F&M in exchange for a percentage of the profits.

After that, growth was steady but slow.  Farmers and businesses prospered from the railroad connection.  Fertilizer which had once taken a day or more to collect and deliver to the valley now could be delivered in less than an hour on a single railroad car, and produce from Middletown could be sped to Frederick and at times even be transferred to the B&O Railroad and sold in other communities such as Baltimore where it could fetch a higher price.

In 1904, the Myersville and Catoctin Railway became the property of the Hagerstown Railway, and service to Myersville presented new challenges.  That December, the Hagerstown Railway Company began the first through trolley service between Hagerstown and Frederick, a trip just shy of 2 hours long.

The Baltimore Scheme

1905 brought surprising change.  After over a decade under the management of local farmers and businessmen, investors from Baltimore took control of the company and began reorganizing it.  The biggest part of their plan: a proposed “high speed electric railroad” from Baltimore to Cumberland for the transport of coal.  In reality, this may have only been a ploy to convince the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and the Western Maryland Railway to lower their rates for the transportation of coal.  Once those railroads had done so, the investors gave up their shares.

During this Baltimore management, a few new projects were undertaken.  The most notable of these was the construction of a new line from Braddock Heights to Jefferson, with a planned continuation to Brunswick where there would be access to transport produce from the Loudon County area of Virginia across the river.  The town of Brunswick, while a B&O Railroad company town by nature, was so excited that they constructed tracks down the length of Potomac Street in anticipation of the trolley service!  The Braddock Heights community grew, a few small private lanes becoming a new Jefferson Boulevard and new homes being built up along the ridge on either side of the trolley tracks.  In the end, the construction was abandoned south of Jefferson, in part due to legal challenges from the much larger B&O.