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THE THOMAS SUBDIVISION




Scenes like this are very impressive, and can be found along the abandoned Thomas Subdivision, which runs from Luke MD to Elkins WV on about 80 miles of roadbed. This shot is off the stretch from Empire to Barnum. Naturally, one has to be incredibly brave to walk across high tressles like this one but believe me, it's well worth it once you get out there, enjoy the breeze feel like you're on top of the world. Most of the bed on the Thomas is owned by the forestry service and are near the more beautiful parts. The parts that run through the small towns along the line are now blending into parks, people's back yards, and also lie under the foundations of new stretches of roads and recently built businesses. The reason the line was abandoned was because the bridge that took the line over the Blackwater River from Hendricks to Parsons WV washed out in a 1984 flood. This is no problem for hikers because the bridge for rte 219 runs right alongside the pilings for the washed out one, but train traffic had nowhere to go. This completely severed the WM line from Cumberland MD and Elkins WV, but it didnt really matter because WM had already been completely absorbed into CSX by that time and there were alternate routes. This put Elkins out of business also because CSX decided to discontinue use of the WM car shops shortly thereafter. Also as a result, today the lines that branch out from Elkins are either abandoned, rarely used, or just neglected altogether.






Here is the beginning of the abandonment of the Thomas Subdivision, which is right after the paper factory in Luke MD. Seen here is a Conrail engine hauling a load of logs up to the mill.














ELKINS, WV

The historic car and engine shops, as well as the entire yard, bridge, and main line met a similar fate at Elkins, WV. This picture from 1977 shows what made Railroad Ave Railroad Ave, with cars in the yard, sitting off to the left and an EMD F7 diesel leading a consist of units past the station. Today the station still stands, but it is in need of some repair, and Railroad Ave is rather desolate looking as it runs next to the large undeveloped and unchanged gravel/ballast lot where the yard, mainline, and shops once ran alongside. The line here is abandoned all the way north to Luke, MD, which is just south of Frostburg, MD along route 36. Parts of the abandoned line are owned by the WV forestry service or protected by state wetlands, but the parts that arent are gradually being altered by private developers. Such is the case in Elkins, where there is a brand new 20 pump gas station, a used car dealership, and a new intersection for route 219 built right over the righ-of-way in the north end of the yard.

This was the view of the yard and shops at Elkins from the early 1950s. Traffic really bustled here as you can see by all the activity on the many rows of tracks. The WM facilities operated here, repairing and rebuilding tons of cars and engines all the way into the mid 1980s. Now the place still looks exactly like this, but is just a fenced in undeveloped gravel lot in the exact shape of the old yards.







ATTENTION! A NEW EXCURSION AND LIGHT FREIGHT RAILROAD HAS TAKEN OVER ALL REMAINING WM TRACKAGE AROUND ELKINS FROM CSX ALL THE WAY TO WEBSTER SPRINGS, WV!

CLICK ON THE LOGO ABOVE TO VISIT THE WEST VIRGINIA CENTRAL RAILROAD!

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