THE ORANGE EMPIRE TAKES HOLD


The changing of the Midland Guard T


BY STEVE BARRY/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR


HE MARYLAND MIDLAND RAILWAY is changing in a way that was long in coming and inevitable. While the railroad has been under the umbrella of the Genesee & Wyoming Industries


short line empire since


2008, the MMID has kept its tradition- al motive power fleet of EMD GP38-3s painted in the line’s distinctive blue and orange (save for one unit that re- ceived GWI corporate paint). In 2014 GWI decided to shuffle motive power between railroads, which meant that much of Maryland Midland’s roster


28 APRIL 2014 • RAILFAN.COM


was being sent west to the Central Ore- gon & Pacific (CORP), while MMID would be receiving locomotives from another affiliated line. All would be re- painted into G&W corporate colors with heralds for the appropriate rail- road


before homes.


The Maryland Midland is shaped like a giant cross, with the east-west lines much longer than the north- south. The eastern end of the cross goes to Emory Grove, served on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while the west end


shipping to their new


goes to the CSX interchange at High- field, served Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The east-west line is the former Western Maryland main line, and the MMID began operations on this route in segments starting in 1983. The south line goes to a stone quarry, while the north line serves a single in- dustry, and both of those see trains when the mood strikes. The north- south line is the original Maryland Midland, a former Pennsylvania Rail- road branch that the MMID began op- erating in 1980.


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