Last Thursday, Andrew and I had a chance to visit and ride on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad originating in Cumberland, MD. It was a great chance to spend time together and to for me to get out of the office for a day.

The excursion starts as a 1 hour train ride from Cumberland, MD to Frostburg, MD on tracks from the original Western Maryland and C&P railroads. On our trip, we were pulled by a Western Maryland diesel locomotive, but other trains are pulled by steam engines. Below is a particularly scenic shot taken in Frostburg.



More pictures can be found at http://www.stickman.org/Pictures/Pictures-2007/WMR/

After the 1 hour train ride, the train engine is turned around on a turn table (you get to watch!) and you are then given an hour and a half to eat lunch and explore Frostburg. One of the neat attractions in Frostburg was the Thrasher Carriage Museum which houses various restored horse-drawn carriages and sleighs. There's also plenty of scenery to enjoy in the surrounding area and town. You then go back to Cumberland on the same train you came in.

It was a 2.5 hour drive from our house to Cumberland, but I think we'll be going back. In the fall, I think the scenery should be spectacular and the people all around were friendly and made the trip thoroughly enjoyable.

Tags: Andrew