RAILROAD SIGNALS of the U.S.

RAILFAN GUIDE to BALTIMORE
the Northwest Suburbs of Baltimore

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The map below covers the northwest suburbs of Baltimore... Pikesville, Owings Mills, and on up to Reisterstown.

A number of interesting things are on this map for the rail and transit fan.

CSX uses the former Western Maryland mainline running up to Hanover PA.  It connects with the eastern terminus of the Maryland Midland RR in Glyndon.

For signal fans, all of the ex-WM signals are gone on the CSX tracks - sorry.  Some of the ex-WM signals are still in place on the Maryland Midland, however, they are non-operational, and are mere skeletons, but you can buy one from them for around $1800 (the last time I checked) - be prepared for a whole lot of work on them tho if you want to restore them!  There is one fellow in Reisterstown that did buy one, and has done a most excellent job of restoring it - if I can ever get up there to get pictures of it, I will post them. 

For transit fans, the northern end of the Baltimore Metro-Subway rides up the middle of I-795, with a stop at Old Court Road before getting to the end of the line at Owings Mills.

If your into the fire and police scene, there are quite a few volunteer companies on the map.  The only police station on the map, Franklin (formerly Garrison), is right around the corner from the only paid station, Garrison.

Please excuse the numbering difference, I will fix that soon with an updated map... Todd

    1     At The Emory Grove Tower

One day, a long, long time ago (1970) on a snowy after noon, I caught a NB freight passing through Glyndon.  And nope, I don't have pictures of the signals in Glyndon darn it, for they had a nice NB set hanging off the Butler Road overpass :-( (seen in the far background of the pix of the approaching freight).  The tower stood on the eastside of the tracks where the Maryland Midland now splits off.

    2     Glyndon Station

A post office occupies part of the old station (for now). 

    The Butler Road overpass, and mounts for the signals.

  Relay cabinet for the signals that are no longer around.

  Looking north up the track.

  Looking north up the service road that used to go up to the tower.

  Looking south from the station.

A northbound CSX freight approaches the Glyndon Station.

    3     the Owings Mills Trestle

With the trees that have grown up over the past 40 years since I started taking pictures, it is much harder to get decent pictures here.  But if you want to try, park along Bonita Ave and bring along something to eat while you're waiting.  The bridge was badly damaged by the rain waters of hurricane Agnes in 1972, but quickly rebuilt, as this was the Western Maryland's only way out of Baltimore.  Between the bridge and Bonita Ave was a set of NB and SB signals.

    4     Overpass, Siding and old Coal Tipple

The siding used to service the lumber yard that is still there, but the coal tipple hasn't been used since before I started driving in 1969.

         The overpass which is currently used.

  Aerial shot of the overpass.

             
Grade crossing and looking into the lumber yard.

      Manual control for the grade crossing????

Above is an aerial shot of the coal tipple and below are details shots.

     Equipment detector on the north side of the Blvd.

  The mainline passing under Owings Mills Blvd, with the siding on the other side of the Blvd, off to the left.

The siding, with derail and removed section of track to prevent anything getting across Reisterstown Rd, aerial shot above.

  Looking north where the siding splits off.

 
Looking NB on the mainline with the Groff Ln crossing (formerly Bonita Ave) in the distance, there used to be a set of signal halfway to the xing.

    5     Greenspring Branch Junction

No evidence of the Greenspring Branch can be seen in this aerial shot, where it used to join into the old Western Maryland mainline.  There are a few reminders of the Greenspring Branch still left around, most are on Map 1 and around Lake Roland.

    6     the Beltway Bridge

This a pretty neat spot to catch a train, although in the 40+ years I have been driving, I have probably only happened on a train here twice.  Train times vary, but CSX sends a NB freight up this way around 6pm.

    7     the Owings Mills Metro Station

This is the last station on the northern end of the system, and the only one "outside" the Beltway.  It is more of a commuter railroad at this point, accessible only by car or bus, unless you want to walk a really long ways to get here. 

    8     The Old Court Road Metro Station

This is the last station on the "inside" the Beltway.  It is unique among the stations because of the pretty cool walkway you have to traverse in order to get to the station.  Again, it is almost a commuter railroad at this point because it isn't very close to all but a few residents along Old Court Rd.  A "new" MOW facility was built here maybe around the 2004-2005 timeframe, and is between the station and the Beltway.  There is a crossing signal that flashes all the time, whether a train is approaching or not (you can easily see it at night when passing by on the inner loop).

     Fire and Police Stations    

   3    Baltimore County Police Precinct 3 - Franklin

This precinct was formerly known as Garrison - it was changed in 2006.  It opened in 1965.
More history of the Baltimore County Police Dept at: http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/police/history.html

   4    Baltimore County Police Precinct 3 - Pikesville

A new precinct opened for business in 2006.

  19   Baltimore County Fire Station 19 - Garrison

This is the only paid station on the map, all of the others are volunteer.

  400   Glyndon Volunteer Fire Company, Station 400

This

  410   Reisterstown Volunteer Fire Company, Station 410

  Engine 413, nicknamed "Top Notch".

  310   Owings Mills Volunteer Fire Company, Station 310

This is the second newest fire house of the five on this map, maybe being 10 years old or so.  The old station was a small affair almost under where the CSX goes over Reisterstown Rd.

Believe it or not, the old fire house used to be perched where the yellow circle is, hard to believe.

  500   Chestnut Ridge Volunteer Fire Company, Station 500

Newest of the volunteer fire stations on this map, it's kinda out of the way, being on Greenspring Ave in the middle of no-where.

NEW 09/11/2007
Last Modified:
02/16/2011