MDDE Short-line Containers

These MDDE Short-line containers are stationary between fields in Massey Maryland, waiting to be hauled.... more

by Brian Wallace

Title

MDDE Short-line Containers

Artist

Brian Wallace

Medium

Photograph - 2d Digital Image

Description

These MDDE Short-line containers are stationary between fields in Massey Maryland, waiting to be hauled.

The Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company (reporting mark MDDE) is a Class III short-line railroad, formed in 1977 to operate several branch lines of the former Penn Central Railroad in both Maryland and Delaware, USA. These branches were omitted from the system plan for Conrail in 1976 and would have been discontinued without state subsidies. As an alternative to the higher cost of subsidizing Conrail as operator of the branch lines, the Maryland and Delaware governments selected the Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company (MDDE) to serve as the designated operator.

The railroad did not own any of the track it uses until 2000 when it acquired a line between Frankford, Delaware and Snow Hill, Maryland, from the Snow Hill Shippers Association. Today, the railroad operates on 120 miles of track and runs out of a restored station in Federalsburg, Maryland.

I merged two photographs for this final slightly wider version.

Uploaded

September 23rd, 2016