Set of 3 Different Colors of Western Maryland Railway - 1950's dated Three Railroad Stock Certificates - Group of Three

Set of 3 different colors. Green, Blue, and Orange. Train vignette by American Bank Note Co. The Western Maryland Railway (reporting mark WM) was an American Class I railroad that operated from 1852 to 1983, serving Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Primarily a coal-hauling and freight railroad, it also had a limited passenger train service. In 1973, the WM became part of the Chessie System holding company, but it maintained independent operations until May 1975, after which many of its lines were abandoned in favor of parallel lines owned by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1983, the Western Maryland Railway was fully merged into the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which later combined with the former Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad to form the Chessie System in 1987. The Chessie System was eventually renamed CSX Transportation.

The railroad's original main line began with the Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Railroad, chartered in 1852 to build a route from Baltimore to Washington County, Maryland. The Maryland General Assembly renamed the company the Western Maryland Rail Road Company in 1853, and construction started at Owings Mills in 1857, connecting to Baltimore via an existing Northern Central Railway branch. The line reached Westminster in 1861 and Union Bridge in 1862, but further expansion was delayed by the Civil War. Construction resumed in 1868 under Chief Engineer Joseph S. Gitt, and the line was completed to Hagerstown in 1872, forming what became known as the East Subdivision. The railroad established its first major car shops at Union Bridge.