Patrick Stakem

Eckhart Mines, The National Road, & the Eckhart Railroad Patrick Stakem

Located near Frostburg on either side of the National Road, the sleepy village of Eckhart Mines was once a bustling industrial center of mining and railroad activity. Coal was discovered in Eckhart around 1814, during the construction of the National Road. This was convenient, as the coal could be moved to Cumberland by wagon, and floated down the Potomac River, when conditions permitted. The coal from Eckhart started the Maryland coal trade, in 1843. The Maryline Mining Company built the Eckhart Branch Railroad in 1845 to allow the coal from their mines to reach Cumberland, where the B& O Railroad was located, and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal was heading. The railroad survived independently until 1870, when it became the Eckhart Branch of the Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad. The Author's Grandfather worked on the line as a locomotive engineer. This book covers the Company's and the Movers & Shakers who made the business work. It discusses in detail the equipment and facilitys of the early short line railroad, and its contribution to the B& O. The mines are discussed, as well as a major feat of engineering, the Hoffman Drainage Tunnel, which lowered the water in the mines, and allowed additional coal to be extracted. An extensive bibliography is included.