Roadtrip. Day 25, The Great Allegheny Passage

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

     While poking around on the phone last night for hiking trails, I came across the Great Allegheny Passage.  It's a rail trail just outside Cumberland, MD to just outside Pittsburgh. PA.  

     In total, the trail runs one hundred and fifty miles.  As an added bonus, there are viaducts and tunnels all within a short drive.

     The day started at the Frostburg Railway station, the trail's eastern terminus.

     From here, you can either hike the trail, take a ride on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad or rent these rail bikes.  

    Public art by Scott Cawood.

     I started my hike around 8:30A.  After talking with a few fellow walkers, I should have started earlier.  More on that in a bit.

     As expected from a rail trail, it was nice and flat.  It began wide enough for one track.  

    Perhaps a quarter mile in, another another abandoned section of track curves in, making it twice as wide...

     As you approach the tunnel, you can clearly see where the two lines merge before going through. 

    Borden Tunnel sits at the two and a half mile point.  The tunnel was built in 1911 and runs 957 feet.

    Once inside, motion sensors trigger and illuminate the interior.  They're powered by a solar panel on the back side.

     The turnaround point was just beyond the tunnel.  If I had gone three more miles, there's an even longer one.  It was tempting.  But, I was fine with the five miles out and back.

    Just across the state line is Myersdale, Pennsylvania.  Or as they call it, Maple City.   When the railroad came, they used it to ship syrup.  It's still the site of the annual Pennsylvania Maple Festival.

      I was here for two reasons.  First there was the Salisbury Viaduct.  The bridge's height is one hundred fifty feet and runs over 1,900 feet in length.

    There's a trail entry point close to the bridge. 

    The view...

     On the other side of Myersdale, sits their old depot, complete with a caboose parked out front.

      That's where I picked up the trail again.  

    Just over a mile and half up is the Bollman Bridge, designed by Wendell Bollman.  He kept his designs simple.  Every piece had markings that correspond with another part, so crews could simply match the markings.

     This isn't it's original location.  While it began as a railroad bridge, it was repurposed as a road bridge.  Eventually, it was moved here for the trail.

    Another half mile up the trail is the Keystone Viaduct.

While I never got to see any trains running underneath, about a 

mile back up the trail, I heard that familiar sound.  It was so close,  the ground vibrated.  I just couldn't see it.  No complaints though.          There was one more stop I would have liked to squeeze in, but the day was waning.  Another night in the Cumberland Best Western was fine by me.