West End: B and O Cumberland to Grafton 1848-1991 [Hardcover]

Charles S. Roberts (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 223 pages
• Publisher: Barnard Roberts & Co; 1 edition (October 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0934118183
• ISBN-13: 978-0934118187
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,322,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on a significant civil engineering accomplishment, May 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: West End: B and O Cumberland to Grafton 1848-1991 (Hardcover)

Twenty-six years after its chartering, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had finally reached its original goal - To build a railroad 352 miles all the way from the growing seaport town of Baltimore, MD to its terminus of Wheeling, VA (now WV) on the Ohio River. The intent was to provide a transportation link for grain and manufactured goods coming east from Ohio and the surrounding area to Baltimore.

In accomplishing this goal, the greatest physical obstacle that this railroad faced in its drive to Wheeling was traversing the daunting Seventeen-Mile Grade west of Cumberland, and sixty miles later, to descend the equally-daunting Cranberry and Newburg grades immediately west of Terra Alta, WV to Grafton, and on to Wheeling. We may never learn about the actual numbers of laborers, tons of rock, and dirt either removed, drilled, or used to fill ravines to as level a grade as possible to allow the actual and safe passage of freight and passenger trains. But one thing is certain - the experience gained from this engineering feat formulated important principles for future railroad construction jobs, not just on the B&O, but for other railroads as well. It was from these "lessons learned" that earned the B&O the name of "The Railroad University of America," a sobriquet given by Mr. in his article, "

Charles Roberts' book, "West End", relates the obstacles faced by the B&O in getting up Seventeen-Mile Grade and west down Cranberry and Newburg Grades in the 1840's, plus the years after reaching Wheeling where the B&O continued to grow. Also, the various construction projects to improve on the original route over the mountains as well as the B&O's acquisition and improvement of smaller rail lines in the intervening years is covered. Charley Roberts has an earthy style of writing that seems to fit the subject matter covered, which may not be to every rail historian's liking, but the result is a volume that comprehensively covers this geographic area of the B&O that no one until now has done to such an extent. This book was the first in a trilogy that Charley later wrote, "East End" (in collaboration with Jeffrey Hollis), and "Sand Patch."