History of the Catonsville Short Line (CSL) Railroad

History of the Catonsville Short Line (CSL) Railroad. . In September 1881, a committee of Business and Community leaders decided that a short line railroad connecting Catonsville to Baltimore City would further foster the growth of Catonsville. The new railroad was officially incorporated as the Catonsville Short Line (CSL) Rail Road Company, on February 25, 1882. Ground was broken on December 6, 1883, and on November 10, 1884, the first revenue run was made from Catonsville. The Short Line was to be operated by the Baltimore and Potomac (B&P) Railroad pursuant to a 99-year lease from CSL.

The railroad ran from the Catonsville business district, down the Mellor Ave corridor (behind today's Catonsville Elementary School), crossed into the Spring Grove Hospital grounds (which opened in 1872), then into the Paradise and Kenwood communities, then by the St Charles College (today's Charlestown Retirement Community), then into the Louden Park cemetery, where it connected to the main line of the Baltimore and Potomac (B&P) Railroad (later the Pennsylvania Railroad) and proceeded to Calvert Station in Baltimore City. The total distance was approximately 3.7 miles, and the railroad made 7 trips per day to Baltimore City and back.

The railroad provided an immediate opportunity for local Catonsville businesses. Lumber was being hauled in for use in new home construction. In addition, the Short Line delivered large quantities of coal to St. Charles College (now Charlestown Retirement) and Spring Grove State Hospital.

In 1897, the new electrified Catonsville trolley line had the effect of drawing away a great deal of the Short Line's passenger traffic, causing the Railroad to discontinue passenger service in 1898. The B&P continued to offer freight service on a flexible schedule. However, as a result of dwindling revenue caused by the Great Depression, the CSL went bankrupt and the railroad was sold and reincorporated as the Caton and Loudon (C&L) Railway in October, 1945.

Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, the Short Line lost one customer after another as over-the-road trucks took control of the movement of goods to and from local businesses. In 1970 the power plant at Spring Grove State Hospital was converted from coal to oil and the C&L lost one its few remaining customers and trips over the C&L became very sporadic. Citing a lack of customers and mounting losses, Penn Central (Pennsylvania Railroad's successor) petitioned for the abandonment of the C&L. The last carload to Catonsville was in April 1972.

In honor of the 130 year "birthday" of the Catonsville Short Line, a group of volunteers from Madison Avenue Incorporated sponsored and performed the restoration of this remaining portion of the Catonsville Short Line Rail Road. Special thanks also to Link Mechanical (Chris Podowski and crew) for donating their labor to grade and move gravel at the site.