Western Maryland Railroad Company Bond Certificate

Description

Product Details
Intricately engraved antique bond certificate from the Western Maryland Railroad Company dating back to the 1910's. This document, which is signed by the company President and Secretary, was printed by the International Bank Note Company, and measures approximately 13" (w) by 9" (h).
This certificate features a long vignette of a train steaming down the tracks.
Images
You will receive the exact certificate pictured.
Historical Context
The Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Railroad was chartered in 1852 and began building west from Baltimore. The railroad was completed to Hagerstown, Maryland in 1872. Within a year, its name was changed to Western Maryland Rail Road Company, and eventually, it became the Western Maryland Railway Company.
The Connellsville Extension was built west from Cumberland, Maryland, to Connellsville, Pennsylvania, beginning around 1906 and was completed in 1912. In 1931, the Western Maryland became part of the Alphabet Route, a competitor to more major railroads including the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway began as a narrow gauge line in 1880, its name and gauge changed in 1881 and in the ensuing years it opened a huge swathe of timber and coal territory in northern West Virginia to use, creating such towns as Elkins, Davis and Thomas. A major connection was made with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway's Greenbrier Branch at Durbin, West Virginia in 1900. Sold to the Gould interests in 1902, it became an important part of the WM in 1905 and contributed heavily to that road's prosperity in the coal and lumber trade down to modern times.
Thus, although never a giant, the Connellsville subdivision of WM handled through midwest fast freight traffic and coal from company-owned mines near Fairmont, West Virginia, and Somerset, Pennsylvania. In 1930, the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railroad Company reached Connellsville to hook up with the WM. That line operates today as the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway."
In 1964, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) jointly filed for permission to acquire control of the Western Maryland Railway with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). In 1973, as part of the Chessie System, the Western Maryland ownership went to C&O and it was operated by the B&O. In 1987, it was merged into the C&O which itself became part of CSX Transportation.