The Western Maryland Railway was chartered in 1852 and became an important railroad in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, carrying coal, lumber, and other natural resources. It connected to towns like Hagerstown and eventually reached the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal.

In the 1880s, Henry Gassaway Davis and Stephen Elkins built a new railroad, the West Virginia Central, to reach coalfields and break free from the control of the B&O Railroad. They expanded the line to towns like Davis and Elkins, and later to Cumberland, Maryland, despite opposition.

In 1902, railroad tycoon George Gould bought the West Virginia Central and merged it into the Western Maryland Railway, hoping to create a cross-country system. His plan failed, and the railroad went bankrupt, but it recovered and kept growing.

The Western Maryland later built a connection to Pennsylvania, becoming a major freight carrier. Eventually, the B&O and C&O railroads took control, and in 1972, all three became part of the Chessie System, which later became CSX—one of the two main railroads in West Virginia today.