Keystone Subdivision

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title: "Keystone Subdivision" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["transportation-in-cumberland,-md-wv-pa", "csx-transportation-lines", "rail-infrastructure-in-maryland", "rail-infrastructure-in-pennsylvania", "baltimore-and-ohio-railroad-lines"] description: "Railway line in Maryland and Pennsylvania" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_Subdivision" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Railway line in Maryland and Pennsylvania ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox rail line"]

Field	Value
name	Keystone Subdivision
type	Freight rail
system	CSX
status	Active
locale	Maryland, Pennsylvania
start	McKeesport
end	Cumberland
open
owner	CSX
operator	CSX, Amtrak
tracks	2
gauge
map
::

| box_width = | name = Keystone Subdivision | image = | image_width = | caption = | type = Freight rail | system = CSX | status = Active | locale = Maryland, Pennsylvania | start = McKeesport | end = Cumberland | stations = | open = | close = | owner = CSX | operator = CSX, Amtrak | linelength = | tracks = 2 | gauge = | electrification = | speed = | map = | map_state = The Keystone Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The line runs from Cumberland, Maryland, west to McKeesport, Pennsylvania, (near Pittsburgh) along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line. The line includes the well-known Sand Patch Grade over the Allegheny Mountains.

The east end of the Keystone Subdivision is at Viaduct Junction in Cumberland, where it meets the Cumberland Terminal Subdivision at the east end of the Cumberland Viaduct. The west end is at Sinns, on the west (left) side of the Youghiogheny River at Liberty, where it continues as the Pittsburgh Subdivision through Pittsburgh and on to West Pittsburg. The Keystone Subdivision also joins with the S&C Subdivision at Rockwood, Pennsylvania.

Amtrak's Floridian uses the Keystone Subdivision.

History

The Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad (P&C) was first incorporated in 1837, but did not succeed in raising money until 1846. Work began in 1847, and the line opened from Pittsburgh to Connellsville in 1857 and to Cumberland in 1871. The B&O leased the P&C for 50 years effective January 1, 1876, and it was merged into the B&O in 1912.

A new bridge over the Youghiogheny River at Sinns opened in 1968, connecting the old P&C to the parallel Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (which the B&O had trackage rights over to New Castle The P&LE is now CSX's Pittsburgh Subdivision, while the old B&O tracks in the Pittsburgh area are mostly abandoned or operated by short lines.

In summer 1985, the Chessie System (the B&O's holding company at the time) announced that it would sever its St. Louis line through Ohio, rerouting all through traffic over the Alleghenies at Sand Patch rather than along the older Mountain Subdivision.

References

References

1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20020713043907/http://www.trainweb.org/csxtimetables/Baltimore/Keystone.html CSX Timetables: Keystone Subdivision]
2. "MH-Keystone Sub - the RadioReference Wiki".
3. http://www.multimodalways.org/docs/railroads/companies/CSX/CSX%20ETTs/CSX%20Baltimore%20Div%20ETT%20%234%201-1-2005.pdf CSX Baltimore Division Timetable
4. [http://www.railsandtrails.com/Maps/P&LE-1960/ Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad 1960 System Map]
5. "PRR Chronology, 1837 }} {{small".
6. "PRR Chronology, 1847 }} {{small".
7. "PRR Chronology, 1857 }} {{small".
8. "PRR Chronology, 1871".
9. [https://web.archive.org/web/20041104060907/http://www.geocities.com/scott_w_dunlap/BORRTIME.htm Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Timeline]
10. ) on the opposite shore. This allowed B&O trains to bypass downtown [[McKeesport, PA. McKeesport]]; the B&O line through McKeesport was closed in 1970.[http://pghbridges.com/mckeesport/0598-4464/PLEliberty.htm Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: CSX Bridge at Liberty Boro]
11. [http://pghbridges.com/mckeesport/0595-4467/mckPLE.htm Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: P&LE Bridge McKeesport]

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::