Old Steamers Hauling the Freight

Steam is on the wane on the old A&S. The new locos of the C&P don't require coal or much water. Its good to see the old ladies strutt'n their stuff!! Catch em while you can.

Merger is the Thing!

Time passes and like most small railroads, the A&S couldn't survive in the post war economy without help.
That help arrived in the form of a merger between two of the largest American railroads, the Northern Pacific and the Baltimore and Ohio. There was one catch however. The ICC wouldn't approve the merger while the B&O still held a substantial interest in the Western Maryland railroad. The solution was for the B&O to swap their holdings in the WM with the WM's holdings in the A&S. Voila! A deal was cemented. So... the A&S is swept up the the first transcontinental railroad system - the newly born Chesapeake and Pacific Railroad or the C&P to its owners. (not to be  confused with the DC phone company:)