Highfield / Cascade

I took these photos of the old Cascade section house on January 2004 using my old Olympus C3000Z digital camera. The section house is located at the Highfield junction near Blue Ridge Summit, just over the border into Pennsylvania. This is where the Baltimore to Hagerstown main merges with the Dutch Line from Hanover. Plans for this house as well as a great little article by John McKeeman can be found in the November 1999 issue of Mainline Modeler. The two photos in that issue show the section house in somewhat better condition, and without graffiti.

On the map to the right, the Cascade section house is located at the center where you see "Highfield"

Looking East

Here is the track looking east towards Blue Ridge Summit and Sabillasville. You can see just a tiny bit of the "low line" off to the left of the section house.

Note the concrete foundation at the front where (presumably) the signal tower or train orders pole used to be located. 

The Maryland Midland and CSX often set out cars around this area on the siding at Warren Ave.

Northern Side

The rear of the section house as seen from the grass in between the high line and the low line.

The building appears to have been painted a beige/cream color with reddish/brown trim.

Note the piers on which the building rests

Southeast Corner

The section house as seen from the high line.

Note the wide door for a speeder, and the oil tank mounted up on a stack of old ties.

Northwest Corner

Another view of the rear and western sides of the section house. Beside all the old ties, that looks to be an old rusted washtub under the building.

CSX used this building for storage for a while. I am unsure if it is still being used for such. At the very least, someone is using it to store trash under the building! ;-)

Southern side

A full-on shot of the front of the section house. The tracks head east to the right.

Yep, those are rail joint bars. We don't need no stinkin' welded rail here, boy!

Southwest Corner

Another shot of the track-side and western side of the section house

Looking West

The view looking west from the section house. You can almost imagine a big old Challenger or a lash-up of FA2s bombing down these tracks headed for Baltimore.

Old Sabillasville Road Culvert

Just east of the Cascade section house, near the Victor Cullen center, you'll find this single-lane car culvert with old Sabillasville Road passing through it. East is to the right in this photo.

I love this little culvert, and had the privledge to ride over it in 2004 on the NRHS rare mileage trip over the old WM.

You can still barely make out the "Western Maryland" above the portal.