The GC&C was created by rival
coal mining companies in the
Georges Creek Valley to compete against the
Consolidated Coal Company who dictated rail traffic over the
Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad. By 1887 the railroad crossed the town of
Midland on a large wooden
trestle. The rail line came through
Clarysville and
Vale Summit, and went south to Lonaconing to service the mines. The trestle was removed in the 1930s. In addition to coal hauling, the GC&C provided
passenger stations and service. A published schedule of the GC&C dated January 18, 1887, shows two trains per day from Cumberland to Lonaconing (except Sundays). The GC&C also owned a
branch line, acquired in 1888 from a company called
Pennsylvania railroad in Maryland, that ran from Cumberland north to the
Pennsylvania state line, where it connected with the
Bedford and Bridgeport Railroad. The latter company was controlled by the
Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). The WM (which had also been controlled by Gould until 1908) took over the GC&C operation in 1913, and a full merger was completed in 1917. Under the WM, the GC&C built a new line from the Narrows through
Frostburg to the
Pennsylvania line, which was continued by the Connellsville and State Line Railway (another WM subsidiary) to
Connellsville. WM abandoned large portions of the GC&C in 1927. The line from Cumberland to Midland was operated until 1939 when the track was abandoned. The State Line Branch to Pennsylvania was operated by the PRR until 1934. ==See also==