Campbells/Doe Gully/B133

Campbells/Doe Gully/B133




Campbells and Doe Gully were located on the WM West Sub between mileposts B132 and B134. There was a 5,296ft. storage track at Doe Gully. There were telephone pole boxes at each end of the storage track and a set of automatic block signals at the east end of the track. These signals were Nos. 132.0 and 132.1. There was and still is a road crossing in the middle of what was the Doe Gully storage track. This road is Doe Gully road that runs from Orleans Cross Roads on the B&O. Campbells was to the west end of the storage track at Doe Gully. Nothing is at Campbells on the WM track chart(B133.5) except a drainage ditch that runs under the right-of-way. There were another set of signals and a phone box just west of Campbells at the B134. These signals were Nos. 134.0 and 134.1.


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In the deep cut just west of the B134 and east of the 2nd river bridge. (Oct. 2002)



local story

I spoke with two men who live along the abandoned WM right-of-way at Doe Gully. They said that Campbells and Doe Gully were a "flag stop" during passenger train days, meaning if someone wanted to board the train they would wave a red flag at a approaching train and it would then stop. They said a lady who had lived just down from them used to flag down the train, board it, and ride east to Little Orleans to get her groceries. She would then wait for a westbound train to return home. This section of the right-of-way is under the greatest controversary as a possible railtrail. The landowners here I spoke to are afraid of litter, tresspassing and any restricted use of their land if a trail were built.



Driving west along the right-of-way in my 1963 GMC 1-ton panel truck between the storage track at Doe Gully through Campbells rounding the curve into a straight-away passing former signals 134.0 and 134.1 before entering the deep cut pictured above. (Oct. 2002)

Two farmhouses and out buildings are pictured here along the WM tracks on the left. This area was known on the WM as Campbells. Doe Gully was just to the east where there was a short set off track along the mainline track. This is a telephoto shot taken from Point Lookout in the early 1970's. (Arthur Bloch photo)

Click for more photos from overlook
This shot is from up on the mountain at the overlook on Carrol Rd. in Maryland. From here you can see the WM's 1st and 2nd crossing of the Potomac and C&O Canal, along with the farms of the small village at Doe Gully. First photo was taken in June 1970 by Arthur Bloch. In the photoo there is even a WM freight train visible down in Doe Gully. In the second photo notice the greener line of trees in the valley below near the pine trees. It's the former right-of-way of the WM that has grown up with these younger, greener trees. (June 1970,2001)

Along the right-of-way at the former location of the Doe Gully storage track. The crossties are still in place, rotting away at the storage track. (looking east on Oct. 2002)

This is where the double track WM crossed Doe Gully Road in the quite RR/now river town of Campbells. This road can be reached from Orleans Road on the B&O. (June 1997)

Looking east down the abandoned WM right-of-way from Doe Gully road. (June 1997)

A much better photo then the old photo I have posted below. Loolking westbound at the east end of the siding/storage track. (Thanks to Jim Coshun for photo)

Westbound view of signal (semophore) 132.0. The opposite semophore is number 132.1. This is an old photo at the East End of Doe Gully near the B132 milepost. Notice the telephone booth to the left of the tracks and the "DOE GULLY" sign on the right. (7/17/55) Later, photographed in Oct. 2002, at the same location. There is a depression in the ground beside the right-of-way where the concrete bases for the signals once stood. (7-17-55 and 10-2002)

The B132 milepost was found rusting away along the sweeping curve east of Doe Gully in Oct. 2002.

The WM right-of-way curves east for the 1st river bridge over the Potomac. (Oct. 2002)


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