Martinsburg Roundhouse May 2016

 Martinsburg Roundhouse May 2016

The Martinsburg Roundhouse Authority had a big weekend of activities planned in May to commemorate the 155th anniversary of Thomas J. Jackson’s first raid on the roundhouse. We were able to visit the local attraction and see the cool structures along with see some great demonstrations. Feel free to go to the links for more information. 

 “The Center includes 13 acres with three B&O Railroad shop buildings. The main attraction is the completely enclosed 1866 cast iron frame roundhouse. It is situated along 1,000 feet of the Tuscarora Creek. The B & O Railroad shops operated until 1988. This site was active early in the Civil War and was the site of the first National Labor Strike of 1877.” This is a very cool place and very special due to the history.

 “The Civil War was the first war in which railroads played a significant role and the B&O roundhouse and shops in Martinsburg were caught in the middle of some of the war’s earliest battles. The significance is the importance of the railroads in moving men and supplies for both the Union and the Confederacy,” Elaine Mauck, chair of the Berkeley County Roundhouse Authority’s events committee, said in a recent interview. “And the B&O Railroad running through the Eastern Panhandle was important in the formation of the State of West Virginia.”

In the opening days of the Civil War, Jackson was a colonel in the Virginia Militia and had not yet been nicknamed Stonewall. That would come during the First Battle of Bull Run, or Manassas, in July.

1861, Jackson’s militia brigade moved to secure the B&O Railroad at Harpers Ferry and its roundhouse complex in Martinsburg.

“He wanted to disrupt the Union’s movement of supplies eastward from the Ohio Valley,” Mauck said.

Through a series of sly, shrewd maneuvers, Jackson was able to bottle up several trains between Cherry Run and Point of Rocks, Maryland, on May 24. He captured more than 40 locomotives and more than 380 cars.

Some of the locomotives were dismantled and dragged by horses along the Valley Pike – now U.S. 11 – south to Strasburg, Virginia, where they were shipped to Richmond, Virginia.

Jackson’s troops also destroyed several railroad bridges and trestles, and telegraph lines as well as commandeered much of the equipment and supplies at the roundhouse and shops.”

- By John McVey (jmcvey@journal-news.net), Journal News

 http://martinsburgroundhouse.com

“Martinsburg’s railroading history dates back to the 1840s with the presence of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. Engine and machine shops were used to expand the company. During the Civil War, railroads played an important part in transporting supplies and troops. On May 22, 1861, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s troops halted trains traveling east at Martinsburg and Point of Rocks. Locomotives and cars, as well as tracks, bridges, telegraph wire, “Colonade” Bridge, B&O roundhouse and machine shops were destroyed. In 1866, the B&O began efforts to rebuild the roundhouse and associated machine chops for servicing locomotives. Used until the mid-1980s, the Martinsburg Roundhouse is the only cast iron-framed structure of its kind still standing today. It was also the site of the First National Labor Strike of 1877 and was a key site early during the Civil War.” 

http://www.mainstreetmartinsburg.com/featured/roundhouse-in-martinsburg-wv/ 

 “Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops is a historic industrial district in Martinsburg, West Virginia. It is significant both for its railroading architecture by Albert Fink and John Rudolph Niernsee and for its role in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. It consists of three contributing buildings. The presence of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company in Martinsburg dates back to the late 1840s when the first engine and machine shops were erected for the expanding company.”

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_and_Ohio_Railroad_Martinsburg_Shops

 http://www.samlindsey.com/trainexcurs/Martinsburg3.asp

 http://washingtonheritagetrail.com/bc_16.html

 http://www.travelwv.com/play/museums/

 We also explored more of Martinsburg and the surrounding area recently.

Thanks for checking out my latest blog. Comments and sharing of the blog are appreciated.

 “Van Metre Ford Stone Bridge is a historic stone arch bridge located near Martinsburg, Berkeley County, West Virginia. It was built in 1832, and is a three span bridge crossing Opequon Creek. It is 132 feet long and constructed of ashlar limestone. The center span measures 32 feet and the two side spans are each 29.5 feet long. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.”

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Metre_Ford_Stone_Bridge

  http://washingtonheritagetrail.com/bc_22.html

http://www.mainstreetmartinsburg.com  

 There are many more images to view. You can go here to see the complete list of my blog entries:

http://tcbphoto.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html