WTBO Sign

WTBO sign overlooking the city of Cumberland, Maryland

Hollywood has its iconic sign on a hill overlooking the town. So too, does Cumberland, Maryland. In Cumberland's instance, the sign is on the grounds of radio station WTBO. That station, as I have mentioned before, is the first commercial radio job I had back in 1973. At night, the sign's neon face sequentially lights up each letter.

I took this photo on a trip through Cumberland in 1995. Downtown is situated in the distance just out of the shot to the left. The view here is facing to the north. The tallest mountain in the distance is on the north side of town, and is named Wills Mountain, most of which is situated in the state of Pennsylvania, but which does come into Maryland at Cumberland. At the Maryland end of Wills Mountain is a pass; through the mountains where the old National Pike ran through the Appalachians. It is known as The Narrows, and the road today is US 40.

Great Freeway, Great Video

It has been a little while since I have been able to post anything the least bit roadgeeky. Today while noodling around on the web, I came across a YouTube road geek who calls himself Freeway Jim. One of his videos is a trip westbound on Interstate 68 from its eastern terminus at I-70 in Hancock, Maryland; through to Cumberland. I have photos I took along this stretch of road last year posted here. However, Jim's sped up video gives you an idea of what it is like to travel through the beautiful scenery along this stretch of highway in rural western Maryland.

When I lived in Cumberland, I didn't have much in the way of money or possessions, but it was some of the best years of my life. This part of the country will always be a special place for me.

Below is Jim's video courtesy of YouTube:



Yet another YouTube citizen has a nice, real time video of I-68 Eastbound from about the point where Jim's video ends. It starts in the western part of LaVale and goes through the city of Cumberland. I have included it below. Items of note:

As the video begins, you are eastbound on I-68 on the side of a mountain. Just off screen to the left, on top of the mountain, is Sacred Heart Hospital. That is where my oldest son was born back in 1975.

At 0:17 on the video, the Exit 42 ramp is a long and very steep one that trucks should not take. You cannot really get a sense of how steep it is from the video. This is the exit to US 220. If you turn left at the bottom of the ramp, you are routed onto Greene Street into the city of Cumberland. If you turn right, it is McMullen Highway (both are US 220) and head southwest through Potomac Park, Bowling Green, Cresaptown, and on to Keyser, West Virginia.

At 1:46, the camera pans to the right across the Potomac River. Those houses are in Ridgeley, West Virginia.

At 1:35, you can see the road sign warning about the sharp turn at Moose Curve, which is visible in the distance. It is so named because of the Moose Lodge that was at the side of the road there.

At 1:55 TO 2:04, you are actually in Moose Curve. The old Moose Lodge is the red brick building right in front of the camera.

The radio station playing on the car radio is WKGO (GO 106). That was the first commercial station I ever was on the air at. It is the FM affiliate of WTBO (AM). My first job in radio was to be a DJ at WTBO, and I had to come in early to do local breaks on a college basketball game that was on WKGO.

C&O Canal Bike Ride on CNN.com

About a month ago, I posted some pictures from in and around Cumberland, Maryland as the lovely spouse and I passed through going to and coming back from her parents' home in West Virginia. I lived in Cumberland from 1972-1976, and it remains one of my favorite towns in America. Today on CNN.com, the town is featured as part of a travel story about biking the towpath of the historic Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. I thought I would start off October by sharing a link to the story, so CLICK HERE to read it. There are also 3 photos featured, the second of which is an AP Photo of the "Blue Bridge" that I posted my photo of, that connects Cumberland to Ridgeley, WV.

It's a nice story, and makes me want to make the bike journey. Enjoy!

A Maryland Road Trip

Last Saturday after landing at Reagan National on the Virginia side of the Potomac near downtown Washington, we rented a car and started our trek to the home of the lovely spouse's parents. Our journey took us up the George Washington Parkway; the Washington Beltway (I-495) for a short distance; then up I-270 to I-70 to I-68 west to Morgantown, WV; then US 119 south to Grafton. As I was driving, the LS became my photographer for some of the photos, all the while saying she doesn't know how to use my camera. Still, we got some decent pictures, a few of which I have prepared to show here. Click on any of them to see a larger version.

The pictures start on 270 North. This highway was once I-70S before the powers that be began to eschew numbers and letters for numbering Interstate Highways, a stance I agree with. One noticeable thing is that Maryland is using some pretty big reassurance shields on this stretch of highway. There is also a stretch of I-270 in Denver, running between i-70 near Aurora and I-25 and US 36 (Boulder Turnpike).



The next photo is at Exits 10 & 11, and displays good examples of the Maryland state highway shields. One thing that 270 has is inner express lanes with exits to outer local lanes. The express ones have exits only every several regular exits. The local lanes are where traffic can get on and off the highway without slowing down the express lanes. An oddity on this particular sign is the mixed font sizes used.



As we approach the end of I-270 at I-70, the last exit before the merge is Exit 31B, Maryland 85 South to Buckeystown.



In advance of the I-70 junction, we see that the main lanes of I-270 will continue northward as US 15, on the Frederick, Maryland and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. We can exit and go east on I-70 to Baltimore, or west to Hagerstown.



As we approach the exit, we get to the gore point, and are in the proper lane to merge onto I-70 West.



Once on the exit ramp, we get to another decision point.



From here, we travel west through Hagerstown. As we get close to the eastern terminus of I-68, we get advance notice of its exit. The alternate route west is an free alternative to staying on I-70 to the Pennsylvania Turnpike.



A little bit farther down the road, and we have a giant-sized trailblazer for I-68.



And getting closer to the start of 68 . . .



Now we are at narrowest point in the state of Maryland. Here the Mason-Dixon line where Pennsylvania and Maryland touch almost cuts Maryland in two, since the Potomac River is close to the south. Here is the last I-70 exit in Maryland. We will be taking it toward Cumberland.



Here is the actual exit. As you can see, US 40 is duplexed with I-68. As this is the eastern terminus of I-68, you can also see my photo of the western end of this highway taken last November, by CLICKING HERE.



And here is the first set of I-68 / US 40 reassurance shields. This freeway largely replaced old US 40. When it was first built, it was new US 40, then it was designated as US 48 from 1975-1989, and finally gained Interstate status as I-68. There is now a new US 48, which runs between I-81 and I-79 in Virginia and West Virginia. I still recall vividly how old US 40 ran through the Western Maryland mountains and that it took quite a while to get to and from Cumberland. This new road, also known as National Freeway, opened up a vital link to both Cumberland and Morgantown.



Maryland Wildlife . . . deers and bears...oh my!



Here is a mileage sign on 68. People sometimes don't believe there is a town called Flintstone. Here is the proof.

"Flintstones. Meet the Flintstones. They're the modern stone age family!"



The next shot shows Sideling Hill straight ahead, complete with the cut through for the highway visible to the left side of the picture.



Now, we are approaching the cut through Sideling . . .



Sideling Hill Cutout below. Old US 40 used to run about a mile or so toward the south, reach the summit, and come back to the north as it winds its way down. This cutaway reduced travel time significantly, and gave a four-lane freeway alternative to the two-lane, winding road. This is the eastern face of Sideling Hill, which is in Washington County. The opposite side is Allegany County. The building on the right of the freeway is a visitors center, with information about attractions in the area, as well as a history of the road cut. I have never seen a center dedicated to a cut through a mountain before, but here is one. Somewhere in Maryland, road geekdom must prevail!



As we get to the bottom of the other side, we cross Sideling Hill Creek and find an official MDoT Allegany County line sign.



And following that, is a fancier sign welcoming you to Allegany County.



Old US 40 is MD 144 as we get into the Flintstone area.



Cumberland city limits!



As we approach the heart of Cumberland, the county seat of Allegany county, we approach the Hillcrest Drive exit. Allegany County, Maryland is pronounced the same as Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (home county of Pittsburgh), but is obviously spelled differently.



Now we are at Exit 43C, which we will take into Downtown Cumberland to meet up with my friend Bob on our way to my in-laws. Bob and I worked together in radio back in the 1970s right here in Cumberland.

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Cumberland Byways & History

A West Virginia highway trailblazer sign in Maryland

Cumberland, Maryland sits along the Potomac River, and the other side is a piece of land that is in West Virginia, and juts nearly into the heart of downtown. When I lived there, WV 28 came up a very narrow road on the edge of a tall hill, and many accidents occurred along the stretch. Ultimately, that stretch between Ridgeley and Fort Ashby were re-designated as Alternate WV 28, and the main highway was diverted to South Cumberland at Fort Ashby, ultimately crossing into Maryland near the Cumberland Airport.

The picture above was taken on Greene Street, which is the routing of US 220 through the west part of Cumberland. You will notice that although the sign is in Maryland, it is a West Virginia highway sign. I examined the back of the sign to see if it was a MDOT or WVDOT sign, but there were no asset labels on it.

A few feet away is the next sign, which gives directions to various highways in the area. Again, a WV highway shield is indicated, and is correct. There is also an I-68 shield on this sign. Interstate 68 extends from Hancock, Maryland at I-70, and goes west through Cumberland, Frostburg, and Grantsville, before entering West Virginia and terminating at I-79 in Morgantown.


Directional sign on Greene Street (US 220), Cumberland

If you look to the right at the traffic signals in the photo above, you will see the so-called "Blue Bridge" that spans the Potomac and connects Cumberland to Ridgeley, WV.


The Blue Bridge

Once you go across the Blue Bridge, you are in Mineral County and the town of Ridgeley, West Virginia. Looks like they did carry through with getting rid of the silly "Open for Business" signs I blogged about last year.


Welcome to Ridgeley, West Virginia

Ridgeley used to have a sign that speed limits are "Electriclly Timed", and it was indeed misspelled like that. At least that sign has been removed. When I first met the lovely spouse back in 1973, she was a high-school student who lived just outside the Ridgeley town limits on the south end of town. In the distance of the picture above, you can see a West Virginia historical marker. A closer look below shows that this was the site of Fort Ohio prior to the American Revolution, and the completion of Fort Cumberland back across the river in Maryland.


Fort Ohio Historical Marker in Ridgeley

Walking back over the Blue Bridge to Cumberland, I got a nice picture of the clouds and trees reflected in the waters of the Potomac.


Potomac River between Cumberland & Ridgeley

Another place of historic interest at this juncture of river, roads, cities, and states. On the Maryland side of the Blue Bridge is a small cabin that served as headquarters to General George Washington during the French & Indian War, and again as United States Commander-In-Chief. Fort Cumberland sat on a hill diagonally across the street from Washington's headquarters. Today's city of Cumberland derives its name from that fort. A church now sits on the hill, and is noted as a part of the famed Underground Railway that helped slaves escape from servitude prior to the American Civil War. In this part of the country, there is history all around us.


George Washington's Cumberland Headquarters