1895 Baltimore Track Map
Prepare yourself for a fascinating journey into the days when there were SEVERAL transit companies competing for the fares of Baltimore riders...The map represented by the thumbnail below represents a 2 month long project resulting from the research of an 1897 published Baltimore City Survey Map, and shows the trackage arrangements of the various companies' overhead trolley, cable, and horsecar lines at the time the survey was being made in 1895.
This map shows the arrangements within the city of Baltimore proper, in regards to the established boundaries of 1888, before the present day expansion of 1918. As a result, the trackage through what was then Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties is not shown.
The map offers an excellent companion to the published works Baltimore's Streetcars (Who Made All Our Streetcars Go?) and Baltimore Streetcar Routes, in offering visual aid to the texts provided therein. Though explained by the key, it may help to mention that this map is color coded by operating company, and line types are coded by operating mode (horse, cable, trolley). One might note some date discrepancies regarding the existence of some smaller companies, such as the Halls Springs Railway and the Baltimore, Catonsville, and Ellicott Mills Railway, but these are taken as they are listed on the maps themselves, so any fault lay with the publisher of the survey itself.
A few other potential discrepancies appear to exist regarding car houses, and the track arrangements to access them. Two carhouses belived to be in existence at the time, at North and Gay (the original - not the "new" one), and at Edmondson and Fulton, were not shown on the map, and thus, cannot be shown here. In addition, there are some stretches in which 2 companies operated, while the map fails to designate either as the owner of the track. I simply decided to choose the color of such track randomly, and as such, ownership of these stretches is not definitive.
Of particular interest is to compare this map to the 1945 map, and see just where tracks once existed, and as well as where they hadn't been yet. Neat places where tracks were in 1895 include the Orleans Street line looping at Northeast Market, the Claremont Stock Yards, and along the Port Covington Ferry Bar (with 4 tracks!) peninsula. Meanwhile, outer Edmondson Avenue, Belair Road, and inner Liberty Heights had yet to see street railway tracks constructed along their stretches.
One note concerning the cable car operation concerns the Gilmor Street line. One should note that the Gilmor Street line had by this time been converted to electricity, but that the cable apparatus remained in place, and is shown on the original map as a combination of power supplies.
A couple of other tidbits to note on the map are the existence of disconnected horse car tracks along Retreat Street and Cloverdale Road near Druid Hill Park, a partially removed turnabout for the Central Railway at Pennsylvania and Fulton, remnants of the Dummy Line in Druid Hill, and the Baltimore & Hampden's pioneering electric line on what is now 33rd Street. Be sure to look at the 4 SETS OF TRACKS ALONG WEST NORTH AVENUE! And finally note the odd little Ann Street Horse car line in Fells Point, the last to serve the then-built area of the city.
One final mystery regards Pratt Street. Though shown under City and Suburban Control, a vintage photo on page 95 of Baltimore's Streetcars clearly shows a cable car slot on both of Pratt Street's rails, though City and Suburban NEVER operated Cable cars. Perhaps someone out there can offer some insight into this mystery...
To see the FULL SIZE map, simply click on this thumbnail below. The full image is over 3000 pixels wide, and is 200K in size. If it does not display properly in your browser, you may need to right click on the image below, and select SAVE TARGET AS..., then load the image in a paint program to view. I hope you'll agree that it will be worth it!
