This map depicts the area east of Marriottsville, with McKeldin Falls at the center. The dashed blue line shows the pre-diverted route of the Patapsco River, the green the original 1830 alignment of the railroad.

With the shift of the river, Howard County grew slightly larger at the expense of Carroll County.

As we head west and approach McKeldin Falls, the small hillside cut at left is the first evidence of realignment: during the intial construction of the line circa 1830, workers had little more than hand exacavating tools and so had originally veered the tracks around such rocky obstacles. The cut came later.

The utility poles still follow the original alignment and illustrate how it had swung wider to the right before crossing left just ahead.

The original alignment crossed the existing at this location, proceeded between the two clumps of older trees, and kept on the south bank of the river, which had been below on the right.

The year the original was bypassed remains uncertain. I suspect 1838/1839 since 1) other realignment work, such as that at Elysville/Daniels, was being done at that time, and 2) the project's redirection of the Patapsco River is noted in the 1855 book "Rambles in the path of the steam-horse" by Eli Bowen (page 165). The book can be read online.

From a swampy location between the original alignment and the present one, Dave caught Union Pacific 6340, a so-called "patch unit", displaying hasty renumbering and only partial repainting from its days as Southern Pacific 305.

The swamp marks the remains of the Patapsco River's original route. The stonework here matches that of other arched bridges built during the OML's period of tunnelling and realignment between 1900 and 1905. The 1855 book "Rambles in the path of the steam-horse" specifically mentions the lack of a bridge here, which suggests it was added later, perhaps to facilitate drainage.

The falls is located some distance on the other side of the tracks to the upper left.

Hang eight? Yellow and red boxcars of eastbound mixed freight brave the rapids of McKeldin Falls, the largest on the Patapsco River. Here the river drops 12 feet in 60 feet, producing a 20% "grade"; the railroad's maximum grade west to Mt. Airy is 0.7%.

The B&O-created falls is named for Theodore McKeldin who served two terms as governor of Maryland sandwiched between two terms as mayor of Baltimore. There's a certain ironic twist: McKeldin was a supporter of transportation, but emphasized roads, planes and ships over the railroad.

Link: American Whitewater

Back on the south, original-alignment side of the falls, the forest's green spring growth can't hide this mound on which the railroad had passed. Ahead is a break in the mound where it appears a box culvert may have been.

At the break in the mound, Dave found this stone, surprisingly little evidence of a box culvert. He writes:

"My theory is that the man-cut stone pictured indicates a culvert at this spot. There is another break very close to this one, and I think maybe that one could be a washout caused by heavy water flow, since I couldnt find any man-altered stones there. But I think where this stone is, there used to be a stone culvert. I think the stone is proof of a now-dismantled culvert or small arched bridge."

Evidence something railroad this way comes, or came, is this now-dislodged stone stringer that perhaps wishes to return to the active trackbed days of its youth.

Horses of the non-iron variety keep clear a path along the top of the original alignment.

Now we're looking back from the western end of of the disused alignment. The Patapsco River can be glimpsed at the bottom left. Prior to this wall blocking its natural route, the river proceeded toward the utility pole at middle left, and the railroad had followed the bank to the right.

Anyone not fond of snakes would best avoid this wall as many of those slithery creatures seem to enjoy resting within the gaps between these boulders.

The small gap in the forest overgrowth at picture center marks the emergence of the original alignment. The river-diverting wall is unseen on the left.

Dual mileposts 24 stand where the original and current alignments join and continue west to Marriottsville.