Bay
Ridge Company - (en)
1915 Map showing the Bay Ridge and Annapolis Railroad
Locale Annapolis, Maryland, to Bay Ridge, Maryland
Dates of operation 1886 – 1904
Track gauge 4 ft 8˝ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters Annapolis, Maryland
The Bay Ridge and Annapolis Railroad, originally called the Annapolis and
Bay Ridge Railroad, was a 4.5-mile long short line railroad in central
Maryland. It ran 4.5 miles from a junction with the Annapolis, Washington
& Baltimore Railroad to the resort town of Bay Ridge, Maryland. It
mainly provided transportation between Annapolis and the resort, but also
connected with a carferry and steamer service to the Eastern Shore.
A small connection was eventually made to the Baltimore & Annapolis
Short Line. Shortly after opening it fell under the control of the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and changed its name. It was never able to
make money so it was shut down in 1904 and the tracks were removed in
1918. Very little sign of it remains today.
History
Origins
The Annapolis and Bay Ridge Railroad was incorporated by the Bay Ridge
Company on April 8, 1884 with the right to build a railroad from Annapolis
or any point on the Annapolis and Elkridge Railroad to Bay Ridge, MD in
Anne Arundel County.
The Bay Ridge Company began work on the railroad and rebuilt the beach
resort on the Chesapeake Bay in 1885. The hotel was doubled in size, the
boardwalk expanded, and beach cottages were constructed. The company even
opened a zoological exhibit with lions, tigers and bears.
The railroad began operation on July 10, 1886 and for the next 17 years,
thousands of people used it to visit the "Queen Resort of the
Chesapeake." The start up costs, however, were enormous, and in
September 1886, the Bay Ridge Company issued $300,000 worth of bonds.
Robert Gerrett, President of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, bought
$150,000 worth of the bonds giving the B&O a controlling interest in
the Bay Ridge Company and the Annapolis and Bay Ridge Railroad.
By 1887 the company had changed its name to the Bay Ridge and Annapolis
Railroad (BR&A), sometimes called simply the "Bay Ridge Railroad."
At a point prior to 1890, a small connection was made from Chesapeake
Junction to the Baltimore & Annapolis Short Line near West Annapolis.
Carferry Connection
For 13 months in 1890-91 the BR&A connected to a carferry and steamer
service run by the Baltimore & Eastern Shore Railroad. That service
ended in October 1891 and was replaced by a steamer-only operation out of
Baltimore.
End of the Line
The railroad was never profitable and in 1904 it ceased operations. In
1918, with steel at a premium due to World War I, the tracks were removed.
