Old Coal

During recent hikes along the original rail bed of the Baltimore and Ohio Old Main Line I noticed an old cut in a hill parallel to the rail bed, between it and the Patapsco river.

Yesterday I took a walk through that cut and noticed a few mounds of coal, some antique looking bottles and the top of an old earthenware jug. The coal piles looked like they had been dug out not long ago.

Close by were many scattered common red bricks and white fire bricks. I wonder if this was originally a small temporary blacksmith shop when the original track was being laid in the 1830s and 40s. Or when the original tracks were taken up after that section was abandoned around 1906. It was then that the Dorsey tunnel was excavated and the tracks were relocated on the other side of the river. More investigation is warranted.