Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway

Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway

WB&A System map
Overview
Headquarters	Annapolis, Maryland
Reporting mark	WB&A
Locale	Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Dates of operation	1908–1935
Successor	Franchise acquired by Baltimore-Washington Rapid Rail and the Northeast Maglev
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	6,600 V AC (1908–1910) Overhead line, 1,200 V DC (after 1910)

The Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway (WB&A) was an American railroad of central Maryland and Washington, D.C., built in the 19th and 20th century. The WB&A absorbed two older railroads, the Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad and the Baltimore & Annapolis Short Line, and added its own electric streetcar line between Baltimore and Washington. It was built by a group of Cleveland, Ohio, electric railway entrepreneurs to serve as a high-speed, showpiece line using the most advanced technology of the time.^[1] It served Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis, Maryland, for 27 years before the Great Depression and the rise of the automobile forced an end to passenger service during the economic pressures of the 1930s depression southwest to Washington from Baltimore & west from Annapolis in 1935. Only the Baltimore & Annapolis portion between the state's largest city and its state capital continued to operate electric rail cars for another two decades, replaced by a bus service during the late 1950s into 1968. Today, parts of the right-of-way are used for the light rail line (from Cromwell Station / north Glen Burnie going north to downtown Baltimore and further north through city to Hunt Valley in Baltimore County), rail trail for hiking - biking trails, and roads through Anne Arundel County.