In 1899, the Western Maryland Railway (WM) implemented a route modification between Chambersburg and Hagerstown known as the Altenwald Cutoff. This new route, connecting Hagerstown and Quinsonia, Pennsylvania, served to reduce steep grades for heavy coal trains and shorten the overall distance on the branch line. A portion of the cutoff was double-tracked, leading to improved operational efficiency. However, the remaining section between Quinsonia and Edgemont experienced lower traffic levels. Eventually, the segment between Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, and Edgemont was dismantled in the late 1950s.[5]
During the late 1920s, the Reading Railroad constructed a new connection to the Western Maryland Railway at Lurgan.[5]
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^Cook, Roger; Zimmermann, Karl (1992). The Western Maryland Railway: Fireballs and Black Diamonds (2nd ed.). Laurys Station, PA: Garrigues House. p. 41. ISBN0-9620844-4-1. OCLC26302871.
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Salamon, Stephen J.; Hopkins, William E. (1991), The Western Maryland Railway in the Diesel Era, Silver Spring, MD: Old Line Graphics, p. 38, ISBN1-879314-07-X