When the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad built the original line west toward Cumberland MD, they followed the Potomac River west from Hancock WV to Cumberland MD. In 1913 after the Western Maryland built a line through the area, the B&O built the Magnolia Cutoff to reduce the time it took to get through the area. They kept the original line open for passenger service until a flood in 1936 destroyed most of the old line. This video follows the Cutoff from Hancock to Paw Paw WV. This is a 16X9 Widescreen format DVD.

<p>The program starts and Hancock and travels west to Paw Paw. The line sees mostly coal, automotive and manifest trains. There are some intermodal trains, but tunnel clearances are not high enough for double stack containers. The video shows the 4 tunnels on the Magnolia Cutoff, and the Magnolia and Kessler Bridges crossing the Potomac.

<p>Narration is minimal but sufficient. Location and milepost markers are provided for most locations. The photography is very good, but haze is visible in many scenes (and haze is what you get in this area most of the time during late spring, summer and early fall). Fans of the B&O CPLs (Color Position Light) signals will find a lot to like in this program.

This line on the CSX is an engineering work of art with all the bridges, tunnels & curves. It's a beautiful stretch of railroad. Quite an interesting video to watch. I enjoyed this one.