Short Walk on a Short Trail

A couple of weeks ago, while driving through Catonsville, I spotted this sign for the Short Line Trail. Yesterday, Mama Wordbones and I decided to check it out.

I lived in this neighborhood until I was around ten years old. I can recall when the trains still used this line, servicing what once was the John S. Wilson Lumber Company on Frederick Road (now Bill’s Music House). The line was abandoned in the early seventies and since 1998 Catonsville Rails to Trails has labored to restore the former right of way to a 2.5 mile rail trail.

We picked the wrong spot to check it out. After walking only a short distance we discovered that the rail tunnel that used to run under Bloomsbury Avenue no longer existed. The most complete part of the trail is found further down the line at Maiden Choice Lane. The section we explored is still a work in progress.

Standing above the trail on Bloomsbury Avenue we decided to go and explore the Lurman Woodland Theater instead. This outdoor theater, tucked in the woods adjacent to Catonsville High School, hosts free music concerts on Saturday and Sunday evenings during the summer months. Yesterday it played host to an Easter egg hunt sponsored by the Catonsville Men’s Civic Association.