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 that operated from 1899 until 1935 in central Maryland and Washington, D.C.

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] 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 served Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis, Maryland, for 27 years. In 1935, the railroad was sold at auction, undermined by the Great Depression and the rise of the automobile.

Successor companies continued to offer passenger service on the line between Annapolis and Baltimore until the late 1950s, when the trains were replaced by a bus service that operated until 1968.

Today, parts of the right-of-way are used for Baltimore Light RailLink, a light rail service from Cromwell Station / north Glen Burnie to downtown Baltimore and further north through city to Hunt Valley in Baltimore County. Other parts are now rail trails or roads through Anne Arundel County.