The railroad era in Ocean City began in 1876 and lasted for 57 years. During this time passenger train service played a major role with nearly all the summer visitors prior to the 1920s arriving by rail.
The original terminal was located on Baltimore Avenue at S. Division Street but was moved to Philadelphia Avenue and Wicomico Street in 1903. The trains entered town over a wooden trestle bridge; it had planks which allowed pedestrians and vehicles to cross after paying a small toll. This was the only bridge into Ocean City prior to 1919.
During the pre-WWI period as many as eight passenger trains crossed the bridge each day in the summer but by the mid-1920s the automobile had caused passenger rail service to decline. A hurricane on Aug. 23, 1933 destroyed the trestle bridge ending rail service to Ocean City forever.
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Postcard circa 1921 from Bunk Mann’s collection.