“Cat Ears” A massive westbound hopper train, in 5+3+0 configuration, exits the 993-foot Carothers Tunnel on the famed Magnolia Cutoff, which was opened for business by the B&O in 1914.
By eliminating the twists and turns imposed by the Potomac River on the original main line (“Low Line”), the Cutoff (or “High Line”) cut nearly 6 miles off the route between Okonoko and Orleans Cross Roads, WV, two villages that were separated by only 10 miles as the crow flies.
The more recent National Gateway program, undertaken to provide clearance for double stacks, included modifications to the tunnel and notching of the portals, resulting in the “cat ears” effect. Aesthetics, obviously, were not the priority.
