About us

The Chesapeake Railway Association ("Chessie") is a non-profit railroad education and historic preservation group with close ties to the Walkersville Southern Railroad on which Chessie's two pieces of rolling stock are maintained and operated. Chessie members don't just "talk rail" - they take an active part in the preservation and operation of railroad equipment for present and future generations to appreciate and enjoy.

Chessie began as the Chesapeake Division, Railroad Enthusiasts, Inc., with a handful of members in Laurel, Maryland in the late 1960s. The Chesapeake Division became independent of the RRE in December 1999 and changed its name to the Chesapeake Railway Association, and today numbers approximately 80. Over the years we've held regular membership meetings in Laurel, Calverton, Gaithersburg, downtown Rockville and Montgomery College. Our most recent meeting place was the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station in Silver Spring. We met from April through December, with the exception of September, when our meeting took place as a picnic at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday of the Labor Day weekend in the Walkersville Community Park. We didn't meet in January, February or March during the months of the worst weather for the year. Meetings were suspended at the onset of the government-imposed lockdown in early 2020, followed by an increase in crime in the area around the station, leading to the end of in-person monthly meetings.

We're a friendly, rail-oriented group with mixed rail interests and backgrounds. Some of our members are current or former railway employees, while others enjoy trains as a hobby. Whatever your background, you'll find you're among friends in Chessie.