Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum: All aboard!
As the country's biggest port, once upon a time, it only made sense that Baltimore would then develop the first major commercial railtrack in 1829. All this history is carefully preserved at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in West Baltimore. Once the campus for surveyors, engineers, and businessmen to build America's railways is now a museum of history for many of the country's railroad artifacts. It is an extremely popular place for visitors to browse around old locomotives and rolling stock.
In the museum's roundhouse, several locomotives and trains are on display for people to explore and even touch. The collection of trains include more than just B&O but also the Chesapeake & Ohio, Western Maryland, and other mid-Atlantic railroads.
The trains continue to the outside of the building on the 40-acre campus as well. There are pieces of infrastructure, such as bridges and earthworks; there's also a ghostly vision of the past through furniture, fine art, time pieces, silver and uniforms. For kids (and collecting enthusiasts), there's an extensive collection of model trains on display as well.
While the actual museum opened in 1953, the B&O displayed its collections for its entire existence at various fairs and expositions, including the1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. Publicists for B&O held onto its retired locomotives and items for marketing purposes, displaying them as “America's Railroad” and the chosen way to travel the scenic countryside.
In 1927, to celebrate the railroad's centennial, B&O restored all its historic trains and invited other companies from around the world to contribute historic pieces and artifacts. This became the foundation for the B&O museum.
HelloWashingtonDC Tip: Today, the museum is a non-profit organization, affiliated with the Smithsonian, and recently expanded and restored after a massive snowfall caused the roof to collapse. The museum hosts tours and lectures, as well as visits to the first passenger rail station. Events are often held at the museum as well and various rooms, including the roundhouse with the locomotives, are available for event rental.
Posted by Rin-rin Yu
