Relay, Maryland, or Relay House, Maryland, was formerly an important junction and rail stop on the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

, located west of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. It was the busiest station on the line except for Baltimore itself. A town grew up around it: a general store, a school, and a volunteer fire company. Although the neighborhood is still inhabited, only the ghost of the town survives. There is no longer town government, a post office, nor are there any stores. The former fire house, at 1710 Arlington Avenue, at one point the town hall, has survived and is available for rental for events. In 2021 Relay is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

Halethorpe, Maryland Halethorpe is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The community is considered to be a sub-section of Arbutus by the United States Census Bureau. It is bordered by the main portion of Arbutus to the north, Balt ...

, near the intersection of today's Viaduct and Railroad Avenues. There is a Relay Elementary School.

The Relay House Station

Several different buildings were built at approximately the same point on the rail line, and they are often confused. # The original Relay House, a frame building which survives in 2021, though rebuilt after a fire, and it looks different. It was the station before the line to Washington opened and the route of the main line slightly changed. # The Relay House Station, at the intersection of the two train lines (demolished at unknown date) # The Viaduct Hotel, sometimes called the Relay Hotel, built of stone (demolished in 1950).

The original Relay House

Changing Horses At The Relay House, 1830 (NBY 416030)

The Relay House was a 3-story, 32-room restaurant-inn-stables, built for the use of horse-drawn cars traveling between Baltimore and

Ellicott's Mills Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its population was 65,834 at the 2010 census, making it the mo ...

(); this was the first part built of what would become the Railroad's main line to

Wheeling, Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contain ...

(since 1863, West Virginia). The main cargo at that time was barrels of flour from the mills, taken to Baltimore. Passenger service was also provided. The "relays" were horses, that would be swapped at the Relay House. In 1830 there took place the famous, perhaps mythical, race between a horse and a demonstration locomotive engine, the

Tom Thumb Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore. ''The History of Tom Thumb'' was published in 1621 and was the first fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, tangl ...

, the first locomotive built in America. The race began at Baltimore and ended at the Relay House. The engine misfunctioned and the horse won, but the viability of steam locomotives was successfully demonstrated. This building survives and in 2021 is a private residence, although because of fire damage and subsequent repairs its appearance is different. It is slightly set back from the two buildings about to be mentioned; when the Viaduct was opened the tracks were slightly relocated and the line no longer passed immediately in front of the Relay House. Some remnants of the original, long-unused 1830 tracks remain
Link to picture of this building

The Relay Station

In 1835 the

Thomas Viaduct The Thomas Viaduct spans the Patapsco River and Patapsco Valley between Relay, Maryland and Elkridge, Maryland, USA. It was commissioned by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O); built between July 4, 1833, and July 4, 1835; and named for Philip ...

opened, providing the first rail service to Washington, D.C., and the use of horses was discontinued. (In 2022 the Viaduct is still in regular use.) The tracks were slightly relocated, meaning the Relay House was no longer adjacent to the tracks. New platforms with benches and roofs were built along the tracks, but the Relay House was still close enough that trains could stop for meal breaks. On railroad maps and timetables the station is called "Relay"
1878 B&O Railroad Map
Before the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, it was a station and an important junction and transfer point on the

, where the track from Washington, D.C., merged into the Railroad's main Baltimore–Wheeling line. There was a

wye junction In railroad structures, and rail terminology, a wye (like the'' 'Y' '' glyph) or triangular junction (often shortened to just "triangle") is a triangular joining arrangement of three rail lines with a railroad switch (set of points) at each c ...

. It was the most complicated station on the line, and the 2nd busiest, after Baltimore. The names Relay and Relay House occur frequently in the reports on

John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, the last major event before the Civil War caused operations on the line to be shut down.

The Viaduct Hotel

After the war and much repair (the

B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing The B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing is a historic site where a set of railroad bridges, originally built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, span the Potomac River between Sandy Hook, Maryland, and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in the Unit ...

Harpers Ferry Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...

was blown up, among other things), normal traffic could resume. In 1872 the Railroad built a four-story, granite Victorian-style combination hotel and station, called the Viaduct Hotel; it was also referred to as the Relay Hotel. It was not a conventional hotel; it was for the use of train crew and passengers. Trains would have scheduled meal stops. Passengers changing trains might have to spend some hours in Relay. There was a barber and a post office. It was also used for B&O meetings and dinners, and as housing for railroad workers. By about 1900, faster intercity trains and the introduction of

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that ...

s and

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car. ...

s made the Viaduct Hotel obsolete. It gradually lost customers and closed in 1938; it was demolished in 1950. A marker formerly at the site of the hotel/station is now in the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum The B&O Railroad Museum is a museum and historic railway station exhibiting historic railroad equipment in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) company originally opened the museum on July 4, 1953, with the name of the Balt ...

, in Baltimore. A miniature recreation of the hotel has been built.

The Relay House Station

The original Relay House

The Relay Station

The Viaduct Hotel

References

Further reading