The B&O Railroad Museum is a museum and historic

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

exhibiting historic railroad equipment in

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 ...

. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) company originally opened the museum on July 4, 1953, with the name of the Baltimore & Ohio Transportation Museum. It has been called one of the most significant collections of railroad treasures in the world and has the largest collection of 19th-century locomotives in the U.S. The museum is located in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's old Mount Clare Station and adjacent roundhouse, and retains 40 acres of the B&O's sprawling

Mount Clare Shops The Mount Clare Shops is the oldest railroad manufacturing complex in the United States, located in Baltimore, Maryland.United States National Park Service. Washington, DC. Historic American Engineering Record (HAER). "Baltimore and Ohio Railroad: ...

site, which is where, in 1829, the B&O began America's first railroad and is the oldest

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

manufacturing complex in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Mount Clare is considered to be a birthplace of American railroading, as the site of the first regular railroad passenger service in the U.S., beginning on May 22, 1830. It was also to this site that the first

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

message, " What hath God wrought?" was sent on May 24, 1844, from

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, using

Samuel Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After having established his reputation as a portrait painter, in his middle age Morse contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph ...

's electric telegraph. The museum houses collections of 19th- and 20th-century artifacts related to America's railroads. The collection includes 250 pieces of railroad rolling stock, 15,000 artifacts, of archival material, four significant 19th-century buildings, including the historic roundhouse, and a mile of track, considered the most historic mile of railroad track in the United States. Train rides are offered on the mile of track on Wednesday through Sunday from April through December and on weekends in January. In 2002, the museum had 160,000 visitors annually. The museum also features an outdoor G-scale layout, two indoor

HO scale HO or H0 is a rail transport modelling scale using a 1:87 scale (3.5 mm to 1 foot). It is the most popular scale of model railway in the world. The rails are spaced apart for modelling standard gauge tracks and trains in HO. NMRA"Mo ...

model, and a wooden model train for children to climb on. From

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

through the New Year, local model railroad groups set up large layouts on the roundhouse floor and in select locations on the grounds of the museum. A museum store offers toys, books, DVDs, and other railroad-related items. The museum and station were designated as a U.S.

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1961. In 2008, the museum won three awards in

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

's Parents' Picks Awards in the categories of Best Museum for Little Kids, Best Indoor Playspace for Little Kids, and Best Indoor Playspace for Big Kids. Television and film actor Michael Gross is the museum's "celebrity spokesman". The museum definitively documented 24 Freedom Seekers that used the B&O Railroad on their journeys on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

- 8 of which traveled through the museum's historic site of Mount Clare. In 2021, the museum'
Mt Clare Station
building was designated as a National Park Servic

site. The museum also hosts an annual Day out with Thomas event every year, complete with the train's excursion including a non-powered Thomas the Tank Engine replica.

History

The inaugural horse-drawn B&O train traveled the of the newly completed track from Mount Clare to Ellicott Mills (now Ellicott City, Maryland), on May 22, 1830, the first regular railroad passenger service in the U.S. The existing Mount Clare station brick structure was constructed in 1851. The adjacent roundhouse designed by Ephraim Francis Baldwin was built in 1884 to service the B&O's passenger cars. For much of its history, the B&O had been collecting locomotives and other artifacts from its history for public relations purposes. This collection was stored in various places until the railroad decided to centralize it in a permanent home. The car shop of the Mt. Clare Shops was chosen, and the new museum opened on July 4, 1953. The museum ended up outliving its parent B&O Railroad, and was kept intact by both the

Chessie System Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Trains operated unde ...

and

CSX Corporation CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on rail transportation and real estate in North America, among other industries. The company was established in 1980 as part of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries merger. ...

. In 1990, CSX deeded the property and collection to the newly formed, not-for-profit museum organization governed by an independent board of directors and provided it with a $5 million endowment. In 1999, the museum became affiliated with the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. In the early morning of February 17, 2003, heavy snow from the Presidents' Day Storm collapsed half of the roof of the museum's roundhouse. Although the structure's central support columns remained standing, the supporting iron struts and ties of the destroyed roofing sections failed under the snow load. The museum suffered heavy damage not only to the roundhouse itself but also to the collection within the roundhouse. Some of the items were damaged beyond repair. Reporting on the devastation the following day, ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...

'' said, "...hours after the collapse, columns of mangled steel stuck out from the roundhouse ... Locomotives and passenger cars in the museum's collection, some dating from the 1830s, could be seen covered with snow and debris." The roundhouse, with a newly repaired roof, reopened to the public on November 13, 2004, and the damaged locomotives and cars were surrounded by a plexiglass barrier. As of September 2015, all damaged exhibits have been restored to their original appearance. After the roof collapse, subsequent fundraising and restoration allowed the museum to upgrade many of its facilities. In 2005 the museum opened a new service facility west of the roundhouse for restoration of historical equipment and maintenance of active equipment.

Collection

The B&O Railroad Museum possesses the oldest and most comprehensive American railroad collections in the world. Dating from the beginning of American railroading, the collection contain
locomotives and rolling stockhistoric buildingsrailroading artifacts
and an extensiv
archives and research library
that document the impact of American railroading and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad on American economics, culture, and history. The collection is being made available through a
online searchable database

Notable rolling stock

The museum's

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can ...

collection include both originals and replicas, some of which were built by the B&O for its centennial " Fair of the Iron Horse" in 1927. Collection highlights include: *Baltimore and Ohio 4-4-0 #25'' William Mason'' built in 1856, used in ''

The Great Locomotive Chase ''The Great Locomotive Chase'' is a 1956 American adventure western film produced by Walt Disney Productions, based on the Great Locomotive Chase that occurred in 1862 during the American Civil War. Filmed in CinemaScope and in color, the fil ...

'', and later in ''

Wild Wild West ''Wild Wild West'' is a 1999 American steampunk Western film co-produced and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, from a story penned by brothers Jim and John ...

''. Operated until October 2014, retired from service due to thin

crown sheet Boilers for generating steam or hot water have been designed in countless shapes, sizes and configurations. An extensive terminology has evolved to describe their common features. This glossary provides definitions for these terms. Terms which re ...

. *Baltimore & Ohio 0-4-0 "

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, tan ...

" 1927 replica. Had been refurbished by the Strasburg Rail Road and restored to operating condition for 2004 "Fair of the Iron Horse." Only operated a handful of times, at most, after refurbishment. On display in the roundhouse, in non-operational condition. In need of Federally mandated boiler inspection to operate again. Last operated circa Christmas 2013. *Baltimore & Ohio 0-4-0 #8 "John Hancock" built in 1836. *Baltimore & Ohio 4-2-0 #13 "Lafayette" 1927 replica. In the past, it was occasionally fired up and operated by the museum for demonstration purposes, currently on display in the roundhouse, in non-operational condition. In need of federally mandated boiler inspection to operate again. Last operated circa October 2015 *Cumberland Valley 2-2-2T #13 "Pioneer" built in 1851. On loan. *Baltimore & Ohio 4-6-0 #305: (Built in 1869 at Mt. Clare, Mother Hubbard design based on

Ross Winans Ross Winans (1796–1877) was an American inventor, mechanic, and builder of locomotives and railroad machinery. He is also noted for design of pioneering cigar-hulled ships. Winans, one of the United States' first multi-millionaires, was invol ...

' design. Previously #217.) *Baltimore & Ohio 4-6-0 #147 "Thatcher Perkins" built in 1863. *Baltimore & Ohio 0-8-0 #57 "Memnon" built in 1848. *Baltimore and Ohio 2-8-0 #545 ''A.J. Cromwell'' built in 1888. *Baltimore and Ohio

2-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. ...

#600 "J. C. Davis" built at Mt. Clare in 1875, which won first prize at the 1876 Centennial Exposition."Save America's Treasures" (B&O Railroad Museum), December 2009. *St. Elizabeth's Hospital 0-4-0T #4: one of the last Porter steam locomotives built, built in 1950 for use at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington DC. Later ran at Ft. Eustis then in storage at Cass Scenic Railroad. Arrived at B&O Museum in 1980s. Restored to operating condition in 2002 and re-restored in 2005 after suffering damage in a roof collapse. Out of Service for a 1,472-day inspection, last operated circa Fall 2015. Coal burner. *

Clinchfield Railroad The Clinchfield Railroad was an operating and holding company for the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway . The line ran from the coalfields of Virginia and Elkhorn City, Kentucky, to the textile mills of South Carolina. The 35-mile segmen ...

4-6-0 #1 built in 1882. The engine was used for excursions from 1968 until 1979. B&O 0-4-0 Atlantic (1832)

*Baltimore and Ohio 0-4-0 "Grasshopper", built in 1832 by Phineas Davis and Israel Gartner, one of the oldest surviving American locomotives *Baltimore and Ohio

4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomo ...

#5300 "President Washington" built in 1927. *Baltimore and Ohio 2-8-2 #4500, USRA Light Mikado and the world's first USRA locomotive, built in 1918. * Chesapeake and Ohio 4-6-0 #377 built in 1902. *Chesapeake and Ohio 4-6-4 #490: The last surviving C&O "Streamlined" Hudson built in 1946. *Chesapeake and Ohio

2-8-4 Under the Whyte notation, a 2-8-4 is a steam locomotive that has two unpowered leading wheels, followed by eight coupled and powered driving wheels, and four trailing wheels. This locomotive type is most often referred to as a Berkshire, thou ...

#2705 built in 1943. *Chesapeake and Ohio

2-6-6-6 The 2-6-6-6 (in Whyte notation) is an articulated locomotive type with two leading wheels, two sets of six driving wheels and six trailing wheels. Only two classes of the 2-6-6-6 type were built. One was the "Allegheny" class, built by the Lima L ...

#1604: One of two surviving "Allegheny"-class locomotives built in 1941. *

American Freedom Train Two national Freedom Trains have toured the United States: the 1947–49 special exhibit Freedom Train and the 1975–76 American Freedom Train which celebrated the United States Bicentennial. Each train had its own special red, white and blue p ...

4-8-4 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type wa ...

#1 (

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

# 2101) built in 1945. One of three steam engines used on American Freedom Train of 1975–1976. Used on Chessie System Steam Specials in 1977–1978. *Greenbrier, Cheat and Elk River Shay #1 built in 1905. *

Central Railroad of New Jersey The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...

4-4-2 #592 built in 1901, one of five surviving Camelback type locomotives. *Potomac Electric Company (PEPCO) Fireless 0-4-0 #43 * Pere Marquette SW1 #11 built in 1942. Operational. *Central Railroad of New Jersey #1000: first commercially successful diesel built in 1925. *Baltimore & Ohio EA #51: first streamlined diesel built in 1937. Recently completed cosmetic restoration. *Baltimore & Ohio RDC #1961 built in 1956. Operational. *

Western Maryland upright=1.2, An enlargeable map of Maryland's 23 counties and one independent city Western Maryland, also known as the Maryland Panhandle, is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that typically consists of Washington, Allegany, and Garre ...

BL2 #81 built in 1948 and Slug #138T built in 1941. *Baltimore & Ohio GP30 #6944 built in 1962. Operational. *Baltimore & Ohio GP40 #3684 built in 1966. *Baltimore & Ohio GP9 #6607. built in 1956. Operational. *Western Maryland RS3 #195 built in 1953 *Baltimore & Annapolis 70 tonner #50 built in 1950 *Baltimore & Ohio (Octoraro) S1 #3 *Canton Railroad

Baldwin VO-1000 The Baldwin VO-1000 is a diesel-electric switcher locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works between January 1939 and December 1946. These units were powered by a naturally aspirated eight-cylinder diesel engine rated at , and rode on a ...

#32 built in 1944 *Baltimore & Ohio GP7 #6405 built in 1953. Operational. *Chessie System

GP38 The EMD GP38 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1966 and December 1971. The locomotive's prime mover was an EMD 645 16-cylinder engine that generated . The company built 70 ...

#3802 built in 1967. Chosen by ''

Trains Magazine ''Trains'' is a monthly magazine about trains and railroads aimed at railroad enthusiasts and railroad industry employees. The magazine primarily covers railroad happenings in the United States and Canada, but has some articles on railroading els ...

'' as "All American Diesel". Operational. *Baltimore & Ohio #10 (electric) * Pennsylvania Railroad #4876: GG1 electric, not currently on display in the museum itself. This locomotive crashed into Washington D.C.'s Union Station in 1953 in the ''1953 Federal Express'' train wreck. *MARC F7A APCU #7100: built in 1951, rebuilt in 1981. Used as a cab car and for supplying HEP. *

Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad The Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad , familiarly known as the "Ma and Pa", was an American short-line railroad between York and Hanover, Pennsylvania, formerly operating passenger and freight trains on its original line between York and Balt ...

("Ma & Pa") inspection car and

Railway post office In Canada and the United States, a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly tr ...

car * Forty and Eights "Merci" boxcar. One of 49 French boxcars gifted to the US in 1949. * B&O ''Royal Blue Line'' 1890s-era coach *Chessie System GP15T 1507. Built in 1982 and was just recently acquired. To be restored.

Exhibitions

The B&O Railroad Museum has over nine public acres o
historic buildings and grounds
wit
exhibitions
an
collection
items on display. Some highlighted exhibitions include:
The Roundhouse: The First Century of Railroading

The First American Locomotives: The Fair of the Iron Horse

Civil War: The War Came by Train

North Car Shop: 20th Century American Railroading

Bank of America Model Train Gallery

Smithsonian Model Train Collection

Dining on the B&O: The China Collection

Cool Runnings on the Railroad: The American Refrigeration Car

About Time: The Standardization of Time

References

External links