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

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

, located west of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. It was the busiest station on the rail line except for Baltimore itself. A town grew around it: with a general store, a school, and a volunteer fire company. Currently, Relay is a

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

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, Ba ...

, with attractions like the

Thomas Viaduct The Thomas Viaduct is a viaduct that 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; an ...

, the

Patapsco Valley State Park Patapsco Valley State Park is a Maryland state park extending along of the Patapsco River south and west of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. The park encompasses multiple developed areas on over acres of land, making it Maryland's largest st ...

The Relay House Station

Relay House

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 (); this was the first part built of what would become the Railroad's main line to Wheeling, Virginia (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 known fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, ...

, 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 as of 2025 is a private residence.

Relay Station

In 1835 the

opened, providing the first rail service to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and the use of horses was discontinued, although the station was still called Relay on railroad

maps A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...

. 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. Before the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

, 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 corner ...

. 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 Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was an effort by abolitionist John Brown, from October 16th to 18th, 1859, to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (since 1863, We ...

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

Viaduct Hotel

After the war, 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 only. Trains would have scheduled meal stops, so 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 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 passenger railroad car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. These cars provide the highest level of service of any rai ...

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 main American innovator and owner of sl ...

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

Relay House

Relay Station

Viaduct Hotel

References

Further reading