View source for Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

{{Short description|Rail system in the United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox rail
|railroad_name=Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
|logo_filename= Baltimore and Ohio Herald.png
|logo_size=100
|system_map={{maplink-road|
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|map_caption=All rail lines operated by the B&O and subsidiaries
|marks=BO
|locale={{hlist|[[Delaware]]|[[Illinois]]|[[Indiana]]|[[Ohio]]|[[Maryland]]|[[Massachusetts]]|[[Missouri]]|[[New Jersey]]|[[New York (state)|New York]]|[[Pennsylvania]]|[[Virginia]]|[[Washington, D.C.]]|[[West Virginia]]
}}
|start_year=1830
|end_year=1987
|successor_line=[[Chessie System]]/[[Chesapeake & Ohio Railway]]/[[CSX Transportation]]
| gauge = {{track gauge|ussg}}
|hq_city=[[B&O Railroad Headquarters Building]], 2 North [[Charles Street (Baltimore)|Charles Street]], [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]] 1906–1987
|image=Columbian (B&O) train.jpg|caption=Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's [[Columbian (B&O train)|''Columbian'']] crosses the [[Potomac River]] from [[Maryland]] to [[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia]], in 1949}}

The '''Baltimore and Ohio Railroad''' {{reporting marks|BO|B&O}} was the [[oldest railroads in North America|oldest railroad in the United States]] and the first [[steam engine|steam-operated]] [[common carrier]].<ref name="B&O history">{{cite web |title=Baltimore and Ohio Railroad |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Baltimore-and-Ohio-Railroad |website=Britannica.com |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=8 February 2025}}</ref> Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 until 1987, when it was merged into the [[Chessie System]]. Its lines are today controlled by [[CSX Transportation]].<ref name="B&O history" /><ref name="CWRU B&O history">{{cite web |title=BALTIMORE & OHIO RAILROAD |url=https://case.edu/ech/articles/b/baltimore-ohio-railroad |access-date=8 February 2025 |website=Encyclopedia of Cleveland History |publisher=Case Western Reserve University}}</ref>

Founded to serve merchants from [[Baltimore]] who wanted to do business with settlers crossing the [[Appalachian Mountains]], the railroad competed with several existing and proposed [[Central Avenue (Albany, New York)|turnpikes]] and canals, including the [[Erie Canal|Erie]] and [[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal]]. The railroad began operation in 1830 on a 13-mile line between [[Baltimore]] and [[Ellicott City, Maryland|Elliot's Mill]] in [[Maryland]]. Horse-drawn cars were replaced by steam locomotives the following year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bak |first=Luca |date=1830-05-24 |title=First passenger rail service in US (Baltimore and Elliots Mill, Maryland). |url=https://www.todaysflashback.com/first-passenger-rail-service-in-us-baltimore-and-elliots-mill-maryland/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Today's Flashback |language=en-US}}</ref>  

Over the following decades, construction continued westward. During the [[American Civil War]], the railroad sustained much damage but proved crucial to the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] victory. After the war, the B&O consolidated several feeder lines in Virginia and West Virginia, and expanded westward into Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. 

In 1962, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad gained control of the B&O, though it continued to operate separately.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2020-04-24 |title=CSX merger family tree {{!}} Trains Magazine |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/railroads/history/csx-merger-family-tree/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Trains |language=en-US}}</ref> By 1970, the B&O operated {{convert|4,535|miles|km|sp=us|round=5}} of mainline track, plus the [[Staten Island Rapid Transit]] system and the [[Reading Company|Reading Railroad]] and its subsidiaries.<ref>{{cite web |title=This Day in History: Chartering of the B&O Railroad |url=https://preservationmaryland.org/this-day-in-history-chartering-of-the-bo-railroad |website=Preservation Maryland |access-date=8 February 2025 |date=28 February 2022}}</ref><ref name="CWRU B&O history" /> The B&O ended long-distance passenger service in 1971, although it continued limited commuter service at Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh.<ref name="B&O history" /> In 1987, the B&O was formally merged into the C&O, which was by then a subsidiary of [[CSX Transportation]] (CSX).<ref name=":0" />

The B&O is noted as a pioneer in railroading. It was the first U.S. railroad to operate a [[Tom Thumb (locomotive)|steam locomotive]], it built [[Carrollton Viaduct|historic infrastructure]], and it operated prestigious passenger trains.<ref name="B&O history" /> It also gained fame as one of the four railroads in the original version of the board game [[Monopoly (game)|''Monopoly'']].<ref name="B&O Monopoly">{{cite web |last1=Roberts |first1=Randall |title=Were the Monopoly Railroads Real? |url=https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/monopoly-railroads-2382515 |website=The Spruce Crafts |access-date=8 February 2025 |date=21 July 2019}}</ref>

==History==
===Ohio River===
{{More citations needed|section|date=November 2023}}
The railroad reached the [[Ohio River]] in 1852, 24 years after the project started. From the railroad's founding, one of its primary goals was to link the East Coast transportation hub of [[Baltimore]] across the Ohio River to [[Midwestern United States|Midwestern]] states. By crossing the [[Appalachian Mountains]], a technical challenge, the railroad would link the new and booming territories of what at the time was the West, including [[Ohio]], [[Indiana]], and [[Kentucky]], with the east coast rail and boat network, from [[Maryland]] northward. There was no rail link between Maryland and [[Virginia]] until the B&O opened the [[B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing|Harpers Ferry bridge]] in 1839.

Beginning in 1825, the [[Erie Canal]] provided an animal-powered water facility, connecting [[New York City]] with Ohio via [[Lake Erie]]. It took ten days to travel downstream from [[Buffalo, New York]], to New York City. The [[Cumberland Road]], later the beginning of the federally financed [[National Road]], provided a road link for animal-powered transport between [[Cumberland, Maryland]], on the [[Potomac River]] and [[Wheeling, West Virginia|Wheeling, Virginia]], in present-day [[West Virginia]], on the Ohio River, when completed in 1837. It was the second paved road in the country. However, the 1831 [[DeWitt Clinton (locomotive)|DeWitt Clinton locomotive]], running between [[Albany, New York|Albany]] and [[Schenectady, New York]], demonstrated speeds of {{convert|25|mph}}, dramatically decreasing the cost of transportation and announcing the coming end of the canal and turnpike (road) systems, many of which were never completed since they were or would soon be obsolete.

In New York, political support for the Erie Canal detracted from the prospect of building a railroad to replace it, whose full length did not open until 1844. Mountains in [[Pennsylvania]] made construction in the western part of the state expensive and technically challenging, and the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]], linking [[Pittsburgh]] and [[Philadelphia]], did not open its full length until 1852, and there was no rail link west from Pittsburgh to Ohio for several more years.

The fast-growing [[History of Baltimore|port city of Baltimore, Maryland]], faced economic stagnation unless it opened a route to the Western states. On February 27, 1827, twenty-five merchants and bankers studied the best means of restoring "that portion of the Western trade which has recently been diverted from it by the introduction of steam navigation."<ref name="Jacobs1989p13">{{Harvp|Jacobs|1989|p=13}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rasmussen |first1=Frederick N. |title=Riding the B&O; for 175 years |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2002-02-28-0202280278-story.html |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=February 28, 2002 |access-date=September 17, 2020 |archive-date=February 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227060119/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2002-02-28-0202280278-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Their answer was to build a railroad: one of the first commercial lines in the world.<ref>An 1827 report shows the motivations of early boosters:<br />{{cite journal|last1=Wooddy|first1=William|year=1827|title=Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Proceedings of sundry citizens of Baltimore, convented for the Purpose of Devising the most efficient Means of Improving the Intercourse between that City and the Western States|journal=The North American Review|location=Boston|publisher=Frederick T. Gray|volume=25|issue=56|pages=62–73|jstor=25102651}}</ref>

Their plans worked well, despite many political problems from canal backers and other railroads. Only the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] was allowed to build in its namesake state, requiring the B&O to skirt around a corner of the state, even though the Pennsylvania Railroad didn't even operate in that area of Pennsylvania.

The railroad grew from a capital base of $3 million in 1827 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|index=US|value=3|start_year=1827}} million in {{Inflation/year|index=US}}) to a large enterprise generating $2.7 million of annual profit on its {{convert|380|mi|km}} of track in 1854, with 19 million passenger miles. The railroad fed tens of millions of dollars of shipments to and from Baltimore and its growing hinterland to the west, thus making the city the commercial and financial capital of the region south of Philadelphia.{{sfnp|Stover|1987|pp=17 & 75}}

===Charters===
Although the [[Albany and Schenectady Railroad]] was chartered a year earlier, in 1826, the B & O Railroad was the first to open in the US. [[Philip E. Thomas]] and [[George Brown (Financier)|George Brown]] were the pioneers of the railroad.<ref name="Jacobs1989p13"/><ref name="Jacobs1989p12">{{Harvp|Jacobs|1989|p=12}}.</ref> In 1826, they investigated railway enterprises in [[England]], which were at that time being tested in a comprehensive fashion as commercial ventures.<ref name="Jacobs1989p12"/> Their investigation completed, they held an organizational meeting on February 12, 1827, including about twenty-five citizens, most of whom were Baltimore merchants or bankers.<ref name="Jacobs1989p12"/> [[wikisource:Maryland state laws relating to the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road#1826 Chapter 123|Chapter 123 of the 1826 Session Laws of Maryland]], passed February 28, 1827, and the Commonwealth of Virginia on March 8, 1827, chartered the '''Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road Company''', with the task of building a railroad from the port of Baltimore west to a suitable point on the Ohio River. The railroad, formally incorporated April 24, was intended to provide a faster route for [[midwestern United States|Midwestern]] goods to reach the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] than to the hugely successful but slow [[Erie Canal]] across [[upstate New York]]. Thomas was elected as the first president and Brown the treasurer. The capital of the proposed company was fixed at $5 million,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Railroad Builders, A Chronicle of the Welding of the States |last=Moody |first=John |year=1919 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven, CT |chapter-url=http://cprr.org/Museum/Railroad_Builders/Railroad_Builders_05.html |access-date=April 6, 2006 |series=Chronicles of America Series, Vol. 38 |chapter=Crossing the Appalachian Range |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604024054/http://cprr.org/Museum/Railroad_Builders/Railroad_Builders_05.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but the B&O was initially capitalized in 1827 with a $3 million issue of stock. Half of this stock was reserved for the Maryland state government, which invested $1,000,000, and the municipal government of Baltimore,  which invested $500,000. The remaining private equity was purchased by around 22,000 people, equivalent to one-quarter of the city's population at the time.<ref>{{cite book |title=Steam City: Railroads, Urban Space, and Corporate Capitalism in Nineteenth-Century Baltimore |last=Schley |first=David |year=2020 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago, IL |isbn=978-0226720258 |pages=20–21}}</ref>

===Early construction and legal battles===
[[File:B&O Railroad cornerstone.jpg|thumb|The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad cornerstone is displayed at the [[B&O Railroad Museum]] under a painting depicting [[Charles Carroll of Carrollton]], the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence, at a groundbreaking ceremony on July 4, 1828.]]
Construction began on July 4, 1828.  

The initial tracks were built with [[granite]] stringers topped by [[Rail profile#History|strap iron rails]]. The first section, from Baltimore west to Ellicott's Mills (now known as [[Ellicott City, Maryland|Ellicott City]]), opened on May 24, 1830. While a steam locomotive (''[[Tom Thumb (locomotive)|Tom Thumb]]'') was demonstrated on the B&O in 1830, the railroad did not switch to steam until 1831, and the first trains on the {{Convert|26|mi|adj=on}} round trip to Ellicott's Mills were pulled by horses.<ref>Sarah H. Gordon, ''Passage to Union: How the Railroads Transformed American Life, 1829–1929'' (Ivan R. Dee 1998) p. 27 {{ISBN|978-1566632188}}</ref>

From Ellicott's Mills, the railroad followed the [[Patapsco River]] upstream to a high point near Parr's Ridge (now known as [[Mount Airy, Maryland|Mount Airy]]), where it descended into the [[Monocacy River|Monocacy]] and Potomac river valleys. Further extensions opened to [[Frederick, Maryland|Frederick]] (including the short [[Frederick Branch (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad)|Frederick Branch]]) on December 1, 1831; [[Point of Rocks, Maryland|Point of Rocks]] on April 2, 1832; and [[Sandy Hook, Maryland|Sandy Hook]] on December 1, 1834. Sandy Hook, on the north bank of the Potomac, remained the end of the line until 1836 when the railroad opened its [[B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing|bridge over the Potomac River]] to reach [[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia|Harpers Ferry]] (then Virginia, now West Virginia). A connection at Harpers Ferry with the [[Winchester and Potomac Railroad]], running southwest to [[Winchester, Virginia]], opened in 1837.

Pushing west from Harpers Ferry, the B&O reached [[Martinsburg, West Virginia|Martinsburg]] in May 1842; [[Hancock, West Virginia|Hancock]] in June 1842; and [[Cumberland, Maryland|Cumberland]] on November 5, 1842, which remained the end of the line for a number of years. Additional sections opened to [[Piedmont, West Virginia|Piedmont]] on July 21, 1851, and [[Fairmont, West Virginia|Fairmont]] on June 22, 1852. Later that year, the B&O finally reached the [[Ohio River]] at [[Moundsville, West Virginia|Moundsville]], where port facilities were built, followed shortly later by [[Wheeling, West Virginia|Wheeling]] (then Virginia, now West Virginia) on January 1, 1853. Wheeling remained the terminus through the [[American Civil War]] until a bridge could be constructed across the Ohio River.

The narrow strip of available land along the Potomac River between Point of Rocks and Harpers Ferry caused years of legal battles between the B&O and the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal|Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal]], as both sought to exclude the other from its use.<ref name="canal">{{Cite journal|last=Lynch|first=John A.|title=Justice Douglas, the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, and Maryland Legal History|journal=University of Baltimore Law Forum|volume=35|issue=Spring 2005 |pages=104, 112–125|year= <!--None--> }}</ref><ref>Baltimore and Ohio v. Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 4 Gill and Johnson MD 1 (1832)</ref> A compromise eventually allowed the two companies to share the [[Right-of-way (transportation)|right of way]]. The B&O also prevailed in a lawsuit brought against it by the Washington and Baltimore Turnpike Road.<ref>Baltimore and Ohio v. Washington and Baltimore Turnpike Road, 100 Gill and Johnson MD 392 (1839)</ref>{{complete citation needed|date=April 2021}}
[[File:Recto Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company (Maryland) 12 and a half cents 1841 urn-3 HBS.Baker.AC 1142257.jpeg|alt=Note inscribed No. 121 Baltimore February 10, 1841 Baltimore and Ohio RAILROAD COMPANY. Transfer to the holder of this order TWELVE AND A HALF CENTS in the Stock of the City of Baltimore bearing Six per cent interest payable quarterly when said holder presents orders amounting to One Hundred Dollars or upwards. [Commissioners holding the Stock to redeem these orders]." The note is illustrated with an illustration of two standing women on the left, and one sitting woman on the right.|thumb|Twelve and a half cent note issued by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company in 1841.]]
The B&O wanted links to Virginia's [[Shenandoah Valley]], as well as the parts of western Virginia draining into the Ohio River valley and ultimately the [[Mississippi River]], such as [[Wheeling, West Virginia|Wheeling]] (where the [[National Road]] crossed the Ohio River) and the [[Kanawha River]] valley. However, many Virginia politicians wanted the minerals, timber and produce of those areas to instead ship through [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]] and reach the Atlantic through [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], although the [[James River Canal]] required substantial maintenance and was never completed through the Appalachians to the Ohio River watershed. Thus, while the B&O reached Wheeling in 1853, political compromises meant the B&O would only reach [[Grafton, West Virginia|Grafton]] to connect to [[Parkersburg, West Virginia|Parkersburg]] on the Ohio River through a connection with the [[Northwestern Virginia Railroad]] which was completed in 1857. During the "Great Railway Celebrations of 1857", a large group of notables boarded the B&O in Baltimore, then transferred to steamboats that took them from Wheeling to [[Marietta, Ohio]], where they boarded a railroad to Cincinnati, where after another celebration, they boarded the [[Ohio and Mississippi Railroad]], which brought them to St. Louis, Missouri, three days after they had started their journey.<ref>Gordon pp. 106–107</ref> The B&O would only reach [[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]] (at the confluence of the Kanawha and Elk Rivers) and ultimately [[Huntington, West Virginia|Huntington]] (which was named after a major B&O investor) on the Ohio River more than a decade after the American Civil War and the creation of the state of [[West Virginia]].

Meanwhile, the State of Maryland granted the B&O a charter to build a line from Baltimore to [[Washington, D.C.]], in 1831, and the [[Washington Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road|Washington Branch]] was opened in 1835.<ref name="Dilts">{{cite book |title=The Great Road: The Building of the Baltimore and Ohio, the Nation's First Railroad, 1828–1853 |last=Dilts |first=James D. |year=1996 |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=Palo Alto, CA |isbn=978-0-8047-2629-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JjrCWPwvHzIC |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-date=April 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430220602/https://books.google.com/books?id=JjrCWPwvHzIC |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|157}} This line joined to the original mainline at [[Relay, Maryland]], crossing the Patapsco River on the [[Thomas Viaduct]] (which remains one of the B&O's signature structures). This line was partially funded by the state of Maryland, and was operated separately until the 1870s, with Maryland receiving a 25 percent cut of gross passenger receipts. The B&O's charter also forbade further taxation of the railroad, and that no-tax provision was upheld in the 1840s after Baltimore City tried to tax it.<ref>Baltimore and Ohio V. Mayor and City of Baltimore, 6 Gill Md 288 (1847)</ref> This Washington Branch line was built in stone, much like the original mainline. By this time, however, strap rail was no longer used for new construction. Most of the stone bridges on the [[Old Main Line Subdivision|Old Main Line]] did not last long, being washed out by the periodic flooding of the Patapsco River and replaced at first by [[Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge|Bollman Truss bridges]]. The [[Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad]] to [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]] connected to this line at Annapolis Junction in 1840. As an unwritten condition for the charter, it was understood that the state of Maryland would not charter any competing line between Baltimore and Washington, and no such charters were approved until well after the American Civil War, when the Pennsylvania Railroad acquired a railroad on the Delmarva Peninsula, which had the power to build short branch lines, so it was able to connect to Washington through [[Bowie, Maryland]].

The B&O also wanted access to Pittsburgh and coal fields in western Pennsylvania and Ohio. Although the directors of the Pennsylvania Railroad sought a monopoly in their state, delays in laying track to Pittsburgh led the Pennsylvania legislature in 1846 to require construction to be completed within 10 years, else competition would be allowed. The Pennsylvania Railroad finished its trans-Allegheny track with two years to spare. Denied a direct route to Pittsburgh, the B&O supported development of the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad, under the leadership of former B&O Chief Engineer Benjamin Latrobe, eventually gaining full control when the final connection to [[Cumberland, Maryland]] was completed in 1871.

{{See also|Baltimore Terminal Subdivision}}

===Early engineering===
{{see also|Old Main Line Subdivision|List of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad civil engineers 1827 to 1857}}
[[File:Decorative title page for Ele Bowen, Rambles in the path of the steam-horse, 1855.jpg|thumb|Scenes of the B&O Railroad. Decorative title page for Ele Bowen, ''Rambles in the Path of the Steam-Horse'', 1855]]
When construction began on the B&O in the 1820s, railroad engineering was in its infancy. Unsure exactly which materials would suffice, the B&O erred on the side of sturdiness and built many of its early structures of granite. Even the track bed to which the iron strap rail was affixed consisted of stone.

Though the granite soon proved too unforgiving and expensive for track, most of the B&O's monumental bridges have survived to this day, and many are still in active railroad use by CSX. Baltimore's [[Carrollton Viaduct]], named in honor of [[Charles Carroll of Carrollton]], was the B&O's first bridge, and is the oldest railway bridge in the Americas still carrying trains (and the third oldest in the world, after the [[Skerne Bridge]], Darlington, UK, of 1824–1825, and the [[Bassaleg Viaduct]], Newport, UK, of 1826).<ref>{{cite web |title=Four North East Heritage Sites Telling the Story of England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/in-your-area/north-east/four-north-east-heritage-sites-in-top-100-places/
 |website=historicengland.org.uk |date=June 6, 2018
 |publisher=[[Historic England]] |access-date=23 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bassaleg Viaduct, Rumney Railway, Bassaleg |url=https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/34952 |website=Coflein |access-date=24 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref> The [[Thomas Viaduct]] at [[Relay, Maryland]], was the longest bridge in the United States upon its completion in 1835. It also remains in use. The B&O made extensive use of the [[Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge|Bollman iron truss bridge]] design in the mid-19th century. Its durability and ease of assembly aided faster railroad construction.
[[File:Carrollton-viaduct.jpg|thumb|left|200px|{{center|[[Carrollton Viaduct]]}}]]

As the B&O built the main line west to [[Parr's Ridge]], near [[Mount Airy, Maryland]], it had limited information about the capabilities of steam locomotives; at the time, the line had three, the ''York, Atlantic,'' and the ''Franklin.''<ref>{{cite book
|title=Rambles in the path of the steam-horse. An off-hand ''olla podrida [stew]'', embracing a general historical and descriptive view of the scenery, agricultural and mineral resources, and prominent features of the travelled route from Baltimore to Harper's Ferry, Cumberland, Wheeling, Cincinnati, and Louisville
|last=Bowen
|first=Ele
|date=1855
|url=https://archive.org/details/ramblesinpathofs00bowe/page/n9/mode/2up
|location=Philadelphia
|publisher=Wm. Bromwell}}</ref>{{rp|70}} When planning the extension to [[Sandy Hook, Maryland]], and then [[Harpers Ferry]], the company was uncertain if the engines' metal wheels would grip the metal rails sufficiently to pull a train up to the top of the ridge. The railroad decided to construct two [[inclined plane]]s, one on each side of the ridge, along which teams of horses, and perhaps steam-powered winches, would assist pulling the trains uphill. The planes, about a mile long on each side, quickly proved an operational [[Bottleneck (traffic)|bottleneck]]. Before the decade of the 1830s ended, the B&O built a {{convert|5.5|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} alternate route that became known as the Mount Airy Loop. The planes were quickly abandoned and forgotten, though some artifacts survive to the present.

===First telegraph line===
In 1843, Congress appropriated $30,000 for construction of an experimental {{convert|38|mi|km|0|adj=on}} [[telegraph line]] between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore along the B&O's right-of-way. The B&O approved the project with the agreement that the railroad would have free use of the line upon its completion. An impressive demonstration occurred on May 1, 1844, when news of the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]]'s nomination of [[Henry Clay]] for U.S. president was telegraphed from the party's convention in Baltimore to the [[United States Capitol|Capitol Building]] in Washington. On May 24, 1844, the line was officially opened as [[Samuel F. B. Morse]] sent his famous words, "What hath God wrought", from the B&O's Mount Clare station to the Capitol by telegraph.{{sfnp|Stover|1987|pp=59–60}}

{{Wide image|Founders of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.jpg|600px|[[Francis Blackwell Mayer]]. ''The Founders of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad'' (1891), represents the B&O's history ''(left to right)'' beginning with its founding in 1827 to 1880. [[Philip E. Thomas]], [[George Brown (Financier)|George Brown]], [[Charles Carroll of Carrollton]], and others are gathered at left. [[Samuel F. B. Morse]] is seated at center left (with telegraph tape) and [[John W. Garrett]] is seated at right. The original painting is now at the headquarters of [[CSX Transportation]] in [[Jacksonville, Florida]]. A replica is at the [[B&O Railroad Museum]].|80%|center}}

===Innovations===
Contrary to legend, the B&O was not the first chartered railroad in the United States; [[John Stevens (inventor, born 1749)|John Stevens]] obtained a charter for the [[New Jersey Railroad]] in 1815.{{sfnp|Stover|1987|p=2}} The B&O was, however, the first company to operate a locomotive built in America, with the [[Tom Thumb (locomotive)|''Tom Thumb'']] in 1829. It built the first passenger and [[freight station]] (Mount Clare in 1829) and was the first railroad to earn passenger revenues in December 1829, and publish a timetable on May 23, 1830. On Christmas Eve 1852, the B&O line was completed between Baltimore and the Ohio River near [[Moundsville, West Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Powell|first=Bob|title=December 24, 1852: B&O Railroad completed near Moundsville|url=http://wvpublic.org/post/december-24-1852-bo-railroad-completed-near-moundsville|publisher=[[West Virginia Public Broadcasting]]|date=December 24, 2014|access-date=May 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731044833/http://wvpublic.org/post/december-24-1852-bo-railroad-completed-near-moundsville|archive-date=July 31, 2015}}</ref>

===Conflicts in the early years===
[[Image:Baltimore and Ohio RR 1856.jpg|thumb|Share of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-Road Company, issued 26. July 1856; signed by Johns Hopkins as president pro. tem.]]
Partial government ownership caused some operational problems. Of the thirty members on its [[board of directors]], twelve were elected by shareholders, while eighteen were appointed either by Maryland or the [[Baltimore City Council]].<ref name="BaltBook">{{cite book|last=Fee|first=Elizabeth|editor=Fee, Elizabeth|editor2=Shopes, Linda|editor3=Zeidman, Linda|title=The Baltimore Book: New Views of Local History|publisher=Temple University Press|year=1991|location=Philadelphia|pages=11–27|chapter=Evergreen House and the Garrett Family: A Railroad Fortune|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=626B6J8at00C&q=baltimore+book&pg=PP1|isbn=978-0-87722-823-3|access-date=September 17, 2020|archive-date=September 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917103244/https://books.google.com/books?id=626B6J8at00C&pg=PP1&dq=baltimore+book&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> Many had conflicting interests: the directors appointed by the state and city desired low [[fare]]s and all construction to be funded from corporate revenues, while the directors elected by shareholders desired greater [[Profit (accounting)|profits]] and [[dividend]]s. These conflicts became more intense in the 1850s after the completion of the C&O Canal, which brought additional competition to the B&O. In 1853, after being nominated by large shareholder and director [[Johns Hopkins]], [[John W. Garrett]] became president of the B&O, a position he would hold until his death in 1884.<ref name="hall">{{cite book|last=Hall|first=C. C.|title=Baltimore: Its History and Its People|publisher=Lewis Historical Publishing Co.|year=1912|volume=2|pages=458–461}}</ref> In the first year of his presidency, corporate [[operating cost]]s were reduced from 65 percent of revenues to 46 percent,<ref name="BaltBook"/> and the railroad began distributing profits to its shareholders.

===John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry===

{{Main|John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry}}
The B&O played a major role, and got national attention, in the response to [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] [[John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry]], Virginia (since 1863, West Virginia), in October 1859. Black porter [[Hayward Shepherd]], to whom there is a [[Heyward Shepherd monument|monument in Harpers Ferry]], was the first man killed; stationmaster Fontaine Beckham, who was also the town's mayor, was killed the next day. Raiders had cut the telegraph line, and stopped the 1:30 am Wheeling to Baltimore express, but after several hours the train was allowed to continue and at the first station with a working telegraph (Monocacy) the conductor sent a telegram to B&O headquarters.<ref name="Jacobs1989p42">{{Harvp|Jacobs|1989|p=42}}.</ref><ref>[[George B. Abdill]], Civil War Railroads: A Pictorial Story of the War Between the States, 1861–1865, (Indiana University Press 1961) p. 8</ref> After confirming from the Martinsburg station (via Wheeling, because of the cut telegraph line) that the report was not a hoax, Garrett telegraphed President [[James Buchanan]], the [[Secretary of War]], [[Henry A. Wise|the Governor of Virginia]], and Maryland Militia General [[George H. Steuart (militia general)|George Hume Steuart]] about the insurrection in progress.<ref>Daniel Carroll Toomey, The War Came by Train: the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad during the Civil War (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum 2013) p. 6 {{ISBN|978-1-886248-01-4}}</ref> The B&O made its rolling stock available to the military. At 3:20&nbsp;pm a train left Washington Depot with 87 U.S. Marines and two howitzers, and a 3:45&nbsp;p.m. train from nearer [[Frederick, Maryland]], carried three Maryland militia companies under Col. Edward Shriver. These trains stopped before the bridge at [[Sandy Hook, Maryland]] (end of the line before the bridge was built), and troops continued across the bridge on foot. Soon Garrett's Master of Transportation William Prescott Smith left Baltimore City, together with Maryland Gen. Charles G. Egerton Jr. and the [[Light infantry|Second Light Brigade]], which train also picked up the Marines on the federal troop train at the junction in [[Relay, Maryland]]. All awaited Lt. Col. [[Robert E. Lee]] and Lt. [[J.E.B. Stuart]], who had received orders from the Secretary of War to retake Harpers Ferry and capture the insurgent abolitionists, which they quickly did.<ref name="Jacobs1989p42"/><ref name="Jacobs1989p45">{{Harvp|Jacobs|1989|p=45}}.</ref><ref>Toomey pp. 8–9</ref> Garrett reported with evident relief the next day that aside from the cut telegraph line, which was quickly repaired, there had been no damage to any B&O track, equipment, or facilities.

The government of Maryland published in a book the many telegrams sent by B&O employees and management during the raid.<ref name=Maryland>{{cite book
|title=Correspondence relating to the Insurrection at Harper's Ferry, 17th October, 1859
|year=1860
|publisher=[[Senate of Maryland]]
|location=Annapolis
|url=https://archive.org/details/correspinsurrecti1860mult/page/n1/mode/2up}}</ref>

===American Civil War===
At the outset of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the B&O possessed 236&nbsp;locomotives, 128&nbsp;passenger coaches, 3,451&nbsp;rail cars and {{convert|513|mi|km}} of rail road, all in states south of the [[Mason–Dixon line]], as Garrett had noted before the war began. Although many [[Maryland in the American Civil War|Marylanders had Southern sympathies]], Garrett and Hopkins supported the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]. The B&O became crucial to the Federal government during the Civil War, being the main rail connection between Washington, D.C., and the northern states, especially west of the Appalachian mountains.

However, its initial problem became Lincoln's first Secretary of War, [[Simon Cameron]], a major stockholder in the rival North Central Railroad, which received long haul freight destined for Baltimore from the rival [[Pennsylvania Railroad]].<ref>Daniel Carroll Toomey, ''The War Came by Train: the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad during the Civil War'' (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum 2013) p. 61 {{ISBN|978-1-886248-01-4}}</ref> Furthermore, the Pennsylvania Railroad and other investors sought permission to construct rail lines which threatened the B&O's monopolies on the Washington Branch (between Relay and Washington DC) and westward through Cumberland, Maryland. Raids and battles during the war also cost the B&O substantial losses, many never indemnified. Master of Transportation Prescott Smith kept a diary during the war years, describing incidents such as the June 1861 derailment of a 50 car coal train, which plunged into a ravine after a bridge was destroyed (the wreckage burned for months and melted the metal coal hoppers), as well as later ironclad trains (one only disabled by an artillery shell piercing the boiler).<ref>Abdill pp. 26–27</ref>

==== 1861–1862 ====
On April 18, 1861, the day after Virginia seceded from the Union, Virginia militia seized the federal arsenal at [[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia|Harpers Ferry]], which was also an important work station on the B&O's main westward line. The following day, [[Baltimore riot of 1861|Confederate rioters in Baltimore]] attempted to prevent Pennsylvania volunteers from proceeding from the North Central Railway's Bolton station to the B&O's Mount Clare station, and Maryland's governor Hicks and Baltimore Mayor [[George William Brown (mayor)|George W. Brown]] ordered 3 North Central and 2 [[Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad]] (PW&B) bridges destroyed to prevent further federal troop movements through (and riots in) the city.<ref>Toomey pp. 18–23</ref> Soon B&O president [[John Work Garrett]] received letters from Virginia's Governor [[John Letcher]] telling the B&O to pass no federal troops destined for any place in Virginia over the railroad, and threatening to confiscate the lines. [[Charles Town, West Virginia|Charles Town]]'s mayor also wrote, threatening to cut the B&O's main line by destroying the long bridge over the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry, and Garrett also received anonymous threats. Thus he and others asked Secretary of War Cameron to protect the B&O as the national capitol's main westward link. Cameron instead warned Garrett that passage of any rebel troops over his line would be treason. The Secretary of War agreed to station troops to protect the North Central, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and even the PW&B, but flatly refused to help the B&O, his main competition.<ref>Toomey pp. 41, 61–62, 83–84</ref>

The B&O had to repair damaged line at its own expense, and often received late or no payment for services rendered to the federal government.<ref>Toomey pp. 82–83</ref> In May, CSA Colonel [[Jackson's operations against the B&O Railroad (1861)]] began. Stonewall Jackson initially permitted B&O trains to operate during limited hours over the approximately {{convert|100|miles|km|sp=us}} from Point of Rocks to Cumberland.<ref>Abdill p. 26</ref> On June 20, 1861, Jackson's Confederates seized [[Martinsburg, West Virginia|Martinsburg]], a major B&O work center, having blown up the Harpers Ferry railroad bridge on June 14. Confederates confiscated dozens of locomotives and train cars and ripped up double track in order to ship rails for Confederate use in Virginia (14 locomotives and 83 rail cars were dismantled and sent south, and another 42 locomotives and 386 rail cars damaged or destroyed at Martinsburg, with the B&O water station and machine shops also destroyed and {{convert|102|mi|km}} miles of telegraph wire removed by the time federal control was restored in March 1862).<ref>Toomey pp. 108–110</ref> By the end of 1861, 23 B&O railroad bridges had been burned and {{convert|36.5|mi|km}} of track were torn up or destroyed.

Since Jackson cut the B&O main line into Washington for more than six months, the North Central and Pennsylvania Railroads profited from overflow traffic, even as many B&O trains stood idle in Baltimore. Garrett tried to use his government contacts to secure the needed protection, from Maryland Delegate [[Reverdy Johnson]] to General [[George McClellan]] and Treasury Secretary [[Salmon P. Chase]]. As winter began, coal prices soared in Washington, even though the B&O in September arranged for free coal transport from its Cumberland, Maryland, terminal down the C&O Canal (which reduced prices somewhat, although Confederates also damaged the C&O canal that winter). Furthermore, western farmers could not get their produce to markets because of the B&O shutdown, only partially alleviated by the summer 1861 Union army victories at the [[Battle of Philippi (West Virginia)]] and [[Battle of Rich Mountain|Rich Mountain]], and vigorous army and company work crews which reduced the main-line gap to 25 miles between Harpers Ferry and Back Creek.<ref>Toomey pp. 82–84</ref>

Finally at year end, [[Samuel Morse Felton Sr.|Samuel M. Felton]], the PW&B President, wrote newspapers about the War Department's discrimination against his cooperating railroad line, which competed with Cameron's favored North Central and Pennsylvania Railroads. President Lincoln (familiar with railroad law since his days as an Illinois lawyer) in January 1862 replaced Cameron with Pennsylvania lawyer [[Edwin M. Stanton]], who had been serving as Cameron's legal advisor.<ref>Toomey pp. 62–63</ref> Furthermore, on January 31, 1862, Congress passed the Railways and Telegraph Act of January 31, 1862, creating the [[United States Military Railroad]] and allowing it to seize and operate any railroad or telegraph company's equipment, although Stanton and USMRR Superintendent [[Daniel McCallum]] would take a "team of rivals" approach to railroad management and allow civilian operations to continue.<ref>Toomey pp. 63, 181</ref> In February 1862, Union forces recaptured Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry, and work crews continued replacing wrecked bridges and equipment, although [[bushwhacker]] raids continued.<ref>Toomey pp. 108–109</ref>
Even then train movements were sporadic and subject to frequent stoppages, derailments, capture and attack. Prominent raids on the B&O railroad during this period were:
* The [[Great Train Raid of 1861]], May 22 – June 23, 1861
* The [[Romney Expedition]], January 1 through January 24, 1862
* Operations during the [[Maryland Campaign]], September 8, 1862
* Various raids of Brigadier General [[Albert G. Jenkins|A. G. Jenkins]], Fall, 1862

:{| class="wikitable"
|+ '''B&O Locomotives Captured During the [[Great Train Raid of 1861]]'''
! Engine Name!!Eng. No.!!Type
|-
! ?
| No. 17
| Norris 4-2-0
|-
! ?
| No. 34
| Mason 4-4-0
|-
! ?
| No. 187
| Camel 0-8-0
|-
! Lady Davis (CSA name)
| No. 188
| Tyson 4-4-0 "Dutch Wagon"
|-
! ?
| No. 193
| Camel 0-8-0
|-
! ?
| No. 198
| Hayes Camel 0-8-0
|-
! ?
| No. 199
| Camel 0-8-0
|-
! ?
| No. 201
| ?
|-
|}

====1863–1865====
[[File:Woods' Baltimore City Directory - 1864 - Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.jpg|thumb|200px|Advertisement for the Baltimore and Ohio in an 1864 Baltimore city directory, promoting its repairs and reopening at one point during the war.]]

The second half of the Civil War was characterized by near-continuous raiding, which severely hampered the Union defense of Washington, D.C. Union forces and leaders often failed to properly secure the region, despite the B&O's vital importance to the Union cause.

{{Blockquote|There is no interest suffering here except the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and I will not divide my forces to protect it.|General [[Philip Sheridan]]{{sfnp|Ramage|1999|p=206}} }}

This military strategy, or lack thereof, allowed Confederate commanders to contribute significantly to the length of the war, by conducting free-ranging military operations against the region and railroad.

Before the [[Battle of Monocacy]], B&O agents began reporting Confederate troop movements eleven days prior to the battle, and Garrett had their intelligence passed to authorities in the War Department and to Major General [[Lew Wallace]], who commanded the department responsible for defense of the area. As preparations for the battle progressed, the B&O provided transport for federal troops and munitions, and on two occasions Garrett was contacted directly by President [[Abraham Lincoln]] for further information. Though Union forces lost this battle, the delay allowed [[Ulysses S. Grant]] to successfully repel the Confederate attack on Washington at the [[Battle of Fort Stevens]] two days later. After the battle, Lincoln paid tribute to Garrett as:

{{Blockquote|The right arm of the Federal Government in the aid he rendered the authorities in preventing the Confederates from seizing Washington and securing its retention as the Capital of the Loyal States.|Abraham Lincoln<ref>[https://home.nps.gov/mono/learn/historyculture/john_w_garrett.htm "John W. Garrett, President, B & O Railroad."]  U.S. National Park Service, Monocacy National Battlefield, Frederick, MD. Accessed 2005-11-14.</ref>}}

* The [[Jones-Imboden Raid]], April 24 through May 22, 1863
* The [[Catoctin Station Raid]], June 17, 1863
* The [[First Calico Raid]], June 19, 1863
* The [[B&O Raid on Duffield Station]], January 1864
* The [[McNeill's Rangers|McNeill Raid]], May 5, 1864
* The [[Action at Mount Zion Church#The 2nd Calico Raid|Second Calico Raid]], July 3, 1864
* The [[Battle of Monocacy]], July 9, 1864
* [[Gilmor's Raid]], July 11, 1864
* The [[Greenback Raid]], by [[43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry|Mosby's Rangers]] on October 14, 1864
* The [[B&O Raid on Duffield Station II]], January 1865
* [[Gilmor's B&O Raid]], February 1865
* The [[B&O Derailment Raid]], March 1865

{{Campaignbox Early's Raid and Operations Against the B&O Railroad}}
The Confederate leaders who led these operations and specifically targeted the railroad included:
* Lieutenant General Thomas J. [[Stonewall Jackson|"Stonewall" Jackson]] and many units under his command
* Lieutenant General [[Jubal Anderson Early]] and many units under his command
* Brigadier General [[Turner Ashby]] and his "Black Horse" cavalry
* Brigadier General [[John D. Imboden]] and the [[62nd Virginia Mounted Infantry]] (1st Partisan Rangers)
* Brigadier General [[Albert G. Jenkins]] and the [[8th Virginia Cavalry]]
* Brigadier General [[William E. Jones (general)|William E. "Grumble" Jones]] and the "Laurel Brigade"
* Colonel [[John S. Mosby]]'s "[[Mosby's Rangers]]"
* Major [[Harry Gilmor]]'s "Gilmor's Raiders"
* Captain John H. McNeill's "[[McNeill's Rangers]]"

Bases of operation involved in raiding the B&O Railroad:
* [[Winchester in the American Civil War|Winchester, Virginia]]
* [[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia]]

===Westward by merger===
[[File:cumberland coal trade.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Table of Cumberland Coal shipped over B&O Railroad and C&O Canal, 1842–1865<ref>{{cite book
 | last = Daddow
 | first = Samuel Harries
 | author2 = Bannon, Benjamin
 | title = Coal, Iron, and Oil
 | publisher = Benjamin Bannan
 | year = 1866
 | location = Pottsville, PA
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=z0kpAAAAYAAJ&q=Coal,+Iron,+and+Oil
 | access-date = September 17, 2020
 | archive-date = September 17, 2020
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200917103240/https://books.google.com/books?id=z0kpAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Coal,+Iron,+and+Oil&hl=en
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref> ]]

A steel and stone bridge was built across the Ohio River between [[Bellaire, Ohio]], and Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1871, connecting the B&O to the [[Central Ohio Railroad]], which the B&O had leased starting in 1866. This provided a direct rail connection to [[Columbus, Ohio]], and the lease marked the beginning of a series of expansions to the west and north.

Other railroads included in the B&O were:

* [[Northwestern Virginia Railroad]] from 1865
* [[Winchester and Potomac Railroad]] and Winchester and Strasburg Railroad from 1867. This pair of lines connected with the B&O at [[Harper's Ferry, West Virginia]], and constituted the only significant B&O trackage in present-day Virginia.
* Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark Railroad leased through the Central Ohio in 1869
* Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad from 1871. This was the B&O entry into Pittsburgh, overcoming the denial of a Pennsylvania charter to the B&O.
* Somerset and Cambria Railroad from 1879
* Buffalo Railroad from 1880
* [[Pittsburgh Southern Railroad]] acquired 1883. Originally a [[narrow-gauge railroad]], it was converted to standard gauge and renamed the Baltimore & Ohio Short Line.
* West Virginia and Pittsburgh Railroad from 1890
* Columbus and Cincinnati Midland Railroad leased through the Central Ohio in 1890
* Monongahela River Railroad from 1900
* [[Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad]] from 1882. This was initially renamed the Cincinnati, Washington and Baltimore Railroad and then again to the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad in 1889. The B&OSW absorbed the [[Ohio and Mississippi Railroad]] in 1893, giving the B&O a connection to [[St. Louis, Missouri]], and finally the B&OSW disappeared into the rest of the system in 1900.
[[File:Harpers 8 11 1877 Blockade of Engines at Martinsburg W VA.jpg|thumb|250px|Blockade of engines at [[Martinsburg, West Virginia]], during strike in 1877]]
[[File:1876 B&O.jpg|thumb|250px|1876 B&O map]]
* Ohio River Railroad from 1901
* Pittsburgh Junction Railroad from 1902
* [[Pittsburgh and Western Railroad]] from 1902. This was originally a [[Narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge system]] which was [[standard gauge]]d from 1883 to 1911. It formed the main B&O line west from Pittsburgh. The line passed the [[Mars Station, Pennsylvania|Mars Train Station]] in [[Mars, Pennsylvania]], northwest of Pittsburgh.
* [[Valley Railway|Cleveland, Terminal and Valley Railway]] from 1895. This was the B&O's entry into [[Cleveland, Ohio]].
* Cleveland, Lorain and Wheeling Railroad from 1909
* Chicago Terminal Transfer Company, reorganized in 1910 as the [[Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad]]. This switching line was always operated as a separate company.
* Salisbury Railroad near Pittsburgh, operated from 1912
* [[Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway (1895–1917)|Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad]] from 1912
* [[Morgantown and Kingwood Railroad]] from 1920<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Mundy's Earning Power of Railroads|title=17th issue|year=1922|volume=17|editor1-first=Floyd W.|editor1-last=Mundy|page=224|publisher=James H. Oliphant & Company}}</ref>
* [[Coal and Coke Railway]] from 1916<ref name="eWV Coal and Coke Railway">{{cite web|last1=Rice|first1=Daniel|title=Coal and Coke Railway|url=https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1337|website=West Virginia Encyclopedia|publisher=West Virginia Humanities Council|access-date=June 18, 2017|archive-date=June 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629002536/http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1337|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Western Railroad]] from 1927. This was originally part of the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton, and gave the B&O a connection to [[Springfield, Illinois]].
* [[Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway]] in 1932. This gave the B&O a line into New York state.
* [[Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad]] from 1932. Part of the line was severed from the rest of the system by flooding, and became part of the [[Wellsville, Addison and Galeton Railroad]] in 1955.

(This list omits certain short lines.)

The [[Chicago and Alton Railroad]] was purchased by the B&O in 1931 and renamed the [[Alton Railroad]]. It was always operated separately and was eventually bought by the [[Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad]] after receivership in 1942.

===Great Railroad Strike of 1877===
{{See also|Great Railroad Strike of 1877}}
As a result of poor national economic conditions in the mid-1870s following the [[Panic of 1873]], the B&O attempted to reduce its workers' wages. After a second reduction in wages was announced in the same year, workers began the [[Great Railroad Strike of 1877]] on July 14 in [[Martinsburg, West Virginia]]. Striking workers would not allow any of the trains, mainly freight trains, to roll until the third wage cut was revoked. [[Governor of West Virginia|West Virginia Governor]] [[Henry M. Mathews]] sent in state militia units to restore train service but the soldiers refused to fire on the strikers. The strike spread to [[Cumberland, Maryland|Cumberland]], and when [[Governor of Maryland|Maryland Governor]] [[John Lee Carroll]] attempted to put down the strike by sending the state militia from Baltimore, [[Baltimore railroad strike of 1877|riots broke out]] resulting in 11 deaths, the burning of parts of Camden station, and damage to several engines and cars.<ref>[[John Thomas Scharf|Scharf, J. Thomas]], ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=9IEjAAAAMAAJ&q=thomas+scharf+history+maryland History of Maryland From the Earliest Period to the Present Day] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723015941/https://books.google.com/books?id=9IEjAAAAMAAJ&printsec=titlepage&dq=thomas+scharf+history+maryland |date=July 23, 2016 }}'', vol. 3 pp. 733–742, Heritage Press: Hatboro, Pa., 1967 (reissue of 1879 edition)</ref> The next day workers in [[Pittsburgh]] staged a [[sympathy strike]] that was also met with an assault by the state militia; Pittsburgh then erupted into widespread rioting. The strike ended after federal troops and state militias restored order.

===New lines in Maryland===
[[File:1891 B&O.jpg|thumb|300px|B&O route map of 1891]]
In 1866 the B&O began constructing the [[Metropolitan Subdivision|'''Metropolitan Branch''']] west out of Washington, which was completed in 1873 after years of erratic effort. Before this line was laid, rail traffic west of Washington had to travel first to Relay or Baltimore before joining the main line. The line cut a more or less straight line from Washington to [[Point of Rocks, Maryland]], with many grades and large bridges. Upon the opening of this line, through passenger traffic was rerouted through Washington, and the Old Main Line from Point of Rocks to Relay was reduced to secondary status as far as passenger service was concerned. The Washington to [[Gaithersburg, Maryland|Gaithersburg]] section of the Met Branch was double-tracked during 1886–1893.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Met: A History of the Metropolitan Branch of the B&O Railroad, Its Stations and Towns |last=Soderberg |first=Susan C. |year=1998 |publisher=Germantown Historical Society |location=Germantown, MD |page=10 }}</ref> Rebuilding in the early 20th century and complete double-tracking of the branch by 1928 increased capacity; the "branches" became the ''de facto'' mainline, though the Old Main Line was retained as a relief route.

Meanwhile, the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] (PRR) outmaneuvered the B&O to acquire the B&O's northern connection, the [[Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad]], in the early 1880s, cutting off the B&O's access to [[Philadelphia]] and [[New York City|New York]]. The state of Maryland had stayed true to its implicit promise not to grant competing charters for the Baltimore/Washington line, but when a charter was granted in 1860 to build a line from Baltimore to [[Popes Creek, Maryland|Pope's Creek]] in southern Maryland, lawyers for the Pennsylvania RR picked up on a clause in the unfulfilled charter allowing branches up to {{convert|20|mi}} long, from any point and in any direction. The projected route, passing through what is now [[Bowie, Maryland]], could have a "branch" constructed that would allow service into Washington. The Pennsylvania picked up the charter through the agency of the [[Baltimore and Potomac Railroad]] and in 1872 service between Baltimore and Washington began. (''See'' [[Pope's Creek Subdivision]].) At the same time, the PRR outmaneuvered the B&O and took control of the [[Long Bridge (Potomac River)|Long Bridge]] across the Potomac River into Virginia, the B&O's connection to southern lines.

[[File:Bando offices.jpg|thumb|upright|200px|B&O headquarters building on [[Maryland Route 139|North Charles Street]] in Baltimore]]
In response, the B&O chartered the [[Philadelphia Branch]] in Maryland and the [[Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad]] in Delaware and Pennsylvania and built a parallel route, finished in 1886. The 10th president, [[Charles F. Mayer (railroad president)|Charles F. Mayer]], spearheaded the development of the [[Baltimore Belt Line]], which opened in 1895, and recruited engineer [[Samuel Rea]] to design it.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IEPCqQErPHAC&q=charles+f.+mayer+baltimore&pg=PA170|title=History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad|last=Stover|first=John F.|date=1995|publisher=Purdue University Press|isbn=978-1557530660|language=en|access-date=September 17, 2020|archive-date=September 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917103244/https://books.google.com/books?id=IEPCqQErPHAC&pg=PA170&lpg=PA170&dq=charles+f.+mayer+baltimore&source=bl&ots=tBJ2xiPi3r&sig=ACfU3U17zv0Fck_qV_ItD_wazyBzkem-wQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjMuruoudblAhWSxVkKHf66CYQQ6AEwBHoECAQQAg#v=onepage&q=charles%20f.%20mayer%20baltimore&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> This belt line connected the main line to the Philadelphia Branch without the need for a [[train ferry|car ferry]] across the Patapsco River, but the cost of constructing the [[Howard Street Tunnel]] drove the B&O to bankruptcy in 1896.

Two other lines were built in attempts to reconnect to the south. The Alexandria Branch (now called the [[Capital Subdivision#Alexandria Extension|Alexandria Extension]]) was built in 1874, starting from [[Hyattsville, Maryland]], and ending at a ferry operation at Shepherd's Landing. The ferry operation continued until 1901 when the trackage rights agreement concluded as part of the construction of [[Washington Union Station]] saw the south end of the branch realigned to link to the PRR trackage in Anacostia, across the [[Anacostia Railroad Bridge]], into the [[Virginia Avenue Tunnel]], through [[Southwest Washington, D.C.]], to [[Potomac Yard]] in [[Alexandria, Virginia]]. (''See'' [[RF&P Subdivision]].) The Alexandria Branch trackage to Shepherd's Landing was heavily used during [[World War II]] when traffic congestion on the [[Long Bridge (Potomac River)|Long Bridge]] caused the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] to construct a bridge along the original plan of the B&O: Alexandria to Shepherd's Landing, Washington. Trains of empty [[freight car]]s were routed north and south over the structure, which was demolished after the end of [[World War II]].<ref name="dcnrhs">National Railway Historical Society, Washington, D.C. Chapter. [http://www.dcnrhs.org/learn/washington-d-c-railroad-history/timeline-of-washington-d-c-railroad-history "Timeline of Washington, D.C. Railroad History."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110621213811/http://www.dcnrhs.org/learn/washington-d-c-railroad-history/timeline-of-washington-d-c-railroad-history |date=June 21, 2011 }} Accessed February 27, 2011.</ref>

Before either connection was made, however, another branch was built around the west side of Washington. During the 1880s the B&O had organised a group of bankrupt railroads in Virginia into the [[Virginia Midland Railroad]]. The VM track ran from [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]] to [[Danville, Virginia]]. The line projected west across the Potomac River was intended to cross the Potomac just north of the D.C. line, to continue southwest to a connection with the B&O-controlled Virginia Midland (VM) in [[Fairfax, Virginia|Fairfax]] (now [[Fairfax Station, Virginia|Fairfax Station]], to distinguish it from what was [[Fairfax Court House, Virginia|Fairfax Court House]] and is now the [[City of Fairfax, Virginia]]), and if possible to a connection with the [[Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad]] in [[Quantico, Virginia|Quantico]]. The branch was started in 1892 and reached [[Chevy Chase, Maryland]], the same year. Financial problems in both the VM and B&O forced a halt to construction and led to the B&O's loss of control of the VM. Following bankruptcy, and control by the Pennsylvania Railroad, by the time the line was completed in 1910 there was no longer any point to the river crossing. Thus, the renamed [[Metropolitan Subdivision#Georgetown Branch|Georgetown Branch]] came to serve a wide range of customers in Maryland and in [[Georgetown, Washington, D.C.|Georgetown]], such as the [[Potomac Electric Power Company]], the [[Washington Milling Company]], and the U.S. government. The line cut directly across various creeks, and includes what was said to be the longest wood [[Trestle bridge|trestle]] on the railroad over [[Rock Creek (Potomac River)|Rock Creek]]; and a short tunnel, [[Dalecarlia Tunnel]], under the [[Washington Aqueduct]]. The line was almost completely abandoned in 1986 by CSX and is presently used in part as the right-of-way for the [[Capital Crescent Trail]].

After a flood damaged the C&O Canal in 1877, the B&O acquired a majority interest in the canal mainly to keep its property and right of way from potential use by the [[Western Maryland Railroad]].<ref name="canal"/> The canal was operated by the B&O until 1924 when it was damaged in another flood. The canal's property was later transferred to the U.S. government in 1938 in consideration for obtaining a loan from the federal [[Reconstruction Finance Corporation]].<ref name="canal"/>

In 1895 the B&O introduced [[electric locomotive]]s over {{convert|3.75|mi|km|abbr=on}} of line near Camden, initially using an overhead electric slot system.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ferneyhough|first=Frank|title=The History of Railways in Britain|location=Reading|publisher=Osprey|year=1975|isbn=978-0-85045-060-6}}</ref>

===The 20th century===
{{more citations needed|section|date=May 2018}}<!--only one citation in section-->
[[File:B&O RR common stock.jpg|thumb|B&O stock certificate, 1903]]
[[File:Replacing Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Retaining Wall, 1906.jpg|thumb|right|Replacement of retaining wall of B&O in [[Hazelwood (Pittsburgh)|Hazelwood, Pittsburgh]], 1906]]
Following its emergence from bankruptcy, control of the B&O was acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1901, though the two kept separate corporate identities. A rising young PRR Vice President, [[Leonor F. Loree]], was appointed president. Loree shared the Pennsy management's belief in infrastructure and the B&O at that time needed some of that. New classes of engines were built to haul longer, heavier trains faster. The [[Old Main Line Subdivision|Old Main Line]] was reworked, sections of the original right-of-way cut off by the straightening of curves and replacement of old, weight-restricted bridges with newer, heavier bridges. Most of Loree's work on the B&O physical plant remains evident today. Many iron and steel bridges on the railroad were replaced with stone (Pennsy preferred stone to the preference of the [[Reading Company|Reading]] and [[Lackawanna Railroad]] for concrete). With the adoption of anti-trust legislation in 1906, the relation between the two companies was severed.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pennsylvania Railroad Company District Office Building · Built to Last: Enduring Landmark's of Baltimore Central Business District · Baltimore Heritage Digital Collections|url=https://collection.baltimoreheritage.org/exhibits/show/built-to-last/pennsylvania-railroad-company|access-date=2021-12-24|website=collection.baltimoreheritage.org|archive-date=August 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816061720/https://collection.baltimoreheritage.org/exhibits/show/built-to-last/pennsylvania-railroad-company|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The railroad's passenger numbers were at a disadvantage with the railroad's major competitor in the northeast, the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]. That railroad had a tunnel into Manhattan, thus carrying passengers directly into [[New York City]]. The B&O had no tunnel rights, and its New York City market trains actually terminated at the [[Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal]] in [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]]. From Philadelphia to Jersey City the B&O traveled over [[Reading Company|Reading Railroad]] tracks to Bound Brook and there joining [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]] tracks to Jersey City. Passengers rode CNJ ferries or B&O busses to Manhattan. Suffering from its weaker market position from Baltimore to New York, the B&O discontinued all passenger service north of Baltimore on April 26, 1958. One day later, the railroad had declared itself fully dieselized.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}
[[File:Baltimore and Ohio RR in 1961.jpg|thumb|Baltimore and Ohio Railroad system map, circa 1961]]
The [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]] took financial control of the B&O in 1963.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lennon |first=J |title =Establishing Trails on Rights-of-Way |publisher =[[United States Department of the Interior]] |location =[[Washington, D.C.]] |page =49 }}</ref> On May 1, 1971, [[Amtrak]] had taken over all of the remaining non-commuter routes of the B&O. The B&O already had a controlling interest in the [[Western Maryland Railway]]. In 1973 the three railroads were brought together under one corporate identity, the [[Chessie System]], although they continued to operate as separate railroads.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Solomon |first=Brian |title=North American Railroads: The Illustrated Encyclopedia |publisher=Voyager Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1627885577 |pages=73}}</ref> In 1980 the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries, a holding company that owned the [[Seaboard Coast Line]], the [[Louisville & Nashville]], the [[Clinchfield Railroad|Clinchfield]], and the [[Georgia Railroad]], agreed to form [[CSX Corporation]]. SCL Industries was renamed the [[Seaboard System Railroad]] (SBD) in 1983, the same year that the [[Western Maryland Railway]] was completely absorbed into the B&O. SBD was renamed [[CSX Transportation]] (CSX) in 1986. On April 30, 1987, the B&O's corporate existence ended when it was absorbed into the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, which merged into CSX Transportation on August 31 of that year.<ref>{{cite web|last=Volin|first=Rudy|title=Perryville and Havre de Grace, Md.|date=July 6, 2006|work=[[Trains (magazine)|Trains]]|url=http://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=532|access-date=March 10, 2009|archive-date=December 4, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204214928/http://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=532|url-status=live}}</ref>

In railroading's golden age, the B&O was one of several trunk lines uniting the northeast quadrant of the United States into a wide industrial zone. It was the southern border as the [[New York Central Railroad|New York Central]] was the northern border. The Pennsylvania Railroad controlled the center, and smaller roads like the [[Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad|Lackawanna]], [[Lehigh Valley Railroad|Lehigh Valley]], and the [[Erie Railroad|Erie]] in the center surviving largely through the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]]. The corners of this map are Baltimore in the southeast, [[Boston]] in the northeast, [[Chicago]] in the northwest, and [[St. Louis]] in the southwest.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Revenue Freight Ton-Miles (Millions)
|-
! !! B&O !! SIRT !! BR&P !! CI&W !! D&U !! ICV
|- align="right"
! scope="row" | 1925
| 19459 || 6 || 1585 || 376 || 3 || 15
|- align="right"
! scope="row" | 1933
| 12111 || 6 || (incl in B&O) || (incl in B&O) || (incl in B&O) || (incl in B&O)
|- align="right"
! scope="row" | 1944
| 34802 || 9
|- align="right"
! scope="row" | 1960
| 24840 || 15
|- align="right"
! scope="row" | 1970
| 28594 || ?
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Revenue Passenger-Miles (Millions)
|-
! !! B&O !! SIRT !! BR&P !! CI&W !! D&U !! ICV
|- align="right"
! scope="row" | 1925
| 878 || 67 || 47 || 14 || 0.004 || 0.1
|- align="right"
! scope="row" | 1933
| 435 || 52 || (incl in B&O) || (incl in B&O) || (incl in B&O) || (incl in B&O)
|- align="right"
! scope="row" | 1944
| 2758 || 81
|- align="right"
! scope="row" | 1960
| 533 || 37
|- align="right"
! scope="row" | 1970
| 64 || ?
|}

{{Wide image|Columbian at Thomas Viaduct.jpg|600px|align-cap=center|The ''[[Columbian (B&O train)|Columbian]]'' on [[Thomas Viaduct]], [[Relay, Maryland]], in 1949. The original 1835 viaduct, which carried Washington D.C.'s first rail connection to Baltimore, is still in use today.|80%|center}}

== Legacy ==
When CSX established the [[B&O Railroad Museum]] as a separate entity from the corporation, it donated some of the former B&O [[Mount Clare Shops]] in Baltimore, including the Mt. Clare [[Railway roundhouse|roundhouse]], to the museum, while selling the rest of the property. The [[Baltimore & Ohio Warehouse at Camden Yards]] rail junction in Baltimore now dominates the view over the right-field wall at the [[Baltimore Orioles]]' current home, [[Oriole Park at Camden Yards]].

== Locomotive roster==
{{main|Baltimore and Ohio Railroad locomotives}}
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had numerous [[locomotive]]s and [[cab unit]]s,<ref>[https://www.thedieselshop.us/B&O.HTML Baltimore & Ohio Locomotive Roster]</ref> mostly the latter. The railroad had locomotives from the following companies:
::*[[Electro-Motive Diesel]]
::*[[Baldwin Locomotive Works]]
::*[[Lima Locomotive Works]]
::*[[Fairbanks-Morse]]

==Heritage units==
[[File:B & O Railroad 3c, 1952 issue.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|In 1952 the U.S. Post Office issued a postage stamp commemorating the 125th anniversary of the B & O Railroad.]]

In 2021, CSX repainted three [[EMD F40PH]]s into an honorary B&O scheme: CSX 1, CSX 2 and CSX 3.

In May 2023, [[GE Evolution Series|GE ES44AH]] unit #1827 entered service, being repaired and painted at CSX shops in [[Waycross, GA|Waycross]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|GA]] under the honorary B&O scheme similar to that of the three F40PH locomotives. It is CSX's first heritage unit.

==See also==
{{Portal|Railways}}
* [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops]], a [[National Historic Landmark]]
* [[Baltimore Belt Line]]
* [[Aeolus Railroad Car]]
* [[Camden Yards station|Camden Station]]
* [[Mount Royal Station (Maryland Institute College of Art)|Mount Royal Station]]
* [[Mount Clare Shops]]
* [[Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad]]
* [[Charles T. Hinde]]
* ''[[La Paz (B&O)|La Paz]]'', a preserved coach that was operated by B&O

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Cited and general references ===
{{Refbegin}}
* Mileposts from: {{cite web| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040718192935/http://www.trainweb.org/csxtimetables/Contents.html| url=http://www.trainweb.org/csxtimetables/Contents.html| archive-date=July 18, 2004| title=CSX Transportation Timetables| website=Trainweb}}
* {{cite book |last=Harwood | first=Herbert H. Jr. |date=1994 |title=Impossible Challenge II: Baltimore to Washington and Harpers Ferry from 1828 to 1994 |publisher=Barnard, Roberts |location=Baltimore |isbn=978-0-934118-22-4 }}
* {{cite book |last=Ramage |first=James A. |title=Gray Ghost: The Life of Colonel John Singleton Mosby |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |date=1999 }}
* {{cite book| last1=Sagle| first1=Lawrence| first2=Alvin| last2=Staufer| title=B&O Power| publisher=Alvin F. Staufer| year=1964}}
* {{cite book | last = Stover | first = John F. | title = History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | publisher = Purdue University Press | year = 1987 | location = West Lafayette, IN | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=IEPCqQErPHAC&q=History+of+the+Baltimore+and+Ohio+Railroad&pg=PP1 | isbn = 978-0-911198-81-2 | access-date = October 15, 2020 | archive-date = May 9, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210509144332/https://books.google.com/books?id=IEPCqQErPHAC&q=History+of+the+Baltimore+and+Ohio+Railroad&pg=PP1 | url-status = live }}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
<!-- In descending chronological order (most recent first) -->
* {{Cite book|last=Schley
|first=David
|year=2020
|title=Steam City: Railroads, Urban Space, and Corporate Capitalism in Nineteenth-Century Baltimore
|publisher=University of Chicago Press
|isbn=978-0226720258
|ref=Schley}}
* {{cite journal
|title=All Aboard: The Influence of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on Sectionalism and Statehood in West Virginia
|first=Kristen
|last=Wilkes
|journal=West Virginia History
|date=Fall 2019
|volume=13
|issue=2
|pages=47–71|doi=10.1353/wvh.2019.0023
|s2cid=211316549
}}
* {{cite book
|title=Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Harpers Ferry Station
|series=H[istoric]A[merican]E[ngineering]R[ecord] WV–86
|first=Andrew S.
|last=Lee
|date=2003
|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/hafe/harpers_ferry_station.pdf
|publisher=Archeology Program, [[Harpers Ferry National Historical Park]]}} Has much on the railroad's history, not just Harpers Ferry.
* {{Cite book|last=Jacobs|first=Timothy|year=1989|title=The History of The Baltimore & Ohio|publisher=Crescent Books|isbn=978-0517676035|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbaltimo0000unse}}
* {{Cite book|last=Summers|first=Festus|year=1939|title=The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in the Civil War|publisher=Stan Clark Military Books|ref=Summers}}
* {{cite book
|title=The Story of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
|others=Two volumes
|year=1928
|location=New York
|author-link=Edward Hungerford (author)
|publisher=[[G. P. Putnam's Sons]]
|last=Hungerford
|first=Edward}}
* {{cite magazine
|title=Artists' Excursion over the Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road
|date=June 1859
|magazine=[[Harper's Magazine]]
|pages=1–19
|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=msu.31293023657913&view=1up&seq=15&skin=2021
}} Illustrations by [[Porte Crayon]].

==External links==
{{Commons category|Baltimore and Ohio Railroad}}
{{Wikisource|Maryland state laws relating to the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road}}
* [http://www.wvculture.org/history/thisdayinwvhistory/0101.html Articles about B&O arrival in Wheeling]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030426073029/http://borhs.org/ B&O Railroad Historical Society]
* [http://www.trainweb.org/oldmainline/ B&O Railroad Photo Tours in and around Maryland]
* [https://archive.today/20090114081735/http://baltoco.org/borailroad B&O Railroad page on the Baltimore Collective]
* [http://www.borail.org/ Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum]
** [http://www.borail.net/Timeline.html The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Timeline]
* [http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=ABQ7578-0025-5 1827 report] shows motivations of early boosters
* [http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/d8171.htm John W. Garrett Collection, 1850–1880] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611044255/http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/archives/d8171.htm |date=June 11, 2007 }} Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
* [http://www.borail.net The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Network]
* [http://oldrailhistory.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=59 Maryland Railroads as of 1850] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520082124/http://oldrailhistory.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=59 |date=May 20, 2022 }}
* [http://oldrailhistory.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=72 Virginia (and West Virginia) Railroads as of 1850] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520082125/http://oldrailhistory.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=72 |date=May 20, 2022 }}
* [http://laurent.aublette.free.fr/histo/bo_hist.html List and Family Trees of North American Railroads]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120605100938/http://whistlemuseum.com/2012/03/02/american-rail-road-mouth-whistles-and-more-astrauss.aspx B&O Whistles, Whistle museum]
* [http://digitallibrary.hsp.org/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/3872 Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road Station From Walnut Street Wharf Schuylkill River, June 29, 1889 by D.J. Kennedy, Historical Society of Pennsylvania] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624063135/http://digitallibrary.hsp.org/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/3872 |date=June 24, 2017 }}

{{Infobox B&O Named Trains}}
{{Former Class I}}
{{Authority control}}

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