A major railroad was proposed in the late 1800′s, the headquarters to be located in Baltimore, Maryland. This is the B&O Railroad, also commonly referred to as the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. The original design was presented at a trade show, but was not accepted, however it now is one of the artifacts in the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum. This museum has one of the most comprehensive collections of historical artifacts on the railroad industry in the country.

It is no wonder that the center of the industry is located in the working class city of Baltimore. Plumbers, construction workers, fishermen and civil servants make up just a few of the kind of personalities in the city, the tough and the hard working people, and in the museum you will be exposed to the lives of these men and women that toiled each day beginning in 1829, working on this site, the birthplace of the railroad in America. The museum is located on the site of the Mt. Clare Shops, in one of this historic neighborhoods on the southwest side of Baltimore. The work that began then, continues today.

The museum is just one of seven museums in the country to be affiliated with the Museum of the Smithsonian Institute is an important educational institution as well as the preservation and collection of the artifacts. The collection includes items from other railroads throughout the country as well, including the Western Maryland and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroads. Technology is kept on the continuum time line from the beginnings through current advances, with more than two hundred pieces of the trains themselves, as well as uniforms, fine art, memorabilia and furniture.

In 1990, the museum became independent from corporate interactions an became a non-profit institute for education. Following the roof cave in due to heavy snowfall in 2003, the city began rebuilding and renovating the structure of the Round House, and after twenty-two months, the museum re-opened amidst celebration. The facilities had been expanded and improved upon, public educational programs had been re-evaluated and the damaged artifacts had been repaired. The museum draws more the 200,000 visitors each year, and for those with a love of the railroad and the mystery of trains, this is one museum in Baltimore that is just right for a day or two tour, and a walk through history.

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum is a post from: Cool Comment