From an Idea to a Major Railroad System

Created by its charter on February 28, 1827, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) became the first common carrier railroad in the U.S. It was established to provide Baltimore with direct trade access to the Ohio River - thus its name: Baltimore & Ohio. Because of its early success, it became an influential example that subsequent railroads followed. Over time, its system would grow to 6,300 route miles, serving cities and towns in 13 Eastern and Midwestern states and the District of Columbia.

B&O system map, circa 1950s

The First 13 Miles - Operations Begin

After time needed for organizing, planning, and fundraising, B&O started construction on July 4, 1828, with an elaborate celebration featuring Charles Carroll, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence. Building from Mount Clare (off the west side of central Baltimore - now home to the B&O Museum), its first segment of 13 miles was completed to Ellicott’s Mills (now Ellicott City), and regular operations began on May 24, 1830. Horses were its first motive power.

Extension South to Washington

While building its main line westward from Baltimore in the early 1830s, B&O also saw a need to reach Washington, DC - or Washington City, as it was then commonly called. Washington was not a potential source for much freight traffic, but it did offer a potential for significant passenger business from people traveling between Washington and Baltimore and as the southern segment of travel to and from Philadelphia and New York. B&O also decided it would be better to build this segment before another company did.

This line would branch off B&O's route west at Relay, MD and run 30 miles to a terminal close to the Capitol in Washington, and it would require building the famous Thomas Viaduct over the Patapsco River at Relay. The line officially opened for service on August 25, 1835.

Early B&O passenger terminal in Washington, DC (B&ORHS 2014.1.12836)

West to the Ohio River

After this initial and relatively easy success reaching Ellicott’s Mills, B&O would find achieving its goal to reach the Ohio River to be a long and difficult ordeal, requiring it to overcome many political, financial, and technical challenges. First was building along the steep and rocky hillsides of the winding Patapsco River, and then across the heights of Parr's Ridge to reach the Potomac River at Point of Rocks. This 56-mile segment from Ellicott’s Mills took about two years to complete.

From there, B&O intended to build generally along the Potomac River to reach Cumberland, MD, about 110 miles beyond Point of Rocks. But so did the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Company, who were in the midst of building a canal from Georgetown (now the west side of Washington, DC) to Cumberland. B&O's progress was delayed at Point of Rocks, where legal battles with the canal company for access to favorable right-of-way began. After a ten-year ordeal, B&O finally reached Cumberland in November, 1842. But its troubles were not over.

B&O passenger train in Sandy Hook, MD (B&ORHS 2014.1.12841)

Now, the B&O seemed stalled at Cumberland, about halfway to its intended destination. Here, part of the delay was due to B&O's difficulty in deciding where its Ohio River terminal should be located, and then in obtaining the required state grants and approvals to proceed. At this point, Pittsburgh had become B&O's first choice due to its growth as a commercial center and its shorter route from Cumberland. But the Pennsylvania Railroad's influence in the state legislature had effectively eliminated that option.

In B&O's first years, Wheeling was an attractive terminal with its connection to the National Road, however, after 15 years of railroad development, that connection was no longer as important. Now, Parkersburg had become the preferred endpoint, as it was in line between Baltimore and the growing commercial centers of Cincinnati and St. Louis, whose populations and industrial development had both more than doubled since B&O began construction in 1828.

Initially, the Virginia (now West Virginia) legislature denied B&O permission to build to Parkersburg, as they had wanted a railroad to feed western traffic to their own Atlantic seaport terminal at Norfolk. In time, a deal was reached, and in March of 1847, 4½ years after reaching Cumberland, Virginia approved the needed grant with terms B&O could accept. This required building to an Ohio River terminal at or near Wheeling, per B&O's earlier intent, but with the understanding (mostly off the official record) that later approval to build to Parkersburg would likely be granted.

Completing the 200-mile segment to Wheeling would require 14 tunnels, 114 bridges, and 5½ years more time. After years of construction difficulties and political and financial challenges, in late December of 1852, B&O finally reached the Ohio River, at Wheeling, 379 railroad miles from Baltimore.

Overview of the B&O’s terminal in Wheeling, WV (B&ORHS 2014.1.12839)

By then Parkersburg on the Ohio River had become an attractive endpoint, as it was in line between Baltimore and the growing commercial centers of Cincinnati and St. Louis, whose populations had both more than doubled since B&O began construction in 1828.

Westward Expansion - To St. Louis

After it had agreed to complete a line to Wheeling, B&O pursued Virginia's approval to build to its now-preferred Ohio River terminal of Parkersburg. Approval was granted in early 1851. This 104-mile line would extend from Parkersburg to Grafton, where it joined the main route from Baltimore. Construction began in 1852, and the line opened for service on May 1, 1857.

At Parkersburg, B&O connected with a transport route that reached St. Louis, but a few transfers were required. First, was a 13-mile boat trip north to Marietta, OH to a connection with the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad. At Cincinnati, a change was made to the wide gauge Ohio & Mississippi Railroad to reach East St. Louis, where a ferry completed the trip across the Mississippi River to St. Louis. B&O would later buy these railroads and build a bridge across the Ohio at Parkersburg (completed in January, 1871) to eliminate the Ohio River boat transfer.

Overview of the B&O’s terminal in Parkersburg, OH (B&ORHS 2014.1.12839)

Connecting Washington from the West - The Metropolitan Branch

In 1865, B&O decided it was time to build a more direct connection to Washington from the west. The inadequacy of its indirect route was emphasized during the Civil War, with troops and supplies from the west having to take the long way around to reach the national capital by rail. Washington's population had also grown considerably, accelerated by the city's importance in the Civil War, thus warranting more service.

In addition, there was considerable congestion on the line from Point of Rocks to Baltimore. Despite the disruptions from the Civil War, freight traffic was growing, especially of coal. And running an increasing number of heavy coal trains on this segment, with lots of sharp curves and a steep grade over Parr's Ridge near Mt. Airy, was causing interference with the faster passenger trains. Added to this operational inconvenience was this segment's susceptibility to occasional flooding. The proposed new connection to Washington would give B&O a much needed supplementary route from Baltimore to the west.

Also, there had been a number of proposals to build railroads west from Washington, and B&O wanted to protect what it saw as its territory. If there was going to be such a line, B&O wanted it to be theirs, and not of another company, especially one backed by their increasingly aggressive competitor to the north, the Pennsylvania Railroad.

To aid in constructing this new connection, B&O acquired a charter from a never-built line called the Metropolitan Rail Road. This became the basis for the Metropolitan Branch, a 42-mile segment that would connect B&O's Washington terminal to its main line at Point of Rocks. Construction began in 1866, but progress was intermittent. The line was completed in early 1873, with regular service beginning on May 25.

B&O station at Point of Rocks, MD (B&ORHS 2014.1.12837)

Soon after completion, all of B&O's long-distance passenger trains to and from Baltimore began running on the Metropolitan Branch instead of its Old Main Line. From Washington, trips to the west were now 46 miles shorter and on an otherwise faster route. With this change, B&O began advertising - all trains via Washington - and started using the Capitol dome in its passenger promotions, officially adopting it as the company's emblem in 1937.

A Route to Chicago

Although prevented from building to Pittsburgh in the 1840s and 1850s, B&O succeeded in completing a line there from Cumberland in 1871. Going westward from there, however, would have to wait. In the meantime, President Garrett pursued his objective of reaching Chicago by another route, accomplished by leasing two railroads in Ohio and building a line from there to Chicago.

The Central Ohio Railroad, leased in 1866, gave B&O a connection from across the river near Wheeling westward to Newark and Columbus, and their 1869 lease of the Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark provided a line from Newark north to Lake Erie. From a place B&O selected on the SM&N, they proceeded to build a line 263 miles west to Chicago, which was completed in late 1874. The starting point on the SM&N, initially called Chicago Junction, was renamed to Willard in 1917, in honor of B&O's President Daniel Willard.

B&O passenger train leaving Chicago’s Grand Central Station

Later, by both acquisition and new construction, B&O secured a route from Pittsburgh to Chicago Junction, and in 1893, regular passenger and freight service from Baltimore began operating to Chicago by the route through Pittsburgh.

Reaching New York

In the 1860s, B&O had the only railroad between Baltimore and Washington and had friendly connections to Philadelphia and New York. That changed when the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) managed to build their own line between Baltimore and Washington, completed in 1873, and gained control of the connecting railroads between Philadelphia and New York. At first, B&O's connections beyond Philadelphia remained reliable, but then it began to encounter increasing delays instigated by the PRR.

To counter PRR's Philadelphia - New York monopoly, a new route was formed by two railroads - with Reading operating from Philadelphia to Bound Brook, NJ, and the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) from there to Jersey City, NJ (across the river from Manhattan). B&O moved its traffic to this route in early 1881.

Then, at great cost, B&O built its own route from Baltimore to Philadelphia to connect with the Reading-CNJ line. Enough construction was completed in December of 1886 to begin through service from Washington to Jersey City, with the remainder finished in 1889. This became B&O's famous Royal Blue Line, known for the high quality of its passenger equipment and its service.

But one more significant route improvement was still needed - to eliminate the inconvenient cross-harbor transfer by ferry to get through Baltimore. This was accomplished by building the Baltimore Belt Line, a 7.3-mile line from B&O's downtown Camden Station to a connection with its line to Philadelphia at Bay View, on the east side of the city. This required building a 1.4-mile tunnel north under Howard Street, and then a route that turned east, with considerable cut and embankment work to pass under or over many city streets. Operation on this segment also required electrifying the western part of the line, mainly due to the need to avoid smoke in the Howard Street Tunnel. This was the first electrified main line railroad operation in the US. Service on the Belt Line began in 1895.

B&O electric locomotives on the Belt Line (B&ORHS 2014.1.10206)

The cost of these improvements drove the B&O into receivership, which lasted from 1896 to 1899. The Pennsylvania RR then gained control until 1906 anti-trust legislation forced a change in ownership. Many physical plant improvements were made at that time, as well as the acquisition of motive power based on PRR designs.

Filling Out the System

By 1900, B&O had completed its system to its eastern and western limits and had added several branches. Over the next 35 years, it filled in its map with secondary routes and additional branches.

Major additions during this period were by the acquisition of these railroads:

1917 - Toledo & Cincinnati - 202 miles, from Cincinnati to Toledo.
1917 - Coal & Coke Railroad - 197 miles, from Elkins to Charleston in West Virginia.
1926 - Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Western - 228 miles, from Hamilton, OH (north of Cincinnati) to Springfield, IL.
1932 - Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh - 520 miles, from Pittsburgh to Buffalo and Rochester, with branches.
1932 - Buffalo & Susquehanna - 228 miles, lines from northeast of Pittsburgh to Wellsville and Addison in New York State.

The Last 60 Years

By the mid-1930s, B&O's system had become essentially as shown in the map above, and it would stay nearly the same during the remainder of its corporate existence. Its system then extended over 6,300 miles, including about 5,800 miles owned and 500 miles by lease or trackage rights.

Along with the rest of the industry and the country, B&O had a difficult time during the period of nationalization under the USRA and the long and severe economic depression of the 1930s, but it managed to avoid bankruptcy. Not until 1941 did revenues return to their 1930 level. And then came the flood of traffic during the World War II years when B&O, along with most of the industry, strained to handle the exceptionally high volumes demanded by the war effort.

For years after the war, B&O then had to contend with high cost increases for labor and materials, which were not matched by ICC-allowed rate increases; increasing competition from trucks and buses, accelerated by new highway construction; and the reduction in passenger revenue from access to air travel and the increase in automobile ownership.

One positive note came in 1952, when the U. S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp in honor of B&O's 125th year of corporate existence as the first common carrier railroad in the U. S. B&O became the first private company in the Post Office's then 177-year history, and the only railroad company, to ever be commemorated on a U. S. stamp. Its face value of 3 cents was the cost to send a regular first-class letter at that time.

1952 commemorative stamp

In 1963, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway took control of B&O. And then in 1987, 160 years after its creation, B&O was merged into CSX, and its corporate identity ended. Much of its system is still in operation today.

Freight Service

Like nearly all railroads in the U.S., B&O was built primarily for carrying freight. Except for the disruptive years during the Civil War, freight revenue would remain at or above 70% of B&O's total revenue for nearly every year from 1850 to 1923, and at or above 80% thereafter. From 1940 to 1960, B&O transported an average of about 3 million carloads of freight each year.

Although B&O carried freight of almost every description, the commodity providing its greatest tonnage, by far, was coal. First reaching coalfields out of Cumberland in 1843, coal comprised 46% of its freight tonnage by 1850, and throughout the rest of B&O's history coal typically provided 40% to 48% of its total annual freight tonnage. In 1945, B&O transported a little more than 1 million carloads of coal - an average of about 2,800 carloads every day.

Much of the coal B&O transported went to six export terminals:

To Lake Erie in Ohio at Toledo, Lorain, and Fairport
To Lake Ontario in New York at Charlotte Docks (Rochester)
To the Atlantic at Curtis Bay (Baltimore) and Staten Island (New York)

B&O’s coal pier at Curtis Bay in Baltimore, MD (B&ORHS 2014.1.10298)

Coal was also delivered to steel mills and other large industries, and throughout the system, for domestic fuel. And until about 1945, around 15% of all the coal B&O transported was used by B&O itself, mostly for locomotive fuel, and some for building heat and shop power as well.

In 1947 and 1950, two freight services were inaugurated that became well known B&O trademarks. First, in March of 1947, B&O inaugurated a system for more closely scheduling and tracking carload freight shipments between major terminal areas. It named this - Sentinel Service. With this service, most manufactured commodities shipped between the designated terminals were transported on a set schedule and tracked during their journey using teletype communication.

In April of 1950, B&O introduced faster handling for smaller less-than-carload (LCL) shipments between its largest terminals. It called this: Time-Saver Service. These smaller-sized shipments were loaded together in one box car and could range from one carton for a customer to pallets full of crates or cartons that filled most of the car.

To help publicize these services, B&O had several Sentinel Service and Time-Saver Service box cars specially painted. Because of their colorful and attractive design, they became popular with model makers, who produced thousands of them over the years and thus helped make these service names commonly known and associated with B&O.

B&O’s branded freight services, from the 1954 Annual Report

Passenger Service

B&O gained a reputation for high-quality passenger service, especially during the second half of its existence. As one author noted:

What set the B&O and its trains apart were genuine hospitality and a high quality of service. B&O employees were truly glad you were aboard their well-run trains; and one taste of B&O‘s dining car cuisine made you glad, too. This service resulted in unprecedented customer loyalty for decades.

(from: Baltimore & Ohio's Capitol Limited and National Limited, Joe Welsh, 2007, p. 8)

Daniel Willard, B&O's longest-serving president (1910-1941), put special emphasis on this part of B&O's business. He wanted all of B&O's long-distance passenger service to achieve a top public reputation, as it had for service on its Royal Blue Line between Washington to New York.

During his term, B&O inaugurated the Capitol Limited on May 13, 1923, between New York and Chicago. From its first run, the Capitol Limited offered its patrons the best of onboard comfort and service. Its dining and lounge cars provided the best of food and drink, and until the 1940s, it had barber and secretary service, and later, a stewardess. It was all-Pullman (first class) until 1958, when coaches were added and its eastern terminal changed to Baltimore. It served with distinction as B&O's premier passenger train until the beginning of Amtrak on May 1, 1971.

B&O Capitol Limited westbound at Harpers Ferry, WV in 1938

After the success of the Capitol Limited, B&O inaugurated the National Limited on April 26, 1925, between New York and St. Louis, a train with similar high standards as the Capitol Limited.

Also, during Mr. Willard's term, B&O introduced the first successful air-conditioned car, the dining car Martha Washington. Then, in 1931, B&O inaugurated the first air-conditioned train, the Columbian from New York to Chicago. In 1940, the last full year of Mr. Willard's presidency, B&O carried over 4 million passengers, with service to 994 cities, towns, and communities throughout its system.

As noted by author Welsh (above), part of what made B&O's passenger service so well regarded was its dining service. B&O began its dining car operation in 1881 with five cars. In the 1950s it had ten different types of cars providing food and drink service, about 120 cars in total, including more than 40 dining cars.

In addition to its long distance and local service, for many years B&O provided commuter service into Washington, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh:

• Washington to Baltimore: 38 miles

• Washington to Brunswick, MD: 49 miles

• Pittsburgh to Versailles, PA: 18 miles

The major portion of the above was created by Don Plotkin. These four books were sources for much of the material presented here and are recommended for further information on B&O's history:

History of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, by John Stover
The Great Road, by James Dilts
Impossible Challenge II, by Herbert Harwood
The Royal Blue Line, by Herbert Harwood

The B&ORHS has many more books and documents dealing with the history of the B&O. You are invited to visit our Archives for review and research. Contact archives@borhs.org to arrange a visit. If you have suggestions for improvements or changes in this brief history of the B&O, please send them to webmaster@borhs.org.

A Summary of B&O History