B and O Museum
From BaltoCo
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- (Jan08) Imported from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%26O_Railroad_Museum
Opened in Baltimore on 2 July, 1953, the B&O Railroad Museum is located at the historic site of the B&O Railroad's Mt. Clare Shops. Mount Clare is considered to be the birthplace of American railroading. The museum houses collections of 19th- and 20th-century artifacts related to America's railroads. The collection includes 250 pieces of railroad rolling stock, 15,000 artifacts, 5000 cubic feet of archival material, four significant nineteenth-century buildings, including the historic roundhouse, and a mile of track, considered the most historic mile of railroad track in the United States. Train rides are offered on the mile of track on Tuesday through Sunday from April through December at no additional cost.
The museum also features an outdoor G-scale layout, an indoor HO scale model, and a wooden model train that children will enjoy climbing on. From Thanksgiving through the New Year, local model railroad groups set up large layouts on the roundhouse floor and in select locations on the grounds of the museum.The museum also includes displays of B&O Railroad China, dinnerware once used in the dining cars. A museum store offers toys, books, DVDs and other railroad-related items.
[edit] Restoration
On the morning of February 17, 2003, heavy snow from the North American blizzard of 2003 collapsed the roof of the museum's Baldwin roundhouse (built in 1884). The museum suffered heavy damage not only to the roundhouse itself but also to the collection within the roundhouse. Some of the items were damaged beyond repair. The roundhouse, with a newly repaired roof, reopened to the public on November 13, 2004. Repairs are ongoing to the damaged exhibits. To make up for losses, admission has been increased to 14 dollars for adults.
Within the roundhouse three locomotives (including the Thatcher Perkins) that were damaged by the roof collapse remain on display, albeit behind protective glass. The roof collapse, subsequent fund raising and the restoration allowed the museum to upgrade many of its facilities. In 2005 the museum opened a new service facility west of the roundhouse for restoration of historical equipment and maintenance of active equipment. As of March 10, 2006, members of the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore are entitled to go to the B&O Railroad Museum: Ellicott City Station free of charge.
[edit] Exhibits
The museum's holdings and include both originals and replicas, some of which were built by the B&O for its centennial "Fair of the Iron Horse" in 1927. Notable exhibits include:
- Baltimore and Ohio #25: The William Mason 4-4-0 built in 1856, most recently used in the movie Wild Wild West.
- Chesapeake and Ohio Railway #490: Streamlined "Hudson" (4-6-4 type).
- Chesapeake and Ohio #1604: One of two surviving "Allegheny"-class 2-6-6-6 locomotives.
- Pennsylvania Railroad #4876: PRR GG1|GG1 electric, not currently on display, that crashed into Washington D.C.'s Union Station in 1953 in the Federal Express (passenger train)#Notorious wreck|Federal Express train wreck.
- Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad ("Ma & Pa") inspection car and Railway post office car.
- B&O Royal Blue Line 1890s-era coach.
