B and O Railroad China
From BaltoCo
|
Baltimore is not only home to the nation's first railroad, it is also the inspiration for one of the most popular collectibles among railroad enthusiasts--the B&O Blue China. Also known as the B&O Centenary China, the Blue China was originally manufactured by New Jersey's Scammel's Lamberton China in honor of the B&O Railroad's 100 anniversary in 1927.
[edit] A Plate for Everything and Everything on Its Plate
Most of the B&O Blue China's plates, platters, and serving pieces portray different scenic sights along the old B&O Railroad line. However, there are some variations in the scenery/china combinations, because the Blue China was produced by different manufacturers with variant designs during its approximately 40 years of use in the B&O dining cars. In general:
- The small bread plates, oatmeal bowls, and compotes feature the Carrollton Viaduct, the nation's oldest stone arch railroad bridge. Built in 1929, the Carrollton Viaduct is still in use and is located in Southwest Baltimore. It's part of the original B&O line, leading from the Mount Clare Station (now part of the B&O Museum) to the Relay House along the Patapsco River.
- The saucers for coffee cups, small serving platters, and footed compotes depict the Thomas Viaduct, a stone arch bridge across the Patapsco River in Relay, MD. According to a booklet published by the B&O's Dining Car Department in 1927, the Thomas Viaduct "was completed in 1835 to carry the first rails of the Metropolitan Branch leading into the young Capital City of Washington. It was quite an engineering feat for its day, being built on a four-degree curve." The bridge is still in use, nearly 2 centuries later.
|
- The mid-sized tea plate (larger than a saucer but smaller than a dinner plate) shows the Potomac Valley, including the Potomac River and a boat traveling along the then-operational C&O Canal.
- The dinner plates feature a bird's eye view of Harper's Ferry, WV, including the 2 railroad bridges that once crossed both the Shenandoah and the Potomac rivers and the notable church steeple on the town's hilltop. Only one bridge is still standing and operational.
- The celery dish and some of the platters depict the Cheat River.
[edit] Old Plates, Now Collectible
Railroad old-timers recall how they used to throw soiled B&O plates off the trains when they needed to tidy up. The plates seemed to be ubiquitous, as disposable as paper plates are today.
The booklet "Concerning the Blue China," published nearly 100 years ago by the B&O Dining Car Department, included a price list for public purchase of the dinnerware in 1927. At that time, dinner plates were $1, tea plates 70 cents, and 2-inch wide "butterpats" just 20 cents. Today, the oldest dinner plates easily sell for more than $100, tea plates nearly as much, and the butterpats are considered highly collectible, being tiny and adorable. The latter sometimes sell for over $100.
Each year, during the first Sunday in November, a Railroadiana show is held in Gaithersburg, MD, where railroad china dealers from across the country converge to sell B&O and other RR dinnerware and paraphenalia.
