In the mid-1800s a dramatic change occurred in the shipment of American goods from the Eastern United States to West of the Appalachian Mountains. Two methods of transportation competed for the number one transportation spot, railroads and canals.

Which form of transportation would prove the most efficient? Which form of transportation would last? The B & O Railroad Station, located in Baltimore, Maryland answered those questions.

During the early 1800s and the Era of Good feelings, American nationalists decided to build a system of roads and canals to provide better supply routes. Canals, they thought, would unify the United States with an ideal system for commerce. By the 1850s, the railroad system proved them wrong. Railroads, specifically the Baltimore & Ohio Railway, quickly displaced the canal system as the number one method of goods transportation.

The institution of the steam engine led the way to steam-driven trains. B & O engineers worked to produce a train that traveled an impressive 13 miles per hour without the help of a draft horse. The Appalachian Mountain inclines and curves challenged the engineers as well.

By May of 1830, B&O workers completed thirteen miles of railroad that ran between Pratt Street and Ellicott Mills in Maryland.

A glue manufacturer and inventor, created the Tom Thumb engine that ultimately reached 15 miles-per-hour carrying both passengers and cargo, its success paved the way for the railroad system to become the primary transportation system of the 1800’s.

The B & O revolutionized interstate commerce and contributed greatly to the wider distribution of people across American lands.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum located in Baltimore, Maryland houses an extensive collection of railroad artifacts honoring the history of the B&O Line as well as the railroad industry.

This narrative created by University of West Florida Public History tudent, Natalie Ray