Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

Uncommon card · No. 122302

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (reporting marks BO, B&O) was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first steam-operated common carrier. Maryland chartered the railroad in 1827 and construction began in 1828. It operated as B&O from 1830 until 1987, when it was merged into the Chessie System. Its lines are today controlled by CSX Transportation (CSX). Founded to serve merchants from Baltimore who wanted to do business with settlers crossing the Appalachian Mountains, the railroad competed with several existing and proposed turnpikes and canals, including the Erie Canal and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and eventually with other rail networks such as the Pennsylvania Railroad. The railroad began operation in 1830 on a 13-mile line between Baltimore and Ellicott's Mill in Maryland. Horse-drawn cars were replaced by steam locomotives the following year. Over the following decades, construction continued westward. During the American Civil War, the railroad sustained much...

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