B&O: Baltimore & Ohio Overview and Maps

B&O has so much history that I won't be able to take the time to research it. It was the first common carrier railroad in the USA because; unlike New York, Philadelphia, and Washington; it did not have a river to start a canal to the west. The B&O history includes a famous race between a horse and a steam locomotive. Rather than a history, I'll use the overview to record maps and the fact that they owned the Chicago & Alton between 1931 and 1942.

But I did come across this summary of the history.

"The development of the railroad engineering concepts and equipment that opened the American West began with the "Old Main Line" in 1828. As the first U.S. railroad in public service, constructed between 1828 and 1830, it began operating between Mount Claire, Baltimore, and Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Among many firsts are its use of coal-burning locomotives, T-rail sections, conical wheels, high-pressure steam engines, and iron wheels on passenger cars. Early experiments included those with feedwater heating and superheaters, Charles Grafton Page's electrically operated locomotive, etc. By 1857 the B&O system had been opened from Baltimore to St. Louis. By 1874 its rails extended into Chicago and by 1886 up the east coast to New York and then Philadelphia. In 1951 the B&O had grown to 6,000 miles of line, 2,000 locomotives, and 100,000 cars." [asme]

List of B&O towers in 1928 and 1958.

The 1830s route went through Ellicott City, MD.

Baltimore & Ohio Ellicott City Station Museum posted

On May 25, 1873, the Metropolitan branch line of the B&O Railroad officially opened. In the aftermath of the Civil War, Washington, D.C. was a rapidly expanding city due to the growth of the federal government. By the 1870s, the original 1830s era main line of the B&O Railroad was increasingly congested due to rising freight and passenger traffic. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad decided that to remain competitive it was necessary to construct a new westbound line that directly served the nation’s capital. 

Construction of the B&O’s Metropolitan Line began in 1866, It was completed in 1873, at a total cost of $3,583,000. The Metropolitan Line originally had 28 stops along its 48-mile course. The line passes through towns including Silver Spring, Rockville, and Gaithersburg before joining the B&O Old Main Line at Point of Rocks, Maryland. Many stations along the Metropolitan Line were designed by renowned B&O architect E. Francis Baldwin including the iconic B&O passenger station at Point of Rocks.

The Metropolitan Branch line significantly changed the operations of the B&O Railroad. Fast passenger trains were routed through Washington, D.C., reducing the B&O’s Old Main Line to a secondary route mostly used for freight trains and local passenger services. The importance of the Ellicott City Station for passengers was diminished as it was largely bypassed by the new Metropolitan Line.

The Metropolitan Line drove the growth of the Washington suburbs as new communities developed around its stations, as D.C. residents migrated to the new easily accessible commuter suburbs. Today the Metropolitan Line is still an important transit corridor as it serves as the Brunswick line for MARC and Amtrak services. 

Image: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad after 1873. Source: Ellicott City Station Museum collection.

Randall Hampton shared
1873, Point of Rocks became a junction on the B&O.

A railfan guide to the Old Main Line

B&O photo tours

B&O Old Main Line tunnels

1878:

LoC, an interactive map that allows you to zoom in

1934:

The Blackhawk Railway Historical Society posted

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad controlled The Alton Railroad from 1931 until 1942.

This map shows the combined system.
David H. Nelson Why did they let go of it?
The Blackhawk Railway Historical Society The Alton went into bankruptcy in 1942, and the B&O relinquished control of it.
Bill Molony posted
B&O Map from 1934.   From the Blackhawk collection.
Redbeard Ramhammer: While I'm aware of the B&O ownership of the C&A through Missouri, I am unaware of what the line to the south heading west from St. Louis would be. Trackage rights arrangement?
Robert Fiedler: Trackage rights over the Burlington.

1958:

Tomas Historiespanarna posted
Baltimore & Ohio map 1958 - Northeastern USA
Tomas Historiespanarna: Fully zoomable version in this collection: https://www.davidrumsey.com/.../RUMSEY~8~1~263037~5524040

Unknown date:

phmc

This B&O ownership of Alton is why Illinois Central Gulf used to have B&O's distinctive Colored Position Signals on their GM&O route.

 

Rich Emery posted
Great ad published almost 100 years ago in the Dayton Daily News.
Gerald Altizer: And the ONLY dot on that map without a name is Cumberland . . . STILL a major shop on CSX.
Randall Hampton shared

Eric Anderson posted three images with the comment: "Maps of the B&O rail system and the branch line from Grafton to Wheeling."

Jim Kelling: Baltimore to Wheeling (via Grafton) was the original 1853 mainline or “main stem” as the B&O called it.

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Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Western

John Sniffen posted two images with the comment: "The Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Western Railroad in the June 1921 Official Guide of the Railways, six years after it was reorganized from the Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Western Railway, which started in 1902 as a merger of the Indiana, Decatur & Western and the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Indianapolis RR. The CI&W disappeared as a railroad in 1927 when it was acquired by the Baltimore and Ohio."

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