Genealogical Inquiries
The Hays T. Watkins Research Library contains records that may be of interest to genealogists and researchers looking for information about specific individuals who worked for the B&O Railroad.
These records exist in microfilm form and contain some of the records of Baltimore & Ohio Railroad employees between 1905 and 1971. They do not contain all of the records of B&O employees. Records prior to 1905 were destroyed in the Baltimore Fire of 1904 and records after 1971 are the property of CSX Transportation and are not available to the public.
The collection consists of several thousand individual payroll records, which were microfilmed by the Payroll Department during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s in the B&O’s Baltimore office. It does not contain records of every employee who worked for the B&O during this time period, just those whose payroll cards were in the Baltimore office and were not lost or destroyed. The records do not contain personal information, i.e. information on spouses, children, parents, or home addresses. They are job records only. They give the person’s name, date of birth, job title, division, department, station, salary (sometimes), and subsequent changes in the job or salary, including date of retirement, resignation, or dismissal, and in some instances, date of death.
Due to the condition of the film and current conservation projects there is only one way to access these records. Individuals must request a search of the files that will be done by library staff. There are fees associated for this service.
To perform this service we need the full name and date of birth of the employee. Inquiries must be clearly stated and include contact information of the researcher and phone number. All fees for research or reproduction must be paid in order for staff to process your request.
Questions and contact information for research inquiries:
B&O Railroad Museum
Attn: Hays T. Watkins Research Library & Archives,
901 West Pratt Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21223
Phone: 410-752-2490 ext. 307
Fax: 410-752-2499 ATTN: Library & Archives
Email: research@borail.org
Payment: The library accepts cash, personal checks, and all major credit cards.
Fees
Fees include research of all pertinent databases for one individual (employee). If any material is found on a particular individual, researcher will receive a copy of the original work record (when possible) and/or a detailed report of all findings compiled by library staff.
Non-member: $25 / individual
Member: $17.50 / individual
Additional sources of genealogical information include
