901 West Pratt St., Baltimore, MD 21223
Phone:410-752-2490
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Tour E1 – America Transformed: A Journey from Roads to Rails
American railroading began in Baltimore the site of the B&O’s Mount Clare Shops, now home to the B&O Railroad Museum. Journey back to 1827 and see how a small group of Baltimore businessmen came together to fund a new type of transportation, the B&O Railroad. Their vision and determination helped lay the first 13 miles of rail in America, creating a web of iron and steel that would create the nation we have today. For 90 minutes your group will experience the revolutionary invention that shattered centuries-old ways Americans traveled and communicated. Your group’s journey begins when stagecoaches and Conestoga wagons provided the quickest form of land travel. Your group will feel every bump that early travelers experienced during this sometimes dangerous trip. They will learn about the infancy of American railroading, when horses pulled rail cars, and about the first American built steam locomotive, the Tom Thumb. Railroads like the B&O transformed the way Americans traveled and communicated. Your group will see how the B&O also helped with the implementation of the 19th century’s other major life-changing invention, the telegraph. In May 1844, Samuel Morse sent his first telegraph message from Washington, DC to the B&O’s shops in Baltimore, Maryland. Hear these first words and see how these inventions, helped create the nation we have today. End your experience by traveling one hundred years after the invention of American railroading with a behind-the-scenes tour of the B&O Office Car #908, a private rail car that was used by railroad executives, businessmen, even U.S. Presidents when traveling on the railroad. Learn how the B&O’s innovative design team helped create luxurious rail travel.
Tour Duration: 90 minutes
Rates: $21 for ages 13+
Tour operator rates available by calling 410-752-2462 x 205
Reservations accepted upon request between the hours 10am-2:00pm for groups of 20-50 participants. Due to space capacity group may have to be divided for this tour. Please allow extra time for this requirement.
Prepaid reservations required at least 2 weeks in advance of scheduled visit. A 20 minute train ride is available Thursday - Sunday, April - December and weekends in January for an additional $2 per person.
Tour E2 – Restoration Shop Tour: the New, the Old, & the Restored!
Visit the B&O’s state-of-the-art restoration shop for a behind-the-scenes tour. This facility, constructed in 2005, is used to restore and maintain the museum’s locomotive and rolling stock collection. This guided tour is an up-close and personal look at the shop including the machinery used in the restoration process and a peek at some of the “Iron Horses” currently being maintained and restored.
Tour Duration: 1 hour
Rates: $27 for ages 13+
Tour operator rates available by calling 410-752-2462 x 205
Reservations accepted upon request between the hours 10am-2:00pm for groups of 20-25 participants. A 20 minute train ride is available Thursday - Sunday, April - December and weekends in January for an additional $2 per person.
Prepaid reservations required at least 2 weeks in advance of scheduled visit.
Tour E3 – African American Railroad Tour
This tour highlights the contributions of African Americans to America's railroad industry. From its inception the B&O Railroad relied on African Americans as laborers, track maintenance crews, and station and car cleaners; jobs that were traditionally low paying and often physically demanding. As years progressed opportunities evolved for work as baggage handlers, brakemen, porters and porterettes, waiters, cooks and eventually hostlers (men who prepared locomotives for their runs but did not function as engineers pulling trains in regular service.) However advancement to management and "skilled" labor positions were impossible to attain for many years due to discrimination and social practices. This guided tour allows your group to experience 200 years of African American history through the world-class collection of the B&O Railroad Museum. Tour the Museum's nationally acclaimed Civil War exhibit, The War Came By Train, learn about the death of B&O baggage man Hayward Shepherd, one of the first casualties of John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. Visit the C&O #409 Combine Car, a real "Jim Crow" railroad car that visually represents the stark reality of the claim "separate was equal". Learn how many African Americans reacted to Jim Crow laws that separated whites from blacks on railroads. The dining car exhibit, Dinner in the Diner, highlights the chefs and waiters who made dining on the B&O an exceptional experience; providing high quality service, from the lowliest traveler up to American President Franklin Roosevelt.
Tour Duration: 1.5 hours
Rates: $21 for ages 13+
Tour operator rates available by calling 410-752-2462 x 205
Reservations accepted upon request between the hours 10am-2:00pm for groups of 20-50 participants. A 20 minute train ride is available Thursday - Sunday, April - December and weekends in January for an additional $2 per person. Prepaid reservations required at least 2 weeks in advance of scheduled visit.
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