Location: Roundhouse, Bay 20
Originally built as the Maryland & Pennsylvania (Ma & Pa) No. 42 in 1906, this freight car was renamed the Ma & Pa No. 35 in 1942 when it was converted to a Railway Post Office (RPO) facilty for mail to be sorted and transported while traveling between York, PA and Baltimore, MD. The front half of the car was primarily responsible for carrying baggage and other freight along the railways, and eventually the Ma & Pa line became known as the “Milky Way” due to the large quantities of milk that it transported from local farms to the cities. While mail cars such as this reached their peak around 1913, the advent of the automobile led to a sharp decline in their use, and this car was retired from use in 1971.
More Exhibitions
The Underground Railroad: Freedom Seekers on the B&O Railroad
The Underground Railroad: Freedom Seekers on the B&O Railroad examines the role of the physical railroad in the Underground Railroad…
Bank of America Model Train Gallery
The Bank of America Model Train Gallery features an exquisitely detailed HO Scale model train layout of Baltimore City as…
The Roundhouse: The First Century of American Railroading
The historic B&O Roundhouse, built in 1884, features the most comprehensive collection of early American locomotives and rolling stock in…
The First American Locomotives: Fair of the Iron Horse
This section of the Roundhouse explores the very first locomotives, passenger cars, and freight cars used by America’s first railroad,…
Civil War: The War Came by Train
As a relatively new technology, the Civil War was the first war in the world to use trains. This exhibition…
North Car Shop: 20th Century American Railroading
The North Car Shop is the oldest surviving railroad manufacturing building in the world. Inside, explore a survey of 20th…
Smithsonian Model Train Collection
This hall features a variety of exquisite model trains from the Smithsonian’s collection covering almost 200 years of railroading history.
Jim Crow Segregated Car
This car is preserved its Jim Crow era segregated design. Built for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, it served predominately…
Mail Sorting Car
By the 1930s, mail was a primary cargo for the railroad industry. Visitors can explore the inside of a mail…
Founding the B&O Railroad
The National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation’s site is the birthplace of American Railroad. This exhibition shares the story…
World War II Troop Car
During World War II, the railroads were responsible for moving soldiers and materials for the war effort, while at the…
The Dynamometer Car
The dynamometer car was an important part of measuring a locomotive's performance in several categories, such as speed and tractive…
HO Scale Model Layout: Early History of the B&O
Don’t miss our train car sized HO scale model train layout. This moving exhibit depicts the early mission of the…
Dining on the B&O: The China Collection
The interior of this historic dining car boasts an impressive display of B&O Railroad dining china and silver, used to…
Cool Runnings on the Railroad: The American Refrigeration Car
Enter our modern refrigerated car, once used to haul frozen McDonalds fries around the country, and explore the critical role…
About Time: The Standardization of Time
Railroads played a critical role in the standardization of time in this country, as well as the development and need…
Train Garden: The National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation’s Open Storage
Can’t get enough trains? Explore our train garden – the museum’s open air storage around the parking lot featuring some…