Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
The story of the B&O Railroad in Cumberland is a part of the story of the Baltimore merchant's stretch for the Ohio River, across the Applachians.
The B&O and the canal were in a race, starting on July 4, 1828, to the Ohio River. This race was, in its day, as significant as the space race in the 1960's. The B&O won the race. However, there was more cooperation than competition between the C&O Canal and the B&O Railroad when it came to shipping product. There was more than enough coal to go around. This culminated in the B&O buying and operating the canal in the 1900's.
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was perceived as the C&O Canal's chief competitor. The Canal never recovered from the B&O's reaching Cumberland first. The two massive construction projects vied for the same pool of unskilled and skilled laborers
Queen City Station, In Cumberland
The B&O was the first railroad to reach Cumberland from the east, in 1842. Cumberland was not a destination. The railroad was just passing through on its way to the rich grain sources of the Ohio Valley. After a seven year pause at Cumberland, the railroad headed south and west, to continue to take advantage of the Potomac River Valley. After Piedmont (WV) was reached in 1851, the easy part was over. Now the line had to climb the 17 Mile Grade, over Backbone Mountain. This was a major challenge for men and machines. The B&O line to Grafton was completed in 1852, and to Wheeling on the Ohio River in 1853. The line was open for service from Baltimore to Cincinati and St. Louis by 1857.
References
Dilts, James D. The Great Road The Building of the Baltimore and Ohio The Nation's First Railroad, 1828-1853, 1993, Stanford University Press.
Edson, William D. "Steam Locomotives of the Baltimore & Ohio An All Time Roster," 1992, ISBN 0-9632913-0-0.
Henderson, John. Blue Diesels & Black Diamonds, 1991, H&M Productions.
Hollis, Jeffrey R. and Roberts, Charles S. East End B&O's 'Neck of the Bottle', 1992, Bernard, Roberts & Co.
Jacobs, Timothy (ed). The History of the B&O America's First Railroad, 1989, Brompton Books Corp.
Mellander, Deane. B&O Thunder in the Alleghenies, 1993, Carstens.
Roberts, Charles S. West End, Cumberland to Grafton 1848-1991, 1991, Barnard, Roberts & Co., Baltimore, Md.
Roberts, Charles S. Sand Patch Clash of Titans, Oct. 1993, Barnard, Roberts & Co., Baltimore, Md. ISBN 0-934118-20-5.
Kirsch, Richard. "Rails to Cumberland," 1/5/92-11/1/92, Cumberland Sunday Times News, in 10 parts.
Stover, John F. "History of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad," 1987, Purdue University Press, ISBN 0-911198-81-4.
Stegmaier, Harry I. Jr. B&O Passenger Service 1945-1971 Volume I The Route of the National Limited, 1993, TLC Publications.
Pangborn, J. C. Picturesque B&O, 1883, Baltimore.
