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| Last updated on August 8, 2025
Baltimore & Ohio’s Howard Street Tunnel below downtown Baltimore was the site of the first “steam-railroad” electrification in America. This view at Mount Royal station is from shortly after the start of service in 1895.
Classic Trains coll.
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The electric would drag the steamer and its train through the tunnel eastbound only as it was an uphill climb. Steamers would freewheel through the tunnel westbound. All to avoid asphyxiation of the crew and passengers, but I’ll bet it was still an awful ride.