BALTIMORE — Mark your calendar for 15 months from now. In February 1827 the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad became the first common carrier railroad in the U.S. February 2027 is the bicentennial of U.S. railroading and the B&O Railroad Museum plans to celebrate with renovated and expanded facilities now under construction.
The $38 million project will transform the museum and how patrons experience its collection and exhibits. The project will also act as a catalyst for additional development in Southwest Baltimore.
The key features of the project include:
- Transformation of the South Car Works building — the oldest, continuously operating U.S. railroad repair facility, operated from 1869 to 1990 — to house Innovation Hall, with exhibits on current and future railroad technology; the museum’s archives, with more than 30 million documents and 200,000 photos; and two smart classrooms for educational programs.
“This is transformative for us,” Kris Hoellen, museum executive director, said in a recent Baltimore Sun interview. “And it’s transformative for Southwest Baltimore.”
- Installation of the CSX Bicentennial Garden, which will be an open public space and amphitheater adjacent to the South Car Works building.
“ … it will be just a place to eat lunch,” Hoellen says. “We look for it to become a vibrant event space and provide a fresh, new location to welcome our visitors. It will also be free for community use.”
- The entrance and patrons’ path through the museum will be shifted away from the iconic, fully-enclosed roundhouse. With its collection of 19th century locomotives, the roundhouse will now become the finale of a museum visit.
“The crown jewel will be saved for last,” says Hoellen.
The museum has raised $28 million of the $38 million project goal. Of the funds raised, $5 million was donated by CSX Transportation in support of the Bicentennial Garden. Hoellen is confident that the balance will be raised through the museum Tracks to the Future: Campus Transformation campaign.
For more information on the B&O Railroad Museum please visit its website.
