A new train thread...

[W3MIV]

I was asked about the B&O Museum in downtown Baltimore in another thread. Today, in my copy of the Maryland Historical Society magazine, MdHSNews, the following ad appeared. It may be of interest to some of you.

Note that the copy is too small, and the Island's bandwidth should not suffer so radically as to make it readable, so I have included it here in this quote:

The B&O Museum, a national treasure with eight original Civil War locomotives and cars, will be launching “The War Came by Train,” an exciting series of exhibits and programs from 2011-- 2015, the 150th anniversary of America’s Great Conflict. They will be demonstrating, as no one else can, how important railroading was to both sides during the War Between the States [sic]. One of the highlights will be a train ride to the site of Camp Carroll, the largest Union encampment in Baltimore.

The B&O Museum and the [Maryland] Historical Society are neighbors on the west side of Baltimore. As Maryland History Central at the Society launches its own Civil War Expo, a day-long family adventure will become a truly memorable opportunity at both institutions in 2011. Time travelers will be able to wander among real Civil War locomotives and then go through a time tunnel back to the sights and sounds, as well as the personal stories of Marylanders caught in the middle ground between North and South. Be sure to put this once-in-a-lifetime date with the Civil War on your 2011 calendar.

For more information: Visit www.borail.org and www.mdhs.org.

So, something for both train buffs and war buffs.

[kc7jty]

Linking 13 great states with the nation.

Ever see the Carrolton viaduct in the flesh Albie?

[W3MIV]

Linking 13 great states with the nation.

Ever see the Carrolton viaduct in the flesh Albie?

I guess you mean the Thomas Viaduct, oldest rail bridge in the nation. Yep. Still in use, and still scary to cross -- the old iron railings are almost all gone.

Interesting article in Sun on the 175th anniversary of the old bridge this past July. Here: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/201...ley-state-park

and a pic of the Royal Blue sailing across in 1937 -- when railroading was a way of travel for almost everyone. And that railing was in far better shape then than now. Attachment 3317

Time change, and some things are not always for the better.

[kc7jty]

Nope:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrollton_Viaduct
it predates the Thomas viaduct by 5.5 years.

Builder Caspar Wever and designer James Lloyd completed the structure for the railroad in November 1829.

Construction of the bridge commenced on July 4, 1833, and was completed on July 4, 1835.

[W3MIV]

Nope:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrollton_Viaduct
it predates the Thomas viaduct by 5.5 years.

Builder Caspar Wever and designer James Lloyd completed the structure for the railroad in November 1829.

Construction of the bridge commenced on July 4, 1833, and was completed on July 4, 1835.

Nope, I had completely forgotten about that one. It is at the far end of Carroll Park, one of Charles Carroll of Carrollton's several mansions, and behind the old Montgomery Ward building, which, before they built the Pentagon, was said to be the largest building in the world. Now a bunch of office suites.

There is a track that runs between that bridge and the B&O Museum, alongside some junkyards that were iron mongers, that was about a mile-long string of steam locos, pilot coupled to tender, awaiting the cutting torch. That was when I was a kid, and we'd climb all over them, hiding from the rare appearance of a watchman. Never let my grandfather know about it. He'd have beat my ass through next month.

I don't know if it is still there, but a GG1 was on that same track for a long time, buried in a bunch of aging boxes and gondolas -- including a rusty, old molten iron bucket from either Armco or Sparrows Point. That bridge marked roughly the western end of "Pig Town," which lay along the southern side of the tracks. It was named, not for its residents, but for its large number of abattoirs and butcher shops.

Not the best area in which to wander nowadays, even ON the beaten track. Check it out on Google Earth. The GG1 is still shown on their aerial, but that doesn't mean it is not now part of some Toyota fender.

Google Earth also provides a decent view of the B&O Museum (with its new roof) and the sad state of some of the classic steam locos stored in the yard/parking lot.

[kc7jty]

When I visited the museum about 18 years ago, someone said to go see it with a warning the area was rather seedy. I still remember the white foundation stone, for me, a religious experience.

Also survived some early railroad artifact explorations in Philadelphia as well:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newkirk_Viaduct_Monument

I don't know where they get 30 feet for it's only as tall as a man.
The abandonment of these historical monuments is a detriment to us all.

[W3MIV]

Interesting. There is an obelisk like that at the Thomas Viaduct, as well. It is part of the restoration project mentioned in the Sun article. Men who made such monuments were proud of their accomplishments, and they took the time and made the investment in leaving a signature behind for those of us who would follow.

I guess we have become so arrogant that we now take for granted what we once rightly revered as marvelous achievements. We have lost the capacity to be impressed and to show enthusiasm for what has become mundane. It is revealing that these monuments become for us little more than grounds for non-entities to cover with mindless graffiti, memorials boasting of nothing more than mere opportunity. Will we never learn? "Pride goeth before the fall, and an haughty demeanor before destruction."

[N2NH]

Interesting. There is an obelisk like that at the Thomas Viaduct, as well. It is part of the restoration project mentioned in the Sun article. Men who made such monuments were proud of their accomplishments, and they took the time and made the investment in leaving a signature behind for those of us who would follow.

I guess we have become so arrogant that we now take for granted what we once rightly revered as marvelous achievements. We have lost the capacity to be impressed and to show enthusiasm for what has become mundane. It is revealing that these monuments become for us little more than grounds for non-entities to cover with mindless graffiti, memorials boasting of nothing more than mere opportunity. Will we never learn? "Pride goeth before the fall, and an haughty demeanor before destruction."

Nice stone arch bridge. There's one like that on the New Haven line somewhere near Rhode Island too.

If it's any consolation, there's graffiti in the Great Pyramid and some of it goes back to the time it was built... I guess some people like to mark their territory.

[N8YX]

Speaking of railroads and war...

For the longest time, the ABB line (which I commented about in another train thread) had the carriage of a naval gun car parked on one of the sidings in its main yard. Said yard is about a mile south of me. I ought to go see if the thing is still there - and if so, inquire a bit as to its history.

[kc7jty]

non-entities to cover with mindless graffiti,

As the real estate people say:
It's all location, location, location