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Visit Maryland’s Railroad Museums

by Nancy Parode

Maryland’s Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad, which broke ground in 1828, was the first commercial railroad in the United States chartered to transport both freight and passengers. The B&O Railroad’s Ellicott City Station, constructed in 1831, is the nation’s oldest existing railroad depot. Baltimore’s Carrollton Viaduct, built in 1829 over Gwynn’s Falls, is still in regular use today.

Given Maryland’s important role in U.S. railroad history, it’s no wonder that locals and visitors alike flock to railroad museums across the state. Many of these railroad museums feature a model train layout that showcases local railroad history. Most Maryland railroad museums are relatively small. Hours often vary by season, so you’ll need to plan ahead. Some railroad museums charge admission. Several Maryland railroad museums offer highly popular special events during the Christmas season. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes, especially if you’ll be going inside rail cars.

B&O Railroad Museum

Maryland’s best-known railroad museum features the B&O Railroad’s roundhouse, its working turntable, rolling stock from the earliest days of U.S. railroad history, and a family-friendly approach to understanding the importance of railroads and rail travel throughout our country’s history. You’ll find kid-friendly spaces both indoors and out. Train ride tickets, which cost extra, are sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

Baltimore Streetcar Museum

This museum’s claim to fame is its impressive collection of working streetcars from various eras. Your admission fee allows you as many streetcar rides as you want. On a typical day, you can ride three different streetcars. The museum’s exhibits focus on Baltimore’s streetcar history. They include videos, timelines, photographs, models, and artifacts. Knowledgeable volunteers can answer your questions about Baltimore’s streetcars.

Baltimore & Ohio Ellicott City Station Museum

This historic railroad station, located in Old Ellicott City, is filled with railroad station furnishings and artifacts, including a ticketing office and a ladies’ waiting room. An impressive model railroad runs along the entire wall of the adjacent Freight House. Don’t miss the B&O Railroad caboose, which dates to 1927.

Gaithersburg Community Museum

This museum is next to an active rail line (including a MARC station) and across the street from Griffith Park. Outside, you’ll find a steam engine from 1918, a 1982 caboose with a very child-friendly interior, and a 1953 rail diesel car. Inside the museum, exhibits created with kids in mind take you back in time to Gaithersburg’s earlier days, when general stores, community banks, and one-room schools were common.

National Capital Trolley Museum

This museum got its start before trolleys/streetcars began to vanish from the streets of Washington, DC. Founded in 1959, the museum began offering trolley trips on its rail lines in Northwest Branch Park ten years later. Today’s visitors can travel this same route on a historic trolley car. The museum’s guided tours (included in the price of admission) showcase museum exhibits and a large collection of American and European trolley cars made in North America and Europe.

Western Maryland Railway Historical Society

The Western Maryland Railway, carried passengers and freight, primarily coal, between stations in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The Western Maryland Railway Historical Society Museum, located in Carroll County’s Union Bridge, is housed in the railway’s station and company offices. Exhibits from the Western Maryland Railway’s 131-year history include a Centralized Traffic Control panel, two caller’s boards, signal lights, tools, and historic photographs.

Brunswick Heritage Museum

Brunswick’s railroad heritage is celebrated on the second floor of this local history museum, which depicts the B&O Railroad’s influence on Brunswick’s development. On the third floor, you’ll find a HO scale model of the B&O railroad line between Washington, DC, and Brunswick.

Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum and City Park Train Hub

While Hagerstown’s roundhouse no longer exists, you can still see rail cars and artifacts from the city’s railroad heyday. At the Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum, you’ll find rolling stock, railroad office equipment, railroad uniforms and headwear, and photographs. The City Park Train Hub features rolling stock you can climb on, a small museum, and a picnic pavilion.

Cumberland Railroad Museum

Located in Cumberland’s Canal Place, this museum showcases the city’s history as a transportation hub. Several railroad companies constructed rail lines connecting Cumberland to nearby towns, distant cities, and logging and mining areas. Exhibits showcase artifacts from many of these railroad companies, including tools, signs, and photographs.

Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum

Chesapeake Beach was built as a resort town. A railroad linked it to Washington, DC. You can learn about early 20th century life in Chesapeake Beach and the journeys people took to visit the town in the historic railroad depot, built in 1898. Collection highlights include railroad artifacts, vintage clothing, amusement park souvenirs, and the Dolores, the only remaining railroad car from the Chesapeake Beach Railway.

Sudlersville Train Station Museum

Sudlersville’s historic train station, built in 1885, houses this museum, which is primarily dedicated to preserving the history of favorite son Jimmie Fox, who played Major League Baseball from 1925 to 1945 and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951. The museum’s exhibits also focus on the history of Sudlersville and the Queen Anne’s and Kent Railroad.