(The B&O Museam issued the following press release.)
BALTIMORE — The Board of Directors of the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad Museum has announced the cancellation of the Fair of the Iron Horse 175, Festival of Trains due to damage the Museum incurred during the recent snowstorm in Maryland. The railroading exposition was scheduled to take place June 28 through July 3, 2003 at the Museum and in Baltimore’s Carroll Park to commemorate the 175th Anniversary of American Railroading.
“Due to the catastrophic damage to this historic Roundhouse and its magnificent collection, the Fair of the Iron Horse must be cancelled,” stated Jim Brady, Chairman of the B&O Railroad Museum Board of Directors. “Our focus now is to restore, re-build, and re-open this national treasure. This Herculean effort is already underway. It is imperative that this process be driven by the highest standards of historic preservation, restoration and museum programming. I have the greatest confidence in the team that has been assembled to face this challenge. We look forward to the re-birth of the Birthplace of American Railroading when this national treasure is returned to an even greater state of glory,” added Brady.
During the height of the storm, the Iron Structure of the 1884 Baldwin Roundhouse, the Museum’s signature building and collections exhibit space, collapsed under the weight of the snow and force of wind. Fortunately, no one was in the Museum at the time of the collapse. Structural engineers are working daily to stabilize the building and protect the collection from further damage. The Museum is home to the oldest, most comprehensive collection of railroad artifacts in the Western Hemisphere.
A press conference will be held Wednesday, March 12, 2003, 11:00 a.m. EST at the B&O Railroad Museum to announce a projected timeline for restoration. For current information on the Museum’s restoration, please visit www.borail.org.