WASHINGTON, D.C. — Flashing lights, pulsating sounds and eye-catching videos are not what you would expect of an almost 50-year-old museum, the Washington Post reports. Yet they are part of the new orientation center at the B&O Railroad Museum, a small part of its ongoing $2 million renovation.
The Baltimore museum houses the oldest, most comprehensive collection of railroad history in the Western Hemisphere. It is here that America’s first commercial long-distance railroad was born.
This is a great time to visit the museum because a number of changes and events are planned to showcase the history of railroads. The B&O Railroad Museum is commemorating the 175th anniversary of railroading in America. The celebration, which began this past February, features 16 months of educational events that mark two landmark dates — the chartering of the B&O Railroad on Feb. 27, 1827, and the ceremonial laying of the B&O Railroad’s first stone on July 4, 1828.
The museum, which sits on 40 acres, contains more than 280 pieces of train equipment, 15,000 small artifacts, 20,000 photographs, an archival library and an HO scale (1/87th the size of a real train) 10-by-40-foot model train layout. Pieces of the collection range from the original boiler of the Stourbridge Lion train built in 1827 to MARC commuter rail cars that were in service until 2000. The museum also features the largest steam locomotive ever built.
Entering through the orientation center it becomes obvious that the museum is committed to integrating technology and railroading for a 21st-century experience. Visitors are bombarded with images of railroads that make use of high-tech lighting, sound effects and video. The orientation center is divided into four parts: the future, people, transporting passengers and transporting freight. In the first of many interactive elements added to the museum, children can touch buttons to illuminate different types of freight and products carried by rail.
Upstairs, children will delight in viewing and operating the HO model train. Built in 1955, this layout, which uses eight different trains, was designed to be in Anytown USA during the 1930s to 1950s. The renovation will include dismantling this train and moving it downstairs where it will become part of a larger layout. Yet model train fans should not despair: A 40-by-60-foot outdoor garden G scale (1/25th the size of a real train) model train will be installed early this fall.
In the roundhouse you understand why people are awed by the majesty of trains. The strength and power of the machinery is keenly felt when seen up close. Tracks 1 through 10 illustrate the chronological development of the railroad. In contrast, the “Miniature Marvels” display pays tribute to the popularity of model trains.
Inside the roundhouse are many activities for preschool-age children and older. Younger children can operate the railroad highway crossing gate while watching its lights flash on and off. Touching buttons, they can turn a model roundhouse. There is also a train safety challenge on a touch-screen computer. Older children can embark on a scavenger hunt, using a brochure titled “Can You Find It?” and answer questions while touring the museum.
Outside, the museum has added asphalt between the trains to make it more stroller and wheelchair accessible.
Perhaps the most appealing aspect of this museum is the ever-changing collection and movement of trains. On our visit, we watched the workers relocate a number of trains around the tracks so that a caboose could be moved inside and refurbished.
Ed Williams, the museum’s deputy director, hopes the renovations get visitors to ask provocative questions about rail transportation. “People often think that the glory days of the railroad are past,” he said. “They look at trains as attractive toys for kids and a nostalgic experience for seniors, but trains are carrying more freight than they ever have and creating more industry each day. Contrary to popular belief, the railroad is alive and well.”