Philip E. Thomas was absolutely instrumental to the growth of the railroad industry in the first century of America. Curiously, there’s no street in Baltimore bearing his name; the closest you get is Thames Street, which is pronounced phonetically (“Thaymes”) even though the street was named after the London River, which is not pronounced that way (“Tems”).

There is, however, the Thomas Viaduct, which is what you can see in today’s cover art. The Thomas Viaduct is just outside Baltimore, spanning the Patapsco River between the towns of Elkridge and Relay. It was built between 1833 and 1835, and is the first multi-span railroad bridge to be built on a curve. (There are five more spans that aren’t visible in the picture.) It was the largest railroad bridge in the US at the time of its competion, and is still in use today, making it the oldest railroad bridge still in service.

I think I mentioned this a while back, but I recently had the opportunity to visit the National Museum of Railroad History and Innovation, which until not long ago was called the B&O Railroad Museum, largely because it was once a B&O station and railyard. Much of the original train station is still standing, and the roundhouse holds at least a dozen vintage train engines and cars, some of which you can enter and walk around. There are several other cars available to visit outside the building as well, and if you come at the right time you can even take a short ride. If you look at the second picture at right here, that’s an illustration from a book published in 1835, the year the viaduct opened, and the train that’s seen crossing it can be seen in the museum!

When I first started working for Baltimore City Schools in 2001, I heard a lot about field trips for students going to the B&O Museum; it’s a very popular desitnation for field trips. But somehow I never got the opportunity to join a class. I finally visited in September with my grandson, who is in that phase where trains are the coolest things ever. If you visit, you may come away with a similar mindset.

If you’re a train buff, Baltimore also has a Streetcar Museum which is about ten minutes’ drive from the NMRHI.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed