America Transformed: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the nation’s first steam-operated railway. Baltimore merchants conceived this project as a means of competing with New York’s successful Erie Canal. They wanted to profit from the lucrative trade west of the Appalachians. Construction began in 1828, and the first section of the railroad opened in 1830. The train ran 13 miles from Baltimore to Ellicott’s Mills (present-day Ellicott City), Maryland. This print depicts a short train traveling the tracks on the far side of the river. Steam puffs out of the engine into the sky, as two travelers on horses watch the train pass.
Exhibited: "America transformed. Part 1: the United States expands westward," organized by the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library, 2019.
IIIF Manifest