B&O Railroad Museum

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Mt Clare Roundhouse

Opened in Baltimore on 2 July 1953, the B&O Railroad Museum is located at the historic site of the B&O Railroad's Mt. Clare Shops. Mount Clare is considered to be the birthplace of American railroading. The museum houses collections of 19th- and 20th-century artifacts related to America's railroads. The collection includes 250 pieces of railroad rolling stock, 15,000 artifacts, 5000 cubic feet (140 m³) of archival material, four significant nineteenth-century buildings, including the historic roundhouse, and a mile of track, considered the most historic mile of railroad track in the United States. Train rides are offered on the mile of track on Tuesday through Saturday from April through December at no additional cost.

The museum also features an outdoor G-scale layout, an indoor HO scale model, and a wooden model train that children will enjoy climbing on. From Thanksgiving through the New Year, local model railroad groups set up large layouts on the roundhouse floor and in select locations on the grounds of the museum. A museum store offers toys, books, DVDs and other railroad-related items.

[edit] Restoration

On the morning of February 17, 2003, heavy snow from the Presidents' Day Storm collapsed the roof of the museum's Baldwin roundhouse (built in 1884). The museum suffered heavy damage not only to the roundhouse itself but also to the collection within the roundhouse. Some of the items were damaged beyond repair. The roundhouse, with a newly repaired roof, reopened to the public on November 13, 2004. Repairs are ongoing to the damaged exhibits. To make up for losses, admission has been increased to 14 dollars for adults.

A number of locomotives and rail cars that were damaged by the roof collapse remain on display, albeit behind protective glass. The roof collapse, subsequent fund raising and the restoration allowed the museum to upgrade many of its facilities. As of March 10, 2006, members of the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore are entitled to go to the B&O Railroad Museum: Ellicott City Station free of charge.