B&O Railroad Museum

All Aboard!
Today Dadda took me out on a special trip to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in downtown Baltimore. I had a great time, just me and Dadda.

I got in for free because Dadda lied about my age and said I was under two. Man, he's cheap. I thought for sure he'd break out that old college ID of his for an extra discount, too. But that didn't happen. I guess he's realized it's hard to pass for 19 when you have a two-year old with you.

The B&O Railroad Museum celebrates the oldest railway in the US and the history of trains. Dating back to 1830, the tracks leading out of the museum are part of the first railroad in America. The museum is housed inside the old train roundhouse where they would spin around big trains and move them from place to place. It's a huge building filled with lots of big trains and engines.

I have lots of books on trains and have seen them on my videos a lot, but I'd never gotten to see a real train up close. So this museum was a special treat. That's me in the second picture standing in front of a giant steam engine.

Not only were there real live trains, there were also huge displays of toy trains. There were all these old men playing with the toy trains and they wouldn't let any of us kids touch them. All of the train sets were really elaborate and huge. They would fill our entire house and then some! I loved watching them pass by. The toy trains were amazing.

After marveling at the toy trains, Dadda took me outside where we got to go on a real train ride! Behind the museum, they have some old MARC commuter trains that everyone gets to ride on. (Who says MARC trains don't run on the weekends!) The conductor yelled, "All aboard!" and I rushed to take my window seat. The train slowly pulled out of the station and I could hardly contain my excitement. My first train ride!

The train ride lasted about 20 minutes total and headed about a mile into west Baltimore and back. Unlike the model trains that travel through miniature bucolic woods, alongside tiny neon-lit diners and past replica Victorian train stations, this big train runs through some of the worst slums in North America. I've heard the phrase, "the other side of the tracks," but it looked pretty bad on both sides! At one point, Dadda had to shield me from a lewd act being performed in the bushes next to the tracks.

Despite the bleak tour of graffiti tagged buildings, rust yards and illicit behaviors, I loved the train ride. When we pulled back into the station, I dashed off with a spring in my step.

The roundhouse and the collection inside was severely damaged when the historic roof collapsed after a 2003 blizzard. But you wouldn't know it today. The B&O Railroad Museum is one of Baltimore's true gems and maintains it direct connection to America's past -- blemishes and all. It's an institution everyone in Baltimore (and America) should be supporting as they fully rebuild. I'll definitely be asking Dadda to take me back there again some day soon! Maybe he won't skimp them out on my admission next time.

~:O