MD - Maryland Transportation Sites

HISTORIC TRANSPORTATION SITES IN MARYLAND

B&O Railroad Museum (Baltimore)
http://www.borail.org/
Chartered in 1827, the Baltimore & Ohio was America’s first long-distance, common carrier railroad, and ultimately stretched from Baltimore and New York in the east to St. Louis and Chicago in the west. The museum’s collection includes some 250 pieces of rolling stock, including some of the oldest surviving steam locomotives.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge (Anne Arundel County-Queen Anne’s County)
http://www.baybridge.com/
Opened as a single span across the Chesapeake Bay in 1952, a second span was added in 1973. Some 27 million vehicles cross the Bay Bridge each year between Central Maryland and the Eastern Shore.

Fort McHenry Tunnel (Baltimore)
http://www.mdta.state.md.us/mdta/servlet/dispatchServlet?url=/TollFacilities/FortMcHenryTunnel.jsp
Opened in 1985, the structure’s eight lanes make it the world’s widest underwater tunnel. It carries I-95 – and more than 42 million vehicles each year – beneath Baltimore Harbor and the National Monument for which it is named.

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal (Washington, DC-Cumberland)
http://www.nps.gov/CHOH
Intended to link the tidewater Potomac River with the Ohio River at Pittsburgh, the C&O Canal never got further west than Cumberland. The canal carried coal from the Alleghenies to Washington until 1924. Today its towpath provides a popular and scenic bike trail along the Potomac. Visitors can ride in a replica canal barge at Great Falls.

National Road (Cumberland)
http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2273/
The National Road, begun in 1811, was America’s first federally funded interstate highway, linking Cumberland with Vandalia, Illinois. Funds ran out before the road could reach its planned terminus at St. Louis, Missouri. An 1824 eastern extension connected Cumberland to Baltimore. Today’s U.S. 40 follows much of the original alignment.

Oxford-Bellevue Ferry (Oxford-Bellevue)
http://www.oxfordbellevueferry.com/
Established in 1683, this is believed to be the nation’s oldest privately operated ferry service. Today’s passengers appreciate the service across the Tred Avon River as a shortcut to the popular St. Michaels tourist area.

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (St. Michaels)
http://www.cbmm.org/
Founded in 1965, the museum is dedicated to preserving the unique maritime heritage of the Chesapeake Bay. Collections range from Native American artifacts to the Hooper Strait Lighthouse.

College Park Aviation Museum (College Park)
http://www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com/
Located at the world’s oldest continuously operating airport (opened in 1909), the museum includes original and replica examples of early civilian and military aircraft.

Baltimore Streetcar Museum (Baltimore)
http://www.baltimorestreetcar.org/
The museum preserves streetcars dating from the 1880s to the 1940s, and offers rides on some of the historic equipment.

Thomas Viaduct (Elkridge)
http://www.marylandhistoricaltrust.net/nr/NRDetail.aspx?HDID=7&FROM=NRNHLList.aspx
Completed in 1835, the Thomas Viaduct carried the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s Washington Branch across the Patapsco River. It is the world’s oldest multiple-arch stone railroad bridge and remains in daily use by current owner CSX Transportation.