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Baltimore and Potomac Railroad
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Baltimore and Potomac Railroad
The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad (B&P) operated from Baltimore, Maryland, southwest to Washington, D.C., from 1872 to 1902. Owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad, it was the second railroad company to connect the nation's capital to the Northeastern U.S., and competed with the older Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Part of the B&P route is now part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, the most heavily traveled American intercity passenger line; and of the Penn Line of the Maryland Transit Administration's MARC commuter train service. The Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, bored under north Baltimore in 1871-73 remains in use, for now. The Virginia Avenue Tunnel built in Southeast Washington in 1870-72, was replaced in 2016-18.
The leading advocate for expanding the railroad system into southern Maryland was Walter Bowie, who wrote newspaper articles and columns under the pen name Patuxent Planter and who joined Thomas Fielder Bowie, William Duckett Bowie, and Oden Bowie (later Governor of Maryland), in lobbying the Maryland General Assembly to approve the idea. Their efforts bore fruit on May 6, 1853, when lawmakers chartered the "Baltimore and Potomac Rail Road Company", granting it the authority to construct a railroad from Baltimore via Upper Marlboro in Prince George's County and Port Tobacco in neighboring Charles County to a point on the Potomac River between Liverpool Point and the St. Mary's River in St. Mary's County, southernmost in the state. The charter also allowed the construction of branches of up to 20 miles (32 km) in length. Preliminary surveying began in 1855.
The B&P was organized on December 19, 1858, and began surveying the route in earnest on May 3, 1859. Construction was then delayed by the American Civil War.
In 1866, the B&P sought permission to build a branch into Washington from a point within 2 miles of the Collington (now Bowie) Post Office in Prince George's County and also signed a contract to begin construction of the main line between Baltimore and the Potomac. The B&P was working with the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and its ally, the Northern Central Railway (NCRY), which wanted its own route to Washington, DC and Virginia. Congress granted permission in an act approved February 5, 1867, the PRR then purchased a controlling share of the B&P Stock and construction of the railroad started for the section between the Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad (A&ERR) and Upper Marlboro in the next year. Work on the line from Bowie to the District started around the same time.
In 1869, the railroad was granted permission to use a right-of-way through the city of Baltimore, and to build an 800 foot long tunnel in the northwest of the city, to connect to the Northern Central Railway (NCRY). By the end of that year, the right-of-way had been graded from the Patapsco to the District Line and from Bowie to Upper Marlboro; and several small bridges had been constructed.
In 1870, the B&P was granted permission by Congress to extend their Washington branch across the Potomac River Railroad Bridge to Virginia, if they would maintain it. When the bridge was damaged by an October 1, 1870, flood they chose to build a replacement bridge which they began working on in November 1870. At the same time, the Alexandria and Fredericksburg Railway, chartered in 1864, was gaining permission to connect to Alexandria and thus the Long Bridge and the future B&P. By the summer of 1870, work was underway on both the Virginia Avenue Tunnel and the Anacostia Railroad Bridge; and by the fall track was being laid in a few places.
A short track was extended from the A&ERR in Annapolis to deep water to allow for the unloading of rail and ties and the B&P began laying rail south from the crossing of the A&ERR in Odenton on May 15, 1871. When they reached the Little Patuxent River, they began laying track north from Odenton to the Patapsco River - while grading the road and digging a long cut south of Odenton. By the summer a construction train was running on the line delivering materials. The bridge over the Big Patuxent was finished on August 21, 1871, and the Little Patuxent shortly before that and track was laid to Bowie by August 31. The track was the heaviest track ever used in Maryland up to that time. By September 1871, The B&P was actively building bridges across the Potomac, the Patapsco, Gwynn Falls and Anacostia; and working on the tunnels in DC and Baltimore. The first freight service was performed by October 1871. By Oct 25, the tacks had been laid all the way from Bowie to Beaver Dam. By late November the bridges over Beaver Dam and Watts Branch were complete and track had been extended to the Anacostia.
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Baltimore and Potomac Railroad
The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad (B&P) operated from Baltimore, Maryland, southwest to Washington, D.C., from 1872 to 1902. Owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad, it was the second railroad company to connect the nation's capital to the Northeastern U.S., and competed with the older Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Part of the B&P route is now part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, the most heavily traveled American intercity passenger line; and of the Penn Line of the Maryland Transit Administration's MARC commuter train service. The Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, bored under north Baltimore in 1871-73 remains in use, for now. The Virginia Avenue Tunnel built in Southeast Washington in 1870-72, was replaced in 2016-18.
The leading advocate for expanding the railroad system into southern Maryland was Walter Bowie, who wrote newspaper articles and columns under the pen name Patuxent Planter and who joined Thomas Fielder Bowie, William Duckett Bowie, and Oden Bowie (later Governor of Maryland), in lobbying the Maryland General Assembly to approve the idea. Their efforts bore fruit on May 6, 1853, when lawmakers chartered the "Baltimore and Potomac Rail Road Company", granting it the authority to construct a railroad from Baltimore via Upper Marlboro in Prince George's County and Port Tobacco in neighboring Charles County to a point on the Potomac River between Liverpool Point and the St. Mary's River in St. Mary's County, southernmost in the state. The charter also allowed the construction of branches of up to 20 miles (32 km) in length. Preliminary surveying began in 1855.
The B&P was organized on December 19, 1858, and began surveying the route in earnest on May 3, 1859. Construction was then delayed by the American Civil War.
In 1866, the B&P sought permission to build a branch into Washington from a point within 2 miles of the Collington (now Bowie) Post Office in Prince George's County and also signed a contract to begin construction of the main line between Baltimore and the Potomac. The B&P was working with the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and its ally, the Northern Central Railway (NCRY), which wanted its own route to Washington, DC and Virginia. Congress granted permission in an act approved February 5, 1867, the PRR then purchased a controlling share of the B&P Stock and construction of the railroad started for the section between the Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad (A&ERR) and Upper Marlboro in the next year. Work on the line from Bowie to the District started around the same time.
In 1869, the railroad was granted permission to use a right-of-way through the city of Baltimore, and to build an 800 foot long tunnel in the northwest of the city, to connect to the Northern Central Railway (NCRY). By the end of that year, the right-of-way had been graded from the Patapsco to the District Line and from Bowie to Upper Marlboro; and several small bridges had been constructed.
In 1870, the B&P was granted permission by Congress to extend their Washington branch across the Potomac River Railroad Bridge to Virginia, if they would maintain it. When the bridge was damaged by an October 1, 1870, flood they chose to build a replacement bridge which they began working on in November 1870. At the same time, the Alexandria and Fredericksburg Railway, chartered in 1864, was gaining permission to connect to Alexandria and thus the Long Bridge and the future B&P. By the summer of 1870, work was underway on both the Virginia Avenue Tunnel and the Anacostia Railroad Bridge; and by the fall track was being laid in a few places.
A short track was extended from the A&ERR in Annapolis to deep water to allow for the unloading of rail and ties and the B&P began laying rail south from the crossing of the A&ERR in Odenton on May 15, 1871. When they reached the Little Patuxent River, they began laying track north from Odenton to the Patapsco River - while grading the road and digging a long cut south of Odenton. By the summer a construction train was running on the line delivering materials. The bridge over the Big Patuxent was finished on August 21, 1871, and the Little Patuxent shortly before that and track was laid to Bowie by August 31. The track was the heaviest track ever used in Maryland up to that time. By September 1871, The B&P was actively building bridges across the Potomac, the Patapsco, Gwynn Falls and Anacostia; and working on the tunnels in DC and Baltimore. The first freight service was performed by October 1871. By Oct 25, the tacks had been laid all the way from Bowie to Beaver Dam. By late November the bridges over Beaver Dam and Watts Branch were complete and track had been extended to the Anacostia.
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