Today in History ^05/24/18

(1830) Passenger rail service begins in US

Horse-drawn rail coaches begin scheduled runs on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Baltimore, Maryland, and Ellicott’s Mills, Maryland. Three months later, after a rail race between the ‘Tom Thumb’ steam engine and a horse-drawn car, steam-powered travel will come to the route.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which would have connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. At first this railroad was located entirely in the state of Maryland, with an original line built from the port of Baltimore west to Sandy Hook. At this point to continue westward, it had to cross into Virginia over the Potomac River, adjacent to the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. From there it passed through Virginia from Harpers Ferry to a point just west of the junction of Patterson Creek and the North Branch Potomac River, where it crossed back into Maryland to reach Cumberland. From there it was extended to the Ohio River at Wheeling and a few years later also to Parkersburg, West Virginia. It continued to construct lines into Ohio, including a junction at Portsmouth.

Founded: 1827
Headquarters: Baltimore, MD
Founders: John W. Garrett · William Patterson

Advertisement for the Baltimore and Ohio in an 1864 Baltimore city directory, promoting its repairs and reopening at one point during the war.
wiki/Baltimore_and_Ohio_Railroad

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(1830) Passenger rail service begins in US.
Also on this day,
1883 | Brooklyn Bridge opens
1956 | Eurovision begins
1991 | Landmark feminist film