It has been the intention of the writer to present a brief history of
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from its inception in 1826 until its
completion to Wheeling in January, 1853. The monograph has been designed
as a study in the economics of transportation, and stress has been laid
upon the influence of the railroad in the development of the industryand
commerce of the city of Baltimore, and of the agricultural, mineral and
manufacturing resources of the state of Maryland. The Baltimore and Ohio
having been the first great through-route railroad projected in America,
has naturally an important place in the regard of the student of
transportation. The beginnings of some of the present difficult railroad
problems appear in the history of this road, and these have not only
been treated incidentally as they appeared in connection with the
legislative, financial and mechanical history of the railroad, but have
been summarized in the final chapter.