Pre-Convention Reading List...

I'm not sure if everyone is as into prepping the convention as I am, but here's a selected reading list for those who may be interested in getting some background information on the area's we'll be visiting:



Royal Blue Line by Herb Harwood. JHU Press.

If you're going to bring one book with you to this convention or read one book beforehand, this is it. Herb Harwood is known to the B&O History community as the author of "Impossible Challenge" this was his second full length book on the B&O. It covers the near Quixotic plan to expand the B&O Railroad to connect with the largest and most profitable market in the 19th Century; New York, NY. Very well researched and written. It's worth buying if you have any interest in railroad history.

History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad by John F. Stover. Purdue University Press.

Stover has given us a fine reference book for the history of the B&O Railroad and it's very handy to have around. However, it is very business (read: economics) focused. It's usually best used to start your research and then flesh out the details with other source material.

The Area of Interest:

The 2010 Convention will be based out of Baltimore, MD. Our focus will be the Philadelphia Subdivision as far north as Wilmington, DE. This line was built in the late 19th Century to carry the B&O Railroad into Philadelphia, PA.

Originally, the B&O had planned to reach Philadelphia by way of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore (PW&B) Railroad. However, this line was purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to keep the B&O out of the Philadelphia market. The PW&B is now today's Amtrak Northeast Corridor line. Freight traffic still flows over the line into Baltimore, but mainly at night after Amtrak trains have cleared the tracks.

You may note the branch running north out of Wilmington. This is the B&O's Landenberg Branch. The lower portion of which is still used by the Wilmington & Western Railway. We plan to visit this historic railroad during the convention.

Welcome!

This is the first post for the B&O Railroad Historical Society's 2010 Convention Blog. We've called this blog "Above The Belt" because the focus of the convention will be the Philadelphia Sub from Baltimore, MD to Wilmington, DE. We will be using this blog to provide updates and information about the upcoming convention and hopefully some interesting articles and images to supplement our presentations and tours.

Watch this Space!