BALTIMORE, Md. — It was a busy Labor Day at the B&O Railroad Museum in southwest Baltimore on Monday, as train lovers of all ages took advantage of the dollar admission day.
WATCH: B&O Museum celebrates railroading's ties to Labor Day
There were tours and train rides, all in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the American railroad and Baltimore’s role in railroading’s history.
“The reason that Labor Day is so important to the history of the railroad that many people don’t know,” says Alex Carle, assistant curator, “is that Labor Day only became a federal holiday in 1894 after Pullman employees and railroad employees brought national attention to the need to improve working and living conditions in industrial spaces.”
Carle says the growth of industrialization in the United States is connected to the expansion of the railroad system, and that occurred here. The first commercial mile of tracks is located at the former Mount Clare Station, built in 1851 and now the home of the museum.
He says development of the railroads also led to some key changes in the workplace, most notably a benefits system for employees.
“Here we are, at the birthplace of American railroading,” Carle says. “So, all of railroad history in the United States can really be tied back to this point. For example, in 1880, the B&O founded its relief department to provide unprecedented health, death, and retirement benefits to its employees, and those eventually became standard in industries across the United States.”
To learn more about the history of American railroading, go here.
