BALTIMORE — The B&O Railroad Museum will unveil a piece of Black American history next week with the restoration of a 1930s railroad car that tells the story of workers who helped build the nation's middle class.
The museum will reveal the restored 3316 Washington Observation Tavern Car on Saturday, Feb. 21. Museum staff have been working to restore the Art Deco bar car to its former glory.
Discover the untold story of Pullman porters and their role in building America's Black middle class at this new Baltimore museum exhibit
During its run in Baltimore, Pullman porters — a position almost exclusively held by Black men — would tend bar and run the train's sleeper cars aboard the vehicle.
The museum's chief curator says they want to honor that working class history.
"The Pullman Company was the largest employer of African Americans by the 1920s, and with it came well-paying jobs and well respected jobs," the curator said. "So many scholars credit the company with the emergence of a middle class in this country and really contributed greatly to the African American community."
The restored tavern car represents more than just transportation history — it showcases how Pullman porter positions provided economic opportunities that were rare for Black Americans during that era.
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