Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Incorporated: America's First Railroad
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad got its charter on February 28, 1827. First in America to carry both passengers and freight for money. But here's what nobody expected: they had no idea what to power it with. Steam engines were unproven. So they tried horses on rails. Then they tried a sail-powered railcar — literally a cart with a mast. It worked until the wind died. They didn't switch to steam locomotives until 1830, and even then, half the board thought it was a fad. Within twenty years, there were 9,000 miles of track across America. The horse-and-sail railroad became the thing that killed the horse-and-sail economy.
February 28, 1827
199 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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