In 1827, a group of Baltimore capitalists feared their city would be left out of the lucrative East Coast-to-Midwest trade that other eastern cities were developing; thus, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was chartered. Political pressure kept the B&O out of Pennsylvania at first, and so track crews headed for what is now West Virginia, building mountainous routes with torturous grades to Wheeling and Parkersburg. Eventually the B&O financed and acquired a spiderweb of branch lines that covered much of the northern and central parts of the Mountain State. This book takes a close look at the line's locomotives, passenger and freight trains,structures, and, most importantly, its people who endeared their company to generations of travelers, shippers, and small Appalachian communities.
About the Author:
Author Bob Withers is a retired reporter and copy editor for the Herald-Dispatch in Huntington, West Virginia, and a bi-vocational Baptist pastor. He and his wife, Sue Ann, have three daughters and three grandchildren. He is the author of two previous books—The President Travels by Train (TLC Publishing, 1996 and 2004) and Trackside around West Virginia, 1963–1968 (Morning Sun Books, 2006)—and several magazine articles on railroading.
