Im going to baltimore on friday, what are some things to see? I have already seen the baltimore railroad museum and im not really looking to see home layouts. Any other things to do? hobby shops? museums? clubs?
thanks.
Penn station one of the PRR’s finest and the tunnels under Baltimore that end at the station. Non railroad - the inner harbor - great food and a wordl class aquarium.
There’s the
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Street Car Museum in Baltimore http://www.baltimoremd.com/streetcar/
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The baltimore society of model engineers, one of the oldest there is… http://www.modelengineers.com/layouts.html
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M.B. Klein hobby shop
Nearby is:
4. Peach Creek Shops in Laurel a lil down the road. www.peachcreekshops.com
5. http://www.ecbo.org/ in nearby ellicott city (Oldest rail station in America)
Things of interest non train related in baltimore:
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Fort McHenry where the Star Spangled Banner was written during a siege by the British.
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U.S. Navy Constellation tall ship built in 1797
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National Aquarium considered one of the best in the nation
Hope this helps.
Have fun and welcome to Maryland. It was my home for 34 years.
~D
M.B. Klein is a wonderful old, jam packed store. http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/index.html
If you are driving to it, be careful. It is on an intersection right before a bridge. Just the other side of the bridge is a very poorly marked traffic light. I did not see it and spent a pleasant few minutes discussing my driving ability with one of MD’s finest. Fortunately my British accent and out of state licence got me out of it!!
M. B. Klein, a very large and established model train store is based in Baltimore. Check out their web site at modeltrainstuff.com
Get mugged.
There are areas in Baltimore City that is somewhat dangerous. Especially at night time due to the “Block” which is north of the Harbor itself. In the daytime it is not too bad but viligance and caution is order of the day.
You will find the Trolley Museum at:
http://baltimoremd.com/streetcar/
I must caution you that to the south and west of that location is really bad. However there is a Arch bridge I recall as the “Howard Street” bridge nearby which carried the Old Main Line out of town. (I could be grossly mistaken with this and will welcome corrections)
Of course the NEC runs thru Baltimore and hums with activity. As does the CSX Tunnel under the city. You will find yards filled with activity around the harbor as various railroads handle the traffic.
Obviously the B&O railroad and other lines makes Baltimore a train friendly area however it is the Shipping that makes the city run. There are many things to do in the area as well as the rest of Maryland. (Better stop before I start to sound like I’m with the tourist board or something)
Good Food and decent coverage by the Police makes this a rather good place to go among the big cities but as in any major area, caution is advised. Outside of the city is alot of history and various attractions. If you do rent or use a car, you will need toll money for the tubes (Old Harbor 895 tunnel and the Ft. McHenry I-95) and North and East towards Delaware on I-95 has tolls on it as well.
Aberdeen Maryland is a location of the Ordinance Museum. There will be a Railgun used in WW2 by the Germans (Anzio Annie? not sure) and assorted other equiptment on the Proving Grounds Army Base.
The Ordinance Museum is well worth seeing (it does have Anzio Annie or Leopold as the Germans called it). It is one of the largest collections of tanks and armored vehicles in the world and the curator of the museum is generally around and is very knowledgeable (he is regularly featured on the History Channel).
You can also ride the train from Pennsylvania Station to Union Station in Washington, DC, and then go downtown to check out the rail and maritime sections of the Museum of American History - they have a Southern Railway Ps-4 on display, along with a narrow gauge 4-4-0 and some other equipment.
Peach Creek shops is a great place, particularly if you want to talk brass with someone - call and ask if John is around before you go. He’s the guy who wrote the “Brown Book.”
Not to far away is Ellicot City. A freight and pasenger route runs through there and its pretty busy, might want to check it out. I think the station is 100 years old or close to it. The last time I was there they had a layout setup by a local club. The B&O Museum is really great btw.
The Balrimore Society of Model Engineers was mentioned in an earlier post, be sure to go to their web site as they’re having an open house. I assume details will be on the web site if not, go to Trains.com and check the current events link.
Ft Mc Henry was also mentioned at it is very worth seeing, even if you’re not into history.
If you haven’t visited the B & O Railroad Museum since the roof collapse and reconstruction, you might want to include that. I think that is in the top 10 railroad museums in the nation. I’m going to celebrate New Years Eve aboard the Consellation. The post by DigitalGriffin is right on except we found out during restoration that the Consellation is a mid 19th century ship, not a late 18th century. It is still pretty cool.
The Constellation was classified as a Civil War warship, the rounded stern is a dead giveaway versus the orginal “Heavy 44’s” orginated by Congress during the early days of our Navy.
I THINK that the Constellation was built with the other 44’s and then rebuilt to take the heavier weaponry around the time of the Civil War. Someone pelase correct me if Im mistaken.
I have spent time aboard the ship prior to it’s overhaul and enjoyed it very much.
Does anyone know if the orginal Patriot still runs the boat tours to Ft Carroll and back? I know that the “Port Welcome” dinner ship must have been replaced by now.
Also the Maryland Midland once had a dinner train in Carroll County… does it still exist or is it kaput too?
Whole lotta railfanning to be had there.