B&O Railroad museum roof collapse 20 years later
Vložit
- čas přidán 16. 02. 2023
- Please consider donating to the B&O Railroad Museum to support their continuing efforts to preserve and collection American Railroading history at www.borail.org/join-support/w...
On a cold Febuary morning the good people of Baltimore Maryland awoke to the shocking sight of the B&O Roundhouse missing more than half of it's roof after a collosal blizzard. With many locomotives and artifacts inside older than 1900 it was a great concern if anything could be done to save the displays let alone the roundhouse itself!
Keeping the lights on for the channel
www.gofundme.com/thunderbolt-...
Discord server: / discord
Patron:
/ thunderbolt1000
Deviantart: www.deviantart.com/pennsy - Auta a dopravní prostředky
This was a HUGE local story (I'm in Baltimore, and not too far from the B&O). The artifact loss was heartbreaking.
It's a shame but I'm glad her sister 21 survives and the good parts are going to good use rather than flat out scrappage.
@@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren Those Trains Inside the Museum Suffered a Lot of Danage and they don’t Like Bkizzards like Locomotive 4500
I’m also a Baltimore local, my dad lived in parkville as I wasn’t born yet, but he was a frequent visitor to the museum and donated to help repair the roof
@@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren I can agree that coach 21 survived the collapse. I wonder if it’s possible for the B&O to Buy one of the Ge P42DC’s when they retire and bring it to the B&O railroad museum
@@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren hello! Are you gonna do a vidoe on the Conway scenic railroad 7470 cab fire
As sad as the coach's loss is, the fact that she was the only one is pretty remarkable and demonstrates the museum's vigilance.
There were other losses but 20 was the main one I know about. I'm just impressed how they could rebuild and restore 19th century engines making em look brand new even after having their cabs crunched
@@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren I just Heard on the News about a Train Collision in Greece
There was a baggage car next to it that was also a total loss
@@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren The cabs were always the structurally weakest but also the simplest part of those engines. The boilers getting crunched would have been far worse.
@@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren I believe two rolling stocks were destroyed only sadly, Baltimore & Ohio Passenger Car No. 20 and Baggage Car No. 10. But some of their parts were reused for other pieces of old rolling stock. Like what happened to Central Pacific Wooden Passenger Car No. 29 with B&O Passenger Car No. 20.
I think the museum got so much extra donation money after the disaster that they not only built a new restoration shop and repaired everything possible, but also were able to pay for even more additions and restorations of things that weren't even touched by the collapse in the first place!
Some higherups called it a happy accident
I remember when this happened! The B&O museum was one of my favorite places to visit as a kid and I was completely devestated when this happened. I can't wait to see how this documentary turns out!
I visited the museum back in August 2022, and I found it hard to believe the collapse happened. So sad that some equipment lost. If I ever volunteer at the museum, I hope to start a campaign for the cosmetic restoration of AFT 1 (Reading 2101). Great job on the video!
I spoke with the curator a year or two ago and he told me that they were trying to work on things with a direct connection to the B&O, so it's definitely possible, or at least vastly more likely than fixing that GG1 that's sitting out back rusting away.
The problem with 2101 is that it is in the parking lot, making it difficult to move the locomotive to the restoration shops
@@charleshax yeah, there's so much stuff in the way that would need to be shuffled around.
@@blockstacker5614 I thought the B&O EM1s were extinct, or did you mean a diesel?
@@matthewpowell2429 I meant to say GG1, the EM1 story must have traumatized me badly enough for it's name to stick in my head.
This was really sad, seeing the historical artifacts of B&O Locomotives and cars. Good thing they were restored!
Nice one Thunderbolt, keep up the good work!
I’m glad that they restored all of their equipment when I was at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in April 2019. Which was my first time to visit the museum.
AGREED! BUT HEY, YOU'VE GOTTA ADMIT THAT THEY'VE ESPECIALLY DONE SUCH AN AWESOMELY EXCELLENT JOB ON THE REPAIRS AS WELL AS RESTORING MANY OF THEIR OWN OFFICIAL COLLECTION AS THAT INCLUDES WITH MEMNON'S RESTORATION THAT WAS COMPLETELY FINISHED DIRECTLY @ THE SAME EXACT YEAR WHEN BRAND-NEW L N E R CLASS A1 PACIFIC STEAM-DRIVEN RAILWAY TENDER LOCOMOTIVE KNOWN AS TORNADO GOT CONSTRUCTED (2008) RESPECTFULLY MEANING THAT THE OFFICIAL RESTORATION OF MEMNON HAPPENED ON TORNADO'S CONSTRUCTION COMPLETION YEAR! VERY MUCH TO BE 100% CONVENIENT, IF YOU ACTUALLY ASK ME!
It's sad that B&O round house and historical locomotives and cars were damaged but it's luckily that they were repaired I'm also glad no one was hurt or killed in the collapse amazing video Thunder
You mean damaged, not destroyed. Except those two wooden rolling stock. But they were reused for other old historic wooden passenger cars.
I remember the day this happened. I was in highschool, but still remembered the place super well from the field trips and all I took there. Living closer to DC than Baltimore at the time, I still felt myself hurt when this piece of railroading preservation in Maryland took it's hit. As a decades old railfan, knowing that they were able to bounce back and got back on their feet makes me happy.
Oddly enough, thats how I indirectly found out about the museum. My mom worked for the architecture firm that worked on the new roof and I recall my first visit a few years later at age 6
I want to thank you so much for covering this, i’m from Baltimore and lived only around 5 miles from the museum. I spent so much of my childhood here and it’s the main reason why I became so interested in railroads and locomotives
Same here.
@@Marylandbrony I visited in 1995. Entrance price was high and I didn't think much of it to be honest. Not great value. They seem to be rolling in money and not doing a great deal.
I'm a Brit. Not a train buff, however to kill a Sunday afternoon during a course held in Baltimore, a colleague who is dragged me along on a visit to this museum in '96. I had never heard of this damage until I saw this video. Really glad it was repaired.
I was there at the time and my grandfather told me about the huge storm shredded off the roof and fall over railroad's rolling stocks and engines
Lancaster, PA, here. (About 15 minutes from Strasburg Railroad.)
My son is an obsessed train boy.
We love B&O.
We go there regularly.
😍😍😍😍😍
Same here, After all the B&O started railroading in America and abroad
My one trip was about 3 years earlier. News of the collapse was a shock. Horrible. SO pleased to see the displays and building restored! As they were updated throughout their working careers, the issue of "originality" that's now the thing in antique autos is nearly moot. Now to get the 490 running for excursion services. One can dream!!
I went here sometime in the 90s with the Boy Scouts. I loved it. And even though I was 14 when this happened, I don't remember ever hearing that the roof collapsed.... Probably because I was a 14 year old doing 14 year things. I do remember that snow storm though. A 5 foot snow drift kept us from getting out through our front door.
My kid turns 4 in July and this is where I'm taking him. He loves trains as much as me.
Still a weird feeling that Maryland's biggest city is closer to my house than PA's biggest city(Philly).
This video also reminds me about the roof of the Rite aid pharmacy that collapsed 10-15 or so years ago within a mile of my home at the time. It was a bit weird seeing snow in the store front. Said store was repaired and has been through several owners since
I was on vacation in Maryland that summer. I was planning to visit the museum but could only sit outside and watch the cleanup.
I was stuck in a hotel in Wilmington Delaware during this storm. I was there working on a 4-4-0 locomotive at the Wilmington Western RR. We couldn't go out for three days with 36 inches of snow and up to 48 inches in spots. I watched this on the news and couldn't imagine how upset the people at the museum felt.
I was at the museum almost 60 years ago ... around 1966 I think.
I don't remember much about the trip, but I do remember the many engines on display.
The end music track brought me right back to the tape "there goes a train" that's awesome
I volunteer at the B&O occasionally so It's super cool to see you covering the roof collapse!
Glad you enjoyed. The incident is a largely forgotten tale in railroad history
@@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren Yeah it's unfortunate with all the work that's been put in afterwards, but hopefully you covering it will get a lot more people to know about it!
@@dankthewolfhog5779 Honestly that's my goal with these videos. I've also wanted to more videos that slightly branch away from "wrecks" and highlight other noteworthy tales/incidents on the railroad hence the Operation Pastorious video, this one, and more, even that hilarious Norfolk Southern radio incident was one of them.
Thanks so much for taking my suggestion!
I went to B&O Museum before, I didn’t know it has its first disaster throughout a decade ago…
Yeah Me Too, I Visited In The Past, And Had No Idea This Happened.
A fun fact for you all: NJC #592 "Atlantic Camelback" is the only persevered steam locomotive that pulled the Blue Comet, a train on the NJC from 1929 to 1941
Yes and also 833 was famous. She later pulled the Scranton Flyer and other services in the 50s before being scrapped
this is the first time not a train relate accident but a building that's a nice change of place .
This is the second time, he also did the King's Cross Station fire back in 2019.
I have went to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum back in April 2019. Like I said. It was really cool, despite it’s incident in 2003. This incident is similar to the Swanton Pacific Railroad roundhouse fire in August 2020, Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad roundhouse fire in February 10th 1989, and the roundhouse fire of Reading T1 2101 back in 1979.
The Swanton Pacific Railroad is permanently closing because of the decision of CalPoly not to help rebuild the railroad.
@@Slipperyisimproving I hope the locomotives will find a new home to be preserved.
@@nathancorcoran5347theyre moving to the same location as the Pacific coast railroad
@@NorthwestDaylight Well ok. I don’t know what they are going to do with them there but thanks for telling me dude.
I can confidently say that I have missed your content. It is so glad to see you back on youtube with another rousing video. Keep up the good work. I am excited about the next vid.
I recall this very vividly. The company I work for did some of the engineering on the roundhouse structural steel and other project there
Thank you so much for covering this. I’m from Maryland and vividly remember this blizzard as a 4-5 year old growing up in the D.C. metro area. Baltimore was our go-to for events like DOWT, and I was crushed not to be able to go that year. My parents actually took me to Strasburg that year instead, which was my first introduction to that railroad. It was a big deal since Strasburg was an additional hour away. I’ve been to the B&O museum several times since, and it’s amazing how well they’ve recovered. This was a great overview of the history of the museum.
I am a local Baltimore Railfan and I had heard about it, it really give me chills of how much of the locomotives and rolling stock we're damaged. I once used to go there for DOWT events
Me too
Great video on this incident, can see you certainly put in much effort to provide the best quality production. I was born and raised in Baltimore and my father would take me here several times a year in the 80’s while living in the city. Live in the county now and remember well the day this happened. Can confirm that many in Baltimore worried the roundhouse was a complete loss and would never open again. Proud day when the grand reopening happened and seeing the amazing hard work all put in to restore this beautiful piece of Baltimore history. Thank you for creating this well done video.
Never would’ve thought that this museum endured such a tragedy. I was there back in 2010 to visit and seeing all the great pieces was amazing. Very good work on this documentary. Looking forward to the next one. :)
I've been there several times over the years, and it is a superb museum. One of the things that makes it so good is the amazing range of the artifacts preserved due to the foresight of many people going WAY back who understood the historical significance of things.
This was an extremely good video! Hopefully something like this never happens to the museum again.
One of my neighbors had a similar incident where his garage collapsed under two feet of snow onto all of his classic cars.
we lived just a couple of miles from there- the first RR bridge is just down the line from the roundhouse. still used every day; sits behind Carroll Park's golf course
This incident kinda reminds me of the Knickerbocker Theatre Collapse in 1922, which also took place during a blizzard that struck a similar area to the blizzard you mentioned. Never though you were going to make a documentary about an engineering failure before…
Ahh yes. I saw a video on that. The roof literally sat on one major support in the corner of the structure
Top-notch quality video, keep up the good work!
I've visited the trains at the Henry Ford, my whole life but there are only a couple of engines (including a HUGE coal hauler). I think the B&O museum just went on my bucket list!
I remember going there a few years ago
I’ve had no idea there was a collapse until today
Whoa! This is huge!
Great job! Really enjoyed this project.
I was in engineer school at Wilmington, DE. in 2003, myself and four other classmates took a trip by train from Wilmington to Baltimore, then by street car and we walked in. We were there literally a day or two before the roof caved in, talk about fate. I really enjoyed your presentation, I enjoyed my visit, as did my classmates. I hope to return some day, hard to believe it’s been 20yrs already.
It's very unfortunate some artifacts couldn't be saved. The disaster really left a hole in the Baltimore railfans
Pun intended?
@@florjanbrudar692 nope
And as a B&O fan myself
I love your videos Thunder keep em comin!!!
I haven’t been there since I was a kid I think it’s time to visit again
Wow, this happened 4 months before I was born, and it happened before the 3rd anniversary of Dale Earnhardt Sr's death. So sad to see historic equipment destroyed.
has this really been 20 years way to make me feel old. I vividly rember this because i loved going here
I went there during my Summer break of my teen years. The museum was spectacular but I never knew this would happen to them.
That storm came through here in Nova Scotia too, know as White Juan, and it dumped 40 inches of snow! The drifts were unreal ! Glad they restored the museum and most of the damaged engines etc. !
Ah, I live close to Baltimore city and the loss of such treasures was just too much for me. Well done Thunderbolt.
excellent! love a good museum
Excellent video man, also thanks for including my picture of 17000 in here
For whatever reason...I never knew of this disastrous event, and seeing this video was a heartbreaker for me, having loved trains my whole life.
I live in the Detroit Mich. area, and visit and am a member of The Henry Ford Museum, which has a large indoor exhibit and an outdoor train loop that circles Greenfield Village. But nothing as extensive as the B&O.
The cost to rebuild must have been astronomical and I am glad they were able to accomplish it, so future generations can learn how our country was built!
Thank You 💖 for posting this very nicely done video.
America’s tremendous rail history starts with the B&O, and the is the signature monument to that storied company. I remember when this happened and cannot express my appreciation to all whose efforts restored the roundhouse and collection. I am still waiting patiently for my first visit, never seeming to work Baltimore into my trips from the Midwest.
Great video, I really enjoyed!
That outro theme heavily reminds me of the old America By Rail collection from Greg Scholl, man does that give me some nostalgia. Great video.
Took several hour long drives as a kid to see this place. Last time I went was around 2 years ago. I’ve been there like 4 times, but the place is spectacular and the quality of the museum is great!
My trainboy son and I live a 10 minutes drive from Strasburg Railroad and the PA train museum, and we still make several trips a year to B&O. It's a wonderful collection.
As a local I well remember this happening and it’s really cool to see what they have done. A great museum to visit if in the Baltimore area.
The B&O museum are my stomping grounds, I've heard about this incident and the mess has since been cleared up.
Thanks so much for sharing. 😉👌🏻
I can’t believe that was 20 years ago. I was there about 30 years ago. It was a beautiful museum.
The roof collapse occurance of 2003 was a popular Baltimore local news story and this event left the B&O railroad museum closed for nearly two years. I am from the Baltimore, MD area and I used to visit this location back when I was a young child, this museum has many interesting pieces of railroad equipment. I personally like locomotives B&O "President Washington" 5300, Reading T1 2101, C&O Hudson type 490 and the Allegheny type engine 1604 as the most interesting locomotives in the museum collection.
Kudos for the effort and results of the rebuilding. Sadly, I remember being able to walk through the Boxcab 1000, and seeing the working parts and being able to smell the history of the early diesel. This is not possible today, as they have it all closed up. One of the true highlights of the museum, gone forever.
The first time I visited the museum was back in Spring of 2018. If I hadn't watched this video, I would have never known the roof collapsed in 2003.
This is yet a tragedy but also a unique video! I like it!
I hoped to visit here in July, 23. Injured my leg, so hope to visti in late August. My grandfather worked for the B&0 railroad. I think he lived in Red House, Md. then. No idea how he managed to trek the 3 hr trip to and from Baltimore. All my relatives that might know, are dead.
Nice video, Its cool how the locomotive is called william mason, and my name is Mason
I've been to the B&O museum a few times. Though it is a multi hour drive for me
I remember that storm, being a central MD native. I was terrified hearing the roundhouse roof collapsed, as it wasn't the only place that had their roof threatened. I remember hearing second hand from a brother of one of his friends in the industrial inspection world saying one of the local malls came within 1 truss of roof failure and being forced to shut down. And yeah, there were worries it'd shut down. But being a rail fan I knew the railroad lets nothing stand in its way. So long as enough people threw in together then it would do just fine.
I can remember that back in the early 70s I went to that place, I don't remember if it was a museum back then I was only 5 or 6 years old but I could remember how big those stream locomotives looked to me. It's funny that I left Baltimore in 75 and I came back to Baltimore 4 years and I been meaning to go to the B&O museum (along with the Lexington market, Fells point,etc) but my health & other issues has made it impossible for me to do so, I pretty much know that I don't have much time left but I really want to go back to the B&O museum
This was awesome video.
I vaguely remember hearing that the museum was reopening years ago, but I didn't know how disastrous the roof collapse was. I hope to visit again since my last visit as a child was over 6 decades ago.
This was incredible. You honestly could make a killing viewwise with more documentaries of other types of disasters
I need to go visit that again.
My dad's train club sponsored a trip to Maryland from Richmond VA to see the museum, a trolley museum, and a quick tour of downtown Baltimore in 1987. I have wanted to go back since with my Dad, but he died 2 years ago.
You should do one on the fire that took out 2101/AFT 1.
I was just there last month. Never would've guessed this happened.
This is crazy, I’m from Baltimore and never knew this. Makes me want to take a visit soon.
By all means do! It's in the middle of the hood of Baltimore so getting there is a nightmare but it is well worth it! A lot of their displays especially the antique collection look brand new and the staff is very friendly.
When I first saw this video, I was very happy
0:56 THUNDERBOLT 10000 SIREN PRODUCTIONS
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
What a fabulous building, a sad loss of rolling stock that couldn’t be saved but great to see all the work that must have gone on over the last 20 years.
Strange that I never heard about this, but definitely heard on the news way back when all those Corvettes fell into that sinkhole that opened up.
Coach 20 was like reaching safety only to be killed
One of the biggest bummers of this story is the money that was used to repair the roundhouse roof and the damaged locomotives was originally going to be used to restore GG1 #4876, the locomotive involved in the 1953 Federal Express accident. Hopefully the museum will finally get around to restoring the locomotive and putting it on display.
Holy…I remember this snowstorm! I never knew that the B&O’s roof collapsed! That snowstorm was Antarctica but in the East Coast
Not a train person myself, but I´m all for saving history and a good museum!!! Very nice it gor rebuilt and with only minor true loss!
All I can say is _YIKES!_ Glad to know there wasn't anyone in it when that happened so that no one was hurt though.
While it is a shame to hear that some rolling stock didn't survive (which I guess was to be expected given they were made completely of wood, which is quite a fragile material compared to say steel), at least No. 20's parts went to good use.
9:35 I know that locomotive from a 1990s children's video that I sometimes watch! (titled "All About Fast Moving Trains", which is part of the "Gus and Sam" series)
13:12 No surprise there considering they're made mainly of _far_ tougher materials (read: metal) than the aforementioned wooden rolling stock.
13:26: One question: _why?_
13:43 I know that music! (quite appropriate I'd say)
Nice to know that mostly everything went well post-collapse, including the museum staying in business & continuing to preserve & restore railroad history (at least, for now).
14:34 Mhm, as well as "A penny saved is a penny earned!"
Wow...that was just sometime before I was born. Must've been bad for everyone around the Baltimore area.
Cant believe its been 20 yrs since this happened
"There goes a train" music!! My son loves that show.
I grew up with those "Real Wheels" videos on VHS years ago as a kid namely "There Goes a Train" which was a favorite of mine. The tapes do show their age but thankfully people uploaded the series on CZcams so future generations can enjoy them.
This was unexpected and good👍. You should really do the 1984 Polmont rail crash (it shows lessons about push-pull trains) and the 1984 Eccles rail crash (another accident that lack AWS).
To complete the Trifecta, the 1984 Summit Tunnel fire. That is a doozy!
Very Interesting, I found and read the wikipedia. And I also wish he do the 1975 Moorgate tube crash that killed 43, that I requested it not too long ago. The 48th anniversary of that crash is due a few days from now and also he should do the 1983 Murdock train explosion.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video but I also noted something. The music at the end brought back memories of a childhood vhs I used to watch that used this same music at the end. “There goes a bulldozer,” god how I miss that video.
That's cause it's exactly where it came from. I heard it originally in "There goes an Airplane" I found the ZIP folder of the album a while ago and the track was a fitting piece to end on
Who would have thought the same thing happened to my house 20 years later
These locos were so big and brawny they were the epitome of strength and power and quite intimidating especially if you stand up close to one.
I'm just amazed there were no injuries or deaths from the roof calspe
A good thing no one was hurt when the roof came down. Yes damage is awful already, but loss of life is far worse. I am wondering if this building being so old, where is the inspection of the building to ensure a sound structure by at least today's standards? I love trains. As a kid I was fascinated by them. I think the collection is awesome. But the structure is important holding these wonderful treasures.
I remember this storm. We was out of school for a week or so.
Now we can manage if this happens again
I remember hearing about that incident back in grade school.
Will you do the fire at the National Capital Trolley Museum as well?
Perhaps if I get enough info on it
What a horrible birth announcement for me I suppose! I was born on February 12, 2003, just days before the record setting storm started, albeit in North Carolina, not the northeast.