What if Charles Carroll of Carrollton was more than a patriot and Declaration signer? Join us for a fresh perspective on one of early America’s most influential figures.
Part 4 of 4. The Tom Thumb proved that steam could work on the B&O, but that was only the beginning. The famous horse race, the search for better locomotives, the challenge of Parr’s Ridge, and a growing focus on speed, capacity and efficiency helped turn an experiment into a new way of running a railroad, and eventually, a legend.
On the 289th anniversary of Charles Carroll of Carrollton’s birth, his later birthday celebrations reveal a Founder who remained vigorous, curious, and engaged with America’s future well into his nineties.
Two journeys. Nearly two centuries apart. The first began at Mount Clare on August 28, 1830. Peter Cooper’s experimental locomotive carried B&O Railroad leaders west from Baltimore to Ellicott’s Mills. It was a public test of a new and uncertain form of power. The second journey has just been completed. It carried no passengers and proved no engineering theory. Instead, it brought an important piece of railroad history out of storage and back into public view. This time, the
