Ellicott City Station, Our Nation's Oldest Railroad Depot

When one views the Ellicott City Station today there is nothing particularly striking about it, when compared to other railroad depots like it. However, the station carries a significance far beyond its looks, as the building is our nation’s oldest still-standing railroad depot. What’s more is that the depot’s design would become the template for which most others like it would be constructed over the next century. Today the Ellicott City Station is a museum (part of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum) and owned by the town of Ellicott City, Maryland.

As for Ellicott City Station itself its importance would never really transcend further than its significance as our country’s oldest railroad depot (which was originally built in 1830). Ellicott City's magnitude for the railroad, at least in terms of a passenger hub, would quickly dwindle following the 20th century and by 1949 trains stopped serving the depot altogether. By the early 1970s the B&O itself, by then part of the Chessie System (the C&O, B&O, and WM united under one flag), would discontinue use at the station. Fortunately, however, the building’s future had already been secured when a few years prior to that in the late 1960s it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

While never a wealthy railroad throughout its existence (when compared to the likes of its much larger and powerful northern competitors, the Pennsylvania [PRR] and New York Central [NYC] Railroads) its legacy will forever be remembered as a survivor and that it put customer service above all else. When the company’s name and existence finally came to an end on April 30th, 1987 it had just celebrated its 160th birthday and witnessed the industry grow from nothing more than few scattered systems to a rail network consisting of tens of thousands of miles linking the country from coast to coast (it also outlived its wealthier northern competitors by over a decade).

It would take, however, until the mid-1990s before the town would gain ownership of the station when at that time CSX Transportation, the successor to the B&O and Chessie System, deeded the building over to Ellicott City.

Today, the Ellicott City Station is part of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum and known as the Ellicott City Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum.

For more reading and history about the B&O consider the book, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, written by Kirk Reynolds and David Oroszi. While there are several more excellent books, with superb illustrations, out there covering different aspects of the B&O in more detail this publication includes a fine general history of the railroad with wonderful historical photos (many in color).

For more reading about railroad stations you might want to consider a copy of America's Railroad Stations from author Brian Solomon. While the book is just a very general overview of some of the great stations that once stood in this country it is quite good with lots of historical photographs, including that of Grand Central Terminal and the late Pennsylvania Station (it also gives a history of the thousands of small depots that existed in most communities). All in all if you’re interested in stations and depots you’re sure to enjoy Mr. Solomon’s book on the subject. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing either (or both) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.