Baltimore & Ohio #305

Built in 1869 at Mount Clare. The design was with the cab over the boiler. It was a design not for crew comfort but for productivity. The engineer would sit right next to the boiler and would overheat. He would also have less chance of survival if the locomotive were to derail. The fireman would also have no cover and would not be able to communicate with the engineer. The 0-8-0 wheel configurations would be reproduced more than two hundred times on railroads. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad used these types of locomotives on freight trains. In 1853, Samual J. Hayes, with the Baltimore & Ohio Master of Machinery, would manufacture 4-6-0 wheel configurations on these types of locomotives for three years. This locomotive was numbered 217, and its main role was to transport passengers through the steep mountain grades what were west of Cumberland. This locomotive got renumbered to 187 in 1884, then to 129 in 1893. In 2003, this locomotive was badly damaged due to the roof collapsing, and it is displayed today at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum. It was restored as seen today as Baltimore & Ohio #305.