Put in your water, shovel in your coal,
Put cha head out the window and watch the drivers roll
I'll run her 'til she leaves the rail
For I'm eight hours late with the western mail.

"Casey Jones" [derived from an original textual transcription].¹
California Gold: Folk Music from the Thirties

On February 28, 1827, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad became the first U.S. railway chartered for commercial transportation of freight and passengers. Investors hoped a railroad would allow Baltimore, the second largest U.S. city at that time, to successfully compete with New York for western trade. New Yorkers were profiting from easy access to the Midwest via the Erie Canal.

Buckhorn Wall, 2500 Feet above Sea Level on the Picturesque B&O,
William Henry Jackson, photographer, circa 1892.
Touring Turn-of-the-Century America, 1880-1920

Construction began at Baltimore harbor on July 4, 1828. Local dignitary Charles Carroll, last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, laid the first stone.

The initial line of track, a 13-mile stretch to Ellicott's Mills (now Ellicott City), Maryland, opened in 1830. The Tom Thumb, a steam engine designed by Peter Cooper, negotiated the route well enough to convince skeptics that steam traction worked along steep, winding grades.

River Hills, Trough of the Potomac,
William Henry Jackson, photographer, commissioned by Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, circa 1892.
Touring Turn-of-the-Century America, 1880-1920

On May 24, 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse used the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad right of way to send the first telegraphic message from the Supreme Court room in the Capitol at Washington to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore.

Baltimore and the Ohio River were connected by rail in 1852, when the B&O was completed at Wheeling, West Virginia. Later extensions brought the line to Chicago, St. Louis, and Cleveland.

Rapid development of rail power propelled westward expansion. As early as 1852, six lines carried passengers and freight across the Appalachian mountain range. By 1869, the Central Pacific line and the Union Pacific line joined to create the first transcontinental railroad. Although pioneers continued to travel west via covered wagon, settlements grew quickly as rail transport increased the frequency and speed with which people and supplies could move across the vast continent.

"Casey Jones," Byron Coffin, Sr., vocals, and Mrs. Byron Coffin, Sr., piano, recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Alameda, California on April 6, 1939.
California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties

Real Audio Format

wav Format
Forms part of a group of field materials documenting Byron Coffin, Sr., Mrs. Byron Coffin, Sr., and Byron Coffin, Jr. performing Barbary Coast tunes, American popular songs, and ragtime music. Byron Coffin's stage nickname was "Casey Jones."

• In the 1890s, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad commissioned William Henry Jackson to photograph a series of scenic views along the B&O route in western Maryland. Search Touring Turn-of-the-Century America, 1880-1920 on Baltimore & Ohio railroad to explore these spectacular views of the Allegheny Mountains.
• Search the Today in History Archive on the term railroad to learn more about the importance of railroads in the shaping of the nation.
• Search the collection Railroad Maps, 1828-1900 on Maryland, or any other state, to view maps related to the development of transport in that state. This collection illustrates the growth of travel and settlement as well as the development of industry and agriculture throughout the United States. Search on other terms such as Union Pacific to see, for example, a map from about 1850(?) Showing the Lines of the Proposed Pacific Railroad.
• Search California Gold: Folk Music from the Thirties on railroad songs to retrieve six traditional songs. Results include several versions of "Casey Jones" celebrating American engineer and folk hero John Luther Jones.

¹ Note: The term drivers refers to the large wheels of a locomotive to which the side rods are attached: they are set in motion by the engine connecting rods.