Jun 5, 2017

Some called the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s centenary celebration “the biggest thing that has ever happened in Baltimore.”

: October 2, 1927-THE FAIR OF THE IRON HORSE UNDER WAY–IN PAGEANT OF TRANSPORTATION–Drawing It’s Three Imlay Coaches, this ancient locomotive is one of the series that depicts railroading from its earliest days to the present. (Baltimore Sun archives)

: October 2, 1927-THE FAIR OF THE IRON HORSE UNDER WAY–RAILROAD OFFICIAL BECOMES AN HONORARY BLACKFOOT–George H. Emerson, Chief of Motive Power of the B&O, wears the paint symbolic of his adoption, while Chief Weasel Tail makes conferring honor upon him. 30 members of the Blackfoot Indian tribe traveled to Baltimore from Glacier National Park to participate in the Fair of the Iron Horse in 1927. (Baltimore Sun archives)

: October 2, 1927-THE FAIR OF THE IRON HORSE–WHILE THE CROWDS MILL AROUND–Part of the throng leaving the Grandstand after the Pageant of Transportation at the Fair of the Iron Horse. (Baltimore Sun archives)

: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Centenary Pageant, September 18, 1927. (Baltimore Sun archives)

: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Centenary Pageant, September 18, 1927. (Baltimore Sun archives)

: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Centenary Pageant, September 18, 1927. (Baltimore Sun archives)

: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Centenary Pageant, September 18, 1927. (Baltimore Sun archives)

: September 28, 1927 – THE FAIR OF THE IRON HORSE — Helen B. Meeks. (Baltimore Sun archives)

: Some called the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s centenary celebration “the biggest thing that has ever happened in Baltimore.” (Baltimore Sun archives)

: Some called the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s centenary celebration “the biggest thing that has ever happened in Baltimore.” (Baltimore Sun archives)

: 30 members of the Blackfoot Indian tribe traveled to Baltimore from Glacier National Park to participate in the Fair of the Iron Horse in 1927. (Baltimore Sun archives)

: 30 members of the Blackfoot Indian tribe traveled to Baltimore from Glacier National Park to participate in the Fair of the Iron Horse in 1927. (Baltimore Sun archives)

: Some called the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s centenary celebration “the biggest thing that has ever happened in Baltimore.” (Baltimore Sun archives)

: 30 members of the Blackfoot Indian tribe traveled to Baltimore from Glacier National Park to participate in the Fair of the Iron Horse in 1927. (Baltimore Sun archives)

: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Centenary Pageant, September 18, 1927. (Baltimore Sun archives)

: Some called the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s centenary celebration “the biggest thing that has ever happened in Baltimore.” (Baltimore Sun archives)

: Some called the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s centenary celebration “the biggest thing that has ever happened in Baltimore.” (Baltimore Sun archives)

: Some called the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s centenary celebration “the biggest thing that has ever happened in Baltimore.” (Baltimore Sun archives)

: Some called the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s centenary celebration “the biggest thing that has ever happened in Baltimore.” (Baltimore Sun archives)

: Some called the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s centenary celebration “the biggest thing that has ever happened in Baltimore.” (Baltimore Sun archives)

: Some called the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s centenary celebration “the biggest thing that has ever happened in Baltimore.” (Baltimore Sun archives)

: Some called the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s centenary celebration “the biggest thing that has ever happened in Baltimore.” (Baltimore Sun archives)

: Some called the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s centenary celebration “the biggest thing that has ever happened in Baltimore.” (Baltimore Sun archives)

The 1927 Fair of the Iron Horse, which marked the 100th birthday of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, was a very big deal.

From the end of September through early October it was like Epcot came to Maryland. B&O carted all their old trains from storage to a fairgrounds in Halethorpe, where 500 employees from the railroad — and at least 30 members of the Blackfoot tribe of American Indians — staged a two-hour-long parade that illustrated the history of American transportation. The show included a Conestoga wagon and canal barges, a horse-drawn train, and of course, plenty of trains.

“[M]any say ‘it is the biggest thing that has ever happened in Baltimore,’” The Sun reported that year.

The 1927 “Fair of the Iron Horse”

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