I have been two active tourist line railroads so far in my adventures. This time I went to a natural railroad museum that sat next to an active railroad line. The B&O Museum of Oakland would be the first.
Once part of the line that helped the Union Troops to invade Rebel territory during the Civil War, the Oakland Station was built in 1884. The station became a stop for tourists to go to the Deer Park Springs (Yes that Deer Park that you see in the store for bottled water now you know). Passengers and freight would come through here daily and be a main part of the line until the 1950’s and would lay dormant until 2013. Volunteers would overhaul the old station and make it a museum that would have artifacts from the B&O and a couple of other railroads in the area including the Cass Scenic Railroad.
In 2017 the museum added a big piece to their collection when a Jonesboro Lake City and Eastern Railroad 2-8-0 Macato type engine #476 arrived on the grounds. It was repainted and fitted with B&O number and nameplates. The locomotive now sits on static display at the front, greeting visitors when they arrive.
With the 476 also sits a B&O boxcar that has been overhauled as a library and bookstore, and a side bay caboose that is set up as if it were still in use from the 1960’s.
The museum is open, Saturdays from 10am-3pm. Admission is free but they do have a gift shop, donations box, and buy a brick that would be laid in the courtyard. Check them out online on their Facebook page at B&O Museum of Oakland to find out their upcoming events.
