Baltimore and Potomac Railroad
| Locale |
Maryland Washington, D.C. |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1872–1902 |
| Successor | Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia |
The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad (B&P) operated from Baltimore, Maryland, southwest to Washington, D.C., from 1872 to 1902. Controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad, it was the second railroad company to connect the nation's capital to the Northeastern States, and competed with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Part of the B&P route is now part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and the Maryland Transit Administration's MARC passenger commuter line.
The leading advocate for expanding the railroad system into southern Maryland was Walter Bowie, who wrote articles under the pen name Patuxent Planter and who joined Thomas Fielder Bowie, William Duckett Bowie, and Oden Bowie (later Governor of Maryland), in lobbying the Maryland General Assembly to approve the idea. Their efforts bore fruit on May 6, 1853, when lawmakers chartered the Baltimore and Potomac Rail Road Company, granting it the authority to construct a railroad from Baltimore via Upper Marlboro and Port Tobacco to a point on the Potomac River between Liverpool Point and the St. Mary's River. The charter also allowed the construction of branches of up to 20 miles (32 km) in length.
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