The opening of the Metropolitan Branch of the B&O Railroad in 1873 was a pivotal event that changed the face of Montgomery County forever. “From Corn to Commuters: How the Coming of the Railroad Changed the Way of Life and the Future of Montgomery County” will be a featured online presentation from Montgomery History at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 2, that will look at the evolution.
Historians Susan Soderburg and Eileen McGuckian will lead the presentation that will include a look at railroad stations designed by Francis Baldwin and extraordinary feats of engineering such as the curving trestle over Little Seneca Creek and the Bollman Truss viaduct over the Monocacy River.
The discussion also will address the suburban and agricultural towns spawned by the new railroad as it catapulted the County into the Industrial Age.
The talk is based on Ms. Soderburg’s book The Met: A History of the Metropolitan Branch of the B&O Railroad, which was published in 1998 for the 125th anniversary of the rail line. It was updated in 2016 by the Germantown Historical Society.
To view the presentation, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CtDsNIM0Ru-uo-oL2D9f9w#/registration.
