B&O RAILROAD MUSEUM
What, you ask, does B&O stand for?
Why, Baltimore & Ohio, of course!
Now you remember that we went to the B&O Ellicott City Station a while back, right? The Ellicott City Station is the oldest surviving railroad station in America. The Mount Clare (Baltimore) Station - where we went this last week - was destroyed years ago, but re-built into "one of the most significant collections of railroad treasures in the world" (according to Wikipedia. Which is obviously always the unadulterated truth.) Mount Clare is considered to be a birthplace of American railroading, since the first regular passenger service started here on May 22, 1830. The first 13 miles of track went from Mount Clare to Ellicott and the railroad cars were horse drawn. Okay, there's your history. Here are the pictures:
The main portion of the museum is inside the Round House, which is where the original
turntable was located. It is full of old trains - like this double-decker yellow one.
turntable was located. It is full of old trains - like this double-decker yellow one.
Looking into the Round House. The turntable is in the center and the trains splay out in spokes.
Big, old trains. 
When cars were invented, the railroads put them on rail wheels. I guess that didn't catch on so well.
Sam's lots-of-greats-grandpa was John Hancock's brother. Or so I'm told. Sam's mom's maiden name is Hancock.
The traditional family-picture-taken-by-a-stranger shot.
Alright, I saved the best for last. Now, to understand this you need to realize that I am probably the only person under 60 who is intensely passionate about genealogy. I always bond with the older people in the ward over family history while people my age look at me like I'm an absolute nut-case. Part of the reason I was so insistent on going to this museum is because both Sam and I have ancestors who were rail men. Okay, back to my story. So we're walking through the museum, and from a distance I see this caboose:
I don't quite know how, but I had an immediate inkling about what it was. I ran (literally - I left the kids with Sam and ran) to look at the gold plaque. This is what it read:
I read it and instantly burst into tears. See, my great-grandpa, W. Mont Timmins, felt strongly about World War I and when the US didn't join right away, he enlisted in the French army (despite not being an ounce French). He left his family and went by ship to France, and there served in the military as a railroad engineer, carrying supplies to the front lines of the war. This World War I boxcar is exactly the kind of boxcar he would have pulled during the war. One of the most tragic experiences of Mont's life happened during his service. He was running a train with a man who had become a dear, dear friend of his. I'm not sure how (bomb?), but the train came off track. Mont jumped out one side of the train, his friend out the other. Unfortunately, Mont jumped on the safe side and the train rolled off the tracks on to the lower half of his friend's body. The friend was in excruciating pain, and begged for Mont to kill him, but Mont couldn't. So he held his friend and cried with him until the man died in his arms. Mont was obviously very affected and only told this story a handful of times in his life, but I'm so glad he did so that I could hear it. He was an amazing man who raised five wonderful children (my grandma!) and served as a Patriarch til the day he died.
16 comments:
wow, what a neat story! and it's even more neat because he's my great-grandpa too. thanks for sharing that, janae.
Wow! What a great story about your great-grandpa. I've recently become fascinated with WWI and reading your story was very sweet and sad!
By the way - you look awesome in that cool coat!
What an amazing story! I love family history too, but I haven't immersed myself in it as you have. I will when the time is right in my life...and then I will be calling you. :)
How fun! My kids would have loved the old trains. Yours are so cute! And they must be pretty darn good..........I mean come onlook at all the fun trips you've gone on!
Sarah - thanks! I love this coat. I bought it way back in 2003 (on my mission) and I have been surprised at how classic it is. I mean, it hasn't really gone out of style. (Ha, ha, that or else I'm waaaaay behind on what is cool. Which is actually true. :) Leave it to Europe to have such timeless pieces!
helloooooooo ... Saaaaaaam ... where are the three or four comments I insisted you make?? You thought I was kidding ... I WASN'T. :)
Sorry I'm not Sam but I do have a comment. Thanks Professor Ricks (or was it Janae?) for sharing the story. I LOVE personal histories, and isn't it so much more cool when it's someone you're related to! It sounds like you come from a line of very dedicated people- joining a war for another country. Wow!
-I get funny looks when I go into quilting stores. All the old ladies behind the counter can't belive I know how to hand quilt- and like it!
-I'm glad B.O. doesn't stand for body odor in this case
-That is a classic coat- it fits you well.
-Hope the potty training is going well
As a kid, I always thought that the B&O Railroad had something to do with needing deodorant.
That's really cool that you found a piece of personal history on one of your excursions.
My kids would be sooooo jealous of yours. They would have just LOVED the trains. Someday....perhaps.
Loved the pictures, and loved the story--Amazing. Thanks for sharing. Rylan would LOVE to go see a real train. I know, I know, we have trains that go by here all the time in SF. But those old old trains...now that's what I mean by a real train. So Cool! Will you do my geneology?
Hmm, I'm trying
to figure out
how I can stretch this comment
out to 4 comments. It's pretty tricky,
But I think I can do it.
This was a great trip. I think this is one of the coolest museums we've been to in Baltimore. (Okay, so I guess we've only actually been to one other museum in Baltimore, but still . . . I think the fact that your great-grandpa served in WWI before the US even declared war is awesome. Was he married when he went, or was this in his single days?
(Ha! FIVE comments!!!)
You're a talented man, Samuel! :) Thanks for the comments. You make me laugh.
Um, we've been to four other museums in Baltimore. Ft. McHenry, Babe Ruth Birthplace, Balt MOA, and Walters. But if the experiences were traumatic and you've put them out of your mind, that's okay. I understand.
I have always thought he was married with kids, and my grandma Smith thinks the same, but I can't reconcile that with his birth year. He was born in 1894 and married in 1920. He must have been single.
I love that you have a passion for geneology. I took a class at BYU once and fell in love with it. But my program was deleted and then I just let it slide to the back burner. I need to get back into it, because I really did like it. I am reading T O Smith's personal history right now, and loving it!
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