The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad had its beginnings on February 28, 1828,
in a charter granted to Baltimore bankers George Brown and
Philip Evan Thomas to build a 380-mile railway to the West that would
compete with the 2-year-old Erie Canal, which was diverting traffic from the
port of Baltimore. The new railway was to be used for cars that
would be drawn by horses or propelled by sails.

Construction began on July 4th on the Baltimore & Ohio ( B & O ) Railroad
chartered in 1828 by the state of Maryland as the first U.S. railroad for the
general transportation of freight and passengers. Backed by the richest man
in America Charles Carroll of Carrollton, at the age of 90, who lays its
cornerstone, the B & O has a narrow 4-foot 8.5-inch gauge
that is based on the standard English track width for carriages.

The Tom Thumb ( shown on this certificate ) produced by New York
entrepreneur Peter Cooper was the first U.S.-built locomotive.
Cooper has taken scraps of iron including pipes from musket barrels to build
his steam locomotive in the shops of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.