The history and construction of the old Calvert Street station of the Pennsylvania Railroad at Baltimore, Maryland

DLD 3ALVERT STREEI STATIOH

OF THE
SILVANIA RAID L.-.. ...

Iftoj

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INDEX

'. -: rt ,;Y 1

THE HISTORY OF THE CALVERT STREET RAILH . 3

CONSTRUCTION OF THE CALVERT STREET RAILWAY STATION

11

PHOTOGRAPHS OF STATION

13

MAE OF BALTIMORE

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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SUIfc-.uY

In the year of ei-hteen hundred and forty-eight, the Baltimore
and Duxquehanna Railroad Company purchased from the Baltimore A'ater Company
a site of land located at the northeast corner of Calvert arm Franklin
streets to build a station in order that it could concentrate under one
roof its offices and all the business of the road, both freight and passenger.
The depot which was first built was commented upon very favorably by all
the authorities. The depot was completed end put in use early in the year

'een hundred and fifty. In the year eighteen hundred and fifty-
four the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad Company consolidated into the
Northern Central Railway Company, Laier, in the year eighteen hundred and
seventy-four, this letter company was taken over by the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company, which still owns the station. Until the year eighteen
hundred and sixty-five, both pas sender e and freight were handled in the

>t, but after that year the Large brick freight warehouse, which is
situateu on the west side of Korth street, was used, Two tracks wire laid
through the center of the buildin^., which took Cure of about eighteen cars.
It has since been used for in-bound and out-bound freight, Eith the addi-
tion of a coujle of small wsrehousee owned by other companies, these facili-
ties were all that were used for freight at Calvert . n until the year

.iteen hundred and seventy-three, Since then sheds "B", "C", "D", "E",
and "F" have been erected, as well bb a large hay warehouse and the "Jail
Yard", which was used for the delii/cry of bulk freights. Improvements
that were made by a change in the itain tracks between Union and Calvert
stations and by an a-uition of track s in the Eager street yard enabled the
company to load about two hundred c Lly, The local grain elevator,

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SUlfc-dOC

In the year of eighteen hundred and forty-eight, the Baltimore
and Suxquehanna Railroad Company purchased from the Baltimore Water Company
a site of land located at the nor the _t corner of Calvert ana Franklin
streets to build a station in order that it could concentrate under one
roof its offices and all the business of the road, both freight and passenger.
The depot which was first built was commented upon very f.vorably by all
the authorities. The depot v&e completed and put in use early in the year
of eighteen hundred and fifty. In the year eighteen hundred and fifty-
four the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad Company consolidated into the
Northern Central Railway Company, Later, in the year eighteen hundred and
seventy-four, this letter company was taken over by the rennsylvania
Railroad Company, which still owns the station. Until the year eighteen
hunared and sixty-five, both pu.ssen e ere and freight were handled in the
depot, but after that year the lar^e brick freight warehouse, which i:
Bituated on the west side of North street, was used, Two trackB w_Te laid
through the center of the building, which took care of about eighteen cars.
It ha:= since been used for in-bound and out-bound freight. Eith the addi-
tion of a coujle of small wEehouses owned by other companies, these facili-
ties were all that were used for freight at Calvert Station until the year

.-.teen hundred and seventy-three. Since then sheds "B n , M C", "D", "E M ,
and "F" have been erected, as well as a large hay -warehouse and the "Jail
Yard", which was used for thr delivery of bulk freights. Improvements
that were made by a change in the main tracks between Union end Calvert

:ions and by an audition of tracks in the Ea „cr street yard enabled the
company to load about two hundred cars daily. The local grain elevator,

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number two, which cant-ins a capacity of three hundred thousand bushels
that- is used for the handling and storage of grains for city uelivery,
was completed in eighteen hundred and ninety -one, and greatly facilitated
operations which were formerly slow and expensive. The Calvert Street
Station is, at the present writing, but little used.

The architects of the Galvert Street Station were Uiernsee and
lieilson. The station has six lar lera formin^ the foundation of the
portal on North street. Forty piers form the foundation of the stone pillars,
of the car house* The depot consists of a car house, occupying the diagonal
of the square of gtound owned ty the company, and terminating at the end
on Calver street by a large building in the Italian style, and containing
the principal offices. On North street, the car house is terminated and
supported by a massive portal, also in Italian style, and is the entrance
for the passenger and tonnage trains. The roof of the car house is of
sheet iron, and the pillars are rf cut granite. The easiest ana best access,
both for the passengers and trains, is gained by the diagonal posit 1
of the depot build in .

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THE HISTORY OF THE CALVERT STREET RAIL.', AY STATION

In the month of June of the year eighteen hundred and forty-eight,
a site of land at the northeast corner of Franklin and Calvert Streets
wae purchased by the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad Company from the
Baltimore Water Company. Previous to that time, the site of land was used
for a Roman Amphitheatre. This building was completed in the month of
October of the year eighteen hundred and forty- six, and the perfor □
that w £n there were very well attended by the people of Baltimore.
However, the establishment was burned down during the year after it was
built. The Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad Company originally const-
ructed the Calvert Street station in or^=r that it could concentrate un
one roof its offices and all the business of the road, both freight and
passenger. The depot, which was first built, was regarded by the author-
ities as a most suitable structure for itc purposes. In the Americ
Railroad Journal's reports of eigi.teen hundred hundred and fifty, the
following statement, which was published before the completion of the e-
pot, is quote

"The depot erected for the company on the square of ground be-
tween North Ivert, and Franklin and Centre streets, has now approach-
ed so near to its completion as to enable the iy to use it for the
reception and dispatch of .,assen,er trains.

"The depot, for spaciousness, convenience, and adaptation to
the purposes for which it is designed, will compare most favorably in
every respect with any in the Quite :c. In its c j^tructio.. a sub-
stantial strength and soliditj have been combined with beauty of architec-
tural style which do« e d reat creuit to the taste and skill of the arci-

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tects from whose bureau the designs came, Messrs. ttiernsee and Kelson.
The front on Galvert Street, we think, may justly be considered a moet

jad appropriate piece of architecture. The beautiful brown free-
stone, extensive quarries of which exist on the line of the rail roe ,
has been introduced into with great effect. '.Ye are glad to see that this
initiative has been followed and that in improvements in different parts
of the city, this attractive an, excellent builaing material is bei,
largely used. The depot has been constructed to .ueet not only the present
wants of the road, but those . . . consequent upon the largely
increasing business which may confidently be expected to seek our city
thru this Avenue) ana the president and directors of the road, in- thus

vi : , ith an enlightened and liberal policy, for the future, te-
serving of the coauencation of the community."

The newspaper, the Baltimore Clipper, on the fourth aay of June
of the year eighteen hundred arid fifty, also comments favorably on the
depot. The article is as follows:

"The New Depot. The n ot of the Baltimore ana Susquehanna
Railroad Company, situated on Calvert Street, is so far completed, that
the passenger trains arrive at and depart from it. The cars from York
entered it yesterday morning amidst a crowd of spectators, and everyjue
seeded delighted with the arrangements and accomodations. The min build-
ing L large and commodious, divided into ir; ^rtable apartments,
for the accc Lon of the President and the jjirectsra and the various
. cers of the c< . lot yet ., and Ui.til fin-

ished, a c r neatly fitted up will be used us the ticket office. The c

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departxent la supplied :;ith fir.u and convenient platforms, and will accom-
odate a large number of cars. The whole structure is substantially made,
tastily arranged, una is an ornament to the city. It does __reat credit
to thoc designed and executed the work.

i .y, we hope, will proceed to widen North street, aj
to lay on additional track, as the increase in the business of the road
will certain! r ui r aceo_. in than is afforded by one track,
especially after the completion of the o Harrisbur^.

"i ,- thinls - lat Ike Qity Co ncil co^^itteu an q\ b in not san-

ctioning the law passed at the last session of the Legislature, -z—
j company to borrow a sum o repair the Green Spring Road,

etc., as it would certainly have contributes lo the interests of the city
by introdv<ci.._ I . of produce and travel; and without the cost

of a dollar to the city, as the ^nal redeipts would have been amply
sufficient to disc] arge the interest accruing on the loan."

In the year of eighteen hundred and forty-nine, the General
ambly of L.aryland o.rew up soma laws and ordinances relating to the
Baltimore Iroad Company . concerned the build-

of the Calvert station. The ..ere as folic .

"A further supplement to an act to incorporate the Bait t ore
and Susquehanna Railroad Compr

Section I Be it enacted b Jeneral Assembly of ..-arylund,

that t.-.e southern ter inua of the Balti.-ore ai ^uehanna Rail:

pany shall be at the depot, now being erecteu on Calvert Etreet, in Bal-

re, includi l said depot, and sj touch of the lot on which it stands
as xay be necessary for the convenient use of said depot, and that the

president and directors of the Bait". Sueque shall e and
are hereby invested with all the rights ana powers necessary for the con-
struction, repaitj ana use of a line of railroad, in and from said Calvert
street depot, ir present line of railroad, i from t

Calvert street depot, along their present line of railroad tracks on the
bed of Korth street, and through Bolton depot to the city limits, as fully
in every respect as said company now posset ..-_ the- right and power to con-
it, repair, and use its railroad beyond the Units f the city of Bal-
re.

:tion II And be it enacted, that the president and direct-
ors of said company j shall be and they are hereby authorized to construe ,
repair, and use a second tract of railroau, parallel a present trac':,
from said Calvert street depot to the city limits, and if necessary in their
judgment to alter the location of their present tracks; provided, tl
be: . ey shall be authorized to construct a second trtck, it shall -.viden
the streets through /.i.ich the road passes, in aoier provide^, for which
purposes the said co . j shall be authorized to widen the streets through
which said tracks are or may be Iocs 9 the further width of twenty
fee'., y squire the receiving ground and materials by gift or pur-
chase, or by condemnation, in the manner prescribed and authorized the
original at to which this is & further supplement, and for the purpose
of sue:, condemnation the sheriff ana peace of Baltimore and

Baltimore county court, are hereby invested respectively with all the powers,
authority, and duties within the li its of the city of Baltia re, s the
sheriff and justices of the peace of Baltimore county and Baltimore county
rt are reepecti\ ad in.. .. ith by the ^aiu original

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act, beyond the Limits fo the city of Salti.-i.orej proviaea, that nothing
in this act contained, shall deprive t yor ... City Council of Baltimore
of the right and po,ver to fix and precribe the rate of speed at which the
said railroad co jay run their cars Bind loeomotivea within the city
ad provided that the legislature reserves to itself the right to
repeal this act, whenever in its discretion, it may deem it expedient."

The depot was completed and was put in use early in the year
of eighteen hunared and fifty. In the beginning, the passenger trains
ran daily except the afterr.o.n train from Baltimore on Sundays. The first

Lne went fr< re to York, Brightsville, and Colombia. In the
year of eighteen hundred ana fifty-four, under the provisions of an ^ct
of Liaryland, concurrent with one of Pennsylvania, the Baltimore and Sus-
quehanna Railroad Company, of the i oi , joineu with the York
and Maryland Line Railroad .j and the Susquehanna Railroad Company
of the State of Pennsylvania, and formed the Northern Central Railway
Company, In the ye'+r of eighteen hundred and seventy-four, in the inter-
est of greater economy of management and of serving the public, the Presi-
dent of the Northern Central Railway Company resigned and vi-:.s succeeded
by the President of the Pennsylvania Railroad , .y, which company is
now in possession of the Calvert Station*

Until early in the year of eighteen hundred and sixty -five, with
a few changes in the train Bhed, both passengers ane ht were handled
in it. The west side was used for the passengers, while the freight was

sn care of on the east side and in the yard between the shed and J.orth
Street, The offices that were on the second story of the main or office

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buildin^, later occupied by the ticket receiver ana passenger trainmen
as offices, reading-room, and dormitories, wer« by the Presiuent,

Board, and Executive Officers of the Company. The new general office build-
on the corner of Calvert and Centre streets, waa coop 1 6 ted and occupied
the month of Marc bhe year eighteen hundreu and seventy-;!.:.

On the month of April of the year eighteen hundred and sixty-
five, the large brie 1 - freight warehouse, ■':. is situated jn the west
side of Xorth street and extends from Centre to honu;i.ent street and to
Davis street on the west, was completed and put into use. Two tracks were
laid through the center of the building, which took care of about eight-
een cars, and it has ever since been usee for in-bound and out-bound freight.

ilities, with the audiion of a small warehouse on the e st side
of North street, which was owned by . Potc c Railroad

Company, ana also a similar one adjoining, ownec .ocupeid by the Em-
pire Line, were all that the company possessed for its freight business
at Calvert station in the year eighteen hundred anu aev-: r e , »ith
the exception of two squares of ground on the west eiae of North street j
and which cxtendea from Madison street northwardly tc Ee r street,
wast to Hunter alley, that portion between -^dison and rteau streets being
used for coal yards.

t/.en the following large and commodious eheds have I: en
efected: "B tt ana "C" on the property bounded by Monument, Centre, Korth,
and holliday streets; "h", which is locaied on <_rounde bounded by North,
^.avis, ...onuxent, and :.ladieon streets; anu M E" and "F", which are on the site

that is bounded by h'orth street, Jones 1 Falls, ..or.ument and Edison streets.

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In addition to these, the "Jail Yard", which was usee for the delivery
of bulk freights, was establj lie location on the east side of
Jone's Falls, bounded by Eager, Beuren, ison streets, and a lar
hay Located sou'.:: of :..onuo.ent street, between Kolliday

street and Hones' Falls. The site v ich grain elevator number two

is erected, with its necessary complement of tracks, is bounded by Jones'
Falls, Seuren, Ladison, and intent streets.

The two squares bounded by h'orth street, Jones' Falls, l.adison,
and 2a L er streets are usi-u partly for bulk freight aeliver^ , ...i^ '

mas tl ison street yard, and partly to be occupied by tl.e main
tracks between Union e.nd Calvert stations* The main tracks as originally
laid, were on the east side of Jones' Falls, froa Jhase street to a point
near ,--uison street, crossing Jones' Falls at that pl„ce in a southwesterly
direction, and over the southeast portion of Ladison street yard, crosein^
Madison street, and from thence curving couthwardly into liorth street,
'.vhich is the present line to Galvert station* In order to make better use
of this ,, there »as a change made in which the main line . diverted
from the east side of Jonas' Fulls, south of £a L er street, and a new line
was constructed, which crossed Jones' Falls north of Eager street on a
substantial iron bridge, carrying three tracks, thence under ^ager street,
and he .eat side oT L.atiison street yard to the northeast corner
of H&diBOa and North streets, ..here i intersected the line via North
street to Galvert station, in which position it i~ at present. Tracks are
also laid on the ground west of horth street, and between Head and Ea^er

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streets for bulk freight delivery, and it is E ar street

rd« The improvements, which are enuaen ted above, en^bleu the co ny
to lo_^ about two h-oidred cars daily.

The loci grain elevator, number t.o, which is located at the
northwest corner of Monument and Beuren streets, and is part of the facili-
ties at Oalvert Freight Station Lch contains a capacity of three
hundred thousand bushels that is used for handling and storage of oats,
corn, and other grains for city delivery, wai coasple&d and put in operation
on the month August of the year igheen hundred and ninety-one. Vr. Ira
Day, who was formerly the Freight Agent for the Baltimore and Potomac
Railroad at Calvert Station, was appointed the superintendent that was to
in charge of its operations. Before this local grain elevator had been
constructed, the delivery of local grain at the Calvert Station had been
made directly from the cars, under what was called the "weigh bag" system.
This latter methoa was slow and expensive, lie cause of d enc
complaint by consignees,

T. reet Station has not been used such in recent years.

Union ! ion on Dharles street is now used for most of the passenger
trains. In the year of nineteen hundred ar.d thirty-two, Calvert Station
abandoned the handling of freight, whic shifted to the President
Street Station. At the p recent time only two passenger trains run daily,

>ept on .en onl^ one is UBed. The sation is, at this writing,
in poor condition, and it is the r's belief that will be abandoned
altogether in the near future.

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OONSTRUCTIOK OF" THE OALVEHT . IOH

The architects of the Calvert Stv.tion mere ..iernsee and Keilson.
In the month of January of the year eighteen hundred and forty -nine, they
sent the foil report to Mr. II. .... ...,gran, who was then the president

of the Ealti._ore usquehanna Railroad Company;
". ir:

He submit the follov?ing et .tement of the progress of the
construction of the new depot on .North and Calvert streets* The six lar c e
piers forming the foundation of the portal on North street have been built
her on the rock or on a compact bed of ^ravel found at a depth varying
froa. fifteen to eighteen feet below thw surface of the ground, ana fro.
one to three feet belo vr in the fall 8 near ...onument street bridge.
Twenty-five of the forty piers which form the foundation of the stone pil-
lars of the car i:Ouse are co.^leted. The excavation for the remaining
fifteen and for the office buildings has been carried as far as ws con-
sidered advisable, until the work of building should reach each of them.
. co .... leted, the depot will consist of a car house three hundred and

fifteen feet long, one hundred and twelve feet wide, occupying the diagonal
of the square of ground owned by the co:e. any, ^nd terminated at the end
on Calvert street by a large buildin„ with a front of one hundred and twelve
feet, in the Italian style, two stories in height, containing the prin-
cipal passenger entrance, ticket office, transportation and other offices,
with the necessary rooms for president and directors, ana fire-proof vaults
for securing the books and papers of the company* On ^orth street, the
car house -ill be terminated and supported by a massive portal in the

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same Italien style, affording the entrance, by an ei,sy curve, for the pas-
senger and tonnage trains. The roof of the car house, i Lng one hundred
feet clear, will be o: sheet iron, sue by a series of trui; a
simple form, easily adjusted and repaired, and depending for all the es-
sential ties on wrought -iron comparatively indestructible. The pillars
are of cut _ranite; the sp;\ce covered contains two passenger trachs and
platforms, with three tonnage tracks, and broad receiving and distributing
platforms for goods, which can be taken off and on under shelter of the
six foot projecting eaves of the roof.

The diagonal position of the depot buildings permits the easiest
and best access, both for passengers and trains, and offers for future
buil> 1 the most frontage on the four steets encompassing the square.

Signed, with respect,
Kiernsee and Ueilson,
Architects. "
Also, the general office building which is on the corner of
Calvert and Centre streets is fifty feet by eighty feet while the large
brick freight warehouse which is situated on the west side of Korth srest
is three hundred and eighty -three feet long by one hundred and fifty feet
-a.

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1UP OF BALTIMOHE

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

W, B, Wilson's "History of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company"

Report Ho* 6 of 1849, from the Reports of the Baltimore and Susquehanna

Railroad Company.
"Laws and Ordinances Relating to the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad

Company" — 1850.
American Railroad Journal, volume 23, January to December, 1850.
Baltimore Clipper, years 1848 and 1850,
Baltimore Patriot ana Commercial Gazette, 1850.
Baltimore Sun, 1848.
Baltimore American and Commercial Laily Advertiser, 18^0.

Library of Congress and Periodical Room

;ody Library in Baltimore
City Hall in Baltimore

Bureau of Railway Economics in Washington
Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore
Calvert Street Station, Baltimore