第一條合法運送貨物與乘客的鐵路：1827年2月28日

在1827年2月28日，「巴爾地摩與俄亥俄鐵道公司」 (Baltimore & Ohio Railroad) 成為第一家美國取得合法商業經營運送乘客與貨物的公司。當時很多人質疑一個蒸汽引擎能夠克服美國陡坡、強風的斜坡地形，但是彼得‧庫柏 (Peter Cooper) 所設計的「湯姆的拇指」 (Tom Thumb) 卻讓這些人閉嘴。投資人希望透過鐵路的運行，能夠讓當時全美第二大城巴爾地摩能夠在西部貿易上與紐約競爭。

美國的第一條鐵道只有13英里長，但是在1830年正式開放時，卻讓眾人感到相當大的驚喜。在1828年的7月4日，獨立宣言通過之後唯一還活著的歌手查爾斯‧卡洛 (Charles Carroll) ，替這條以巴爾地摩港為起點的鐵道，放下了第一塊基石。


On February 28, 1827, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad became the first U.S. railway chartered for commercial transport of passengers and freight. There were skeptics who doubted that a steam engine could work along steep, winding grades, but the Tom Thumb, designed by Peter Cooper, put an end to their doubts. Investors hoped a railroad would allow Baltimore, the second largest U.S. city at the time, to successfully compete with New York for western trade.

The first railroad track in the United States was only 13 miles long, but it caused a lot of excitement when it opened in 1830. Charles Carroll, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, laid the first stone when construction on the track began at Baltimore harbor on July 4, 1828.

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