Then and Now: The Fair of the Iron Horse

Between Sept. 24 and Oct. 8, 1927, more than 1.25 million people visited Halethorpe for the Fair of the Iron Horse, a massive festival thrown by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to celebrate 100 years of American railroading.

A miniature world’s fair spread out over 25 acres along the Old Main Line—the nation’s first commercial railroad route—running parallel to Hollins Ferry Road and the event included exhibits, music and other entertainment provided free to the public by the B&O.

The high point of the fair was the daily Pageant of Transportation. Every day (except Sunday and Monday) at 2 p.m., in front of a reviewing stand holding a crowd of 12,000 people, a parade of historical vehicles and costumed performers filed past to illustrate the progress of wheeled transportation through the ages.

The cavalcade included stagecoaches and Conestoga wagons, with Native American encampments, and a parade showing the evolution of locomotives from the Tom Thumb to the most modern engine of the era.

In the accompanying video, John Roth described finding a Fair of the Iron Horse program—and an unexpected family connection. His story is part of the Arbutus Stories series sponsored by and the .

Today the area where the Fair of the Iron Horse was held is an of warehouses and light industry, home to , , and , among other companies.