Historic Train Stations Get Slate Roof Renovations

The B&O Railroad isn’t just a Monopoly property. The B&O (Baltimore and Ohio) Railroad began operation in the US in 1827. It was the first railroad to offer commercial transportation of both people and freight. Two of teh B & O Railroad Line’s most historic stations got slate roof renovations recently. 

A museum dedicated to the B&O Railroad is located in Baltimore, Maryland. It was constructed in 1884 as a roundhouse-style train station. The local community converted it into the B&O Transportation Museum in July of 1953. The museum exhibits the B&O collection of retired trains and model replicas, historic equipment, parts of an 1893 exposition, and other artifacts.

The Roof Comes Crashing In

Over President’s Day weekend in 2003, the City of Baltimore received 28 inches of snow that lead to a significant collapse of a large section of the museum’s roof. Most of the collapsed roof fell on the museum’s rare collection of 19th-century train cars.

General roofing company, Roofers, Inc., established in 1951, repaired the damaged roof. The damaged part of the roof is built on a 6:12 slope; it consists of steel trusses, multiple layers of glulam wood timber, and tongue-and-groove decking.

Slate Roof to Withstand the Test of Time

As part of the roof repair and restoration project, the B & O Railroad Museum opted to install North Country Slate’s Unfading Black roofing slate to recapture the original roof’s enduring aesthetic. The architect chose Unfading Black as the closest match to the historic Pennsylvania Peach Bottom Slate that originally adorned the museum’s roof. While Peach Bottom Slate is no longer reliably quarried, it has a storied history and was widely regarded as the finest roofing slate in the world. Today, North Country’s Unfading Black is the closest match produced in North America.

North Country Slate’s Unfading Black is a premium-quality, elegant-looking roofing slate. Due to its smooth, rich black coloring, and slight luster, it’s ideal for both new construction and restoration projects. Unfading Slate will also weather at a far slower pace than other slates. Learn more about North Country Slate Unfading Black.

The architect had decided upon a random pattern as the design. The roofers subcontracted for the work, Roofers, Inc., used two sizes: 22 inches by 10 inches and 22 inches by 14 inches. Both are a quarter-inch thick. The company stated in a magazine article that finding slate in this size without curves was a real challenge, so they were extremely happy to discover North Country Slate provided it.

All Aboard the B&O

Just a 30-minute train ride northeast from the B&O Transportation Museum is the Aberdeen B&O Railroad Station—the only station on the Philadelphia Subdivision that still exists.

Local citizens, businesses, and community groups are coming together to preserve, restore, and reuse the historic Aberdeen B&O Train Station.

In 2020, they organized the Friends of the Aberdeen B&O Train Station, an educational and cultural non-profit organization dedicated preserving the station as the Historic Gateway to Aberdeen and America’s Railroading Heritage.

The group has raised a lot of the necessary funds and is continuously renovating the station. Baltimore-based Roofing Contractor McCreesh Slate Roofing completed the work on the station’s historic slate roof.

Timeless and Elegant

The Friends of the Aberdeen B&O Train Station also chose North Country Unfading Black slate shingles for their roof. In contrast to the Museum’s random width installation, the Aberdeen B & O Train Station opted for a single width field slate of 20” x 10” x ¼” for a more uniform looking roof.

They received their shipment of shingles in February 2024. 

Slate is widely regarded for its timeless and elegant appearance, as well as for its exceptional longevity. Many slate roofs last well more than a century.

Whether in honor of an outstanding history like the B & O Railroad Museum, or for preserving the future of an existing station, North Country Slate’s Unfading Black is the perfect choice for yesterday, for tomorrow, and for the next hundred years.

North Country Slate Unfading Black is produced by Glendyne Inc. in Saint-Marc-du-Lac-Long, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest producer of roofing slate in North America.

North Country Slate is located in Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada, and is a trusted supplier of quality slate products. Contact North Country Slate to inquire about replacing your shingles with slate shingles.