The Freight House

The Freight House. . , Designed by noted architect E. Francis Baldwin and constructed in 1885, the Freight House served as a loading platform and storage room for freight. Materials were transferred in and out of the building on Maryland Avenue using a wooden platform. This side of the building was accessible to wagons and then automobiles. Doors on the side track of the building then allowed freight to be loaded into waiting boxcars., The B&O Railroad used the Freight House until the Ellicott City complex closed due to severe flood damage caused by Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Local preservationists sought to save the structure from demolition and meticulously restored it to its previous appearance., Today the Freight House contains a 40-foot HO scale model train layout depicting the first 13 miles of railroad track in America. It includes Baltimore (the birthplace of the B&O), the Old Main Line, and Ellicott's Mills., [Captions:] , Portrait of E. Frances Baldwin, 1920s. , E. Francis Baldwin designed many structures for the B&O, including the roundhouse in Baltimore and the Sykesville train depot., The Freight House in its restored and current version. The restorations for the Freight House occurred the same time as the general restoration work for the museum in the mid 1970's., These photos show some of the damage that occurred to the Freight House. While most of the damage shown is from long term exposure to elements, some of the damage shown is a result of Hurricane Agnes which ravaged Ellicott City in 1972.