Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops is a circular locomotive maintenance facility in Martinsburg with sixteen service bays arranged around a central turntable. The entire structure is covered by a distinctive bell-shaped roof.

The original facility was built in 1849 but was destroyed by Confederate troops during the Civil War. Reconstruction between 1866 and 1872 resulted in a structure using cast-iron framing.

The shop complex witnessed the 1877 railroad strike, when workers here organized resistance to wage cuts and sparked one of the nation's first major labor uprisings. Visitors can walk through the space where this pivotal workers' movement took shape.

The facility is now managed by the Berkeley County Commission as an event venue and offers public tours. Visitors can explore the interior to learn about railroad history and the industrial engineering of this era.

This is the last surviving locomotive roundhouse in North America built with a cast-iron frame design, created after the Civil War by architect Albert Fink using standardized prefabricated parts. These prefabricated elements represent an early example of industrial mass production in railroad construction.

Location: Martinsburg

Architects: Albert Fink

GPS coordinates: 39.46080,-77.95940

Latest update: December 12, 2025 07:51