The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States. In 1871, the B&O established lines into Pittsburgh, which became an important hub in their east-west empire. In 1887, the B&O Railroad Depot building, along with a growing network of boarding platforms, warehouses and mechanical stations, was built along the north shore of the Monongahela River, extending from Smithfield Street along Second Avenue for over a mile.

The B&O rail yard stretched out along the banks of the Monongahela River in 1954.

The B&O Railroad's Pittsburgh Division flourished through the 1920s. The Great Depression saw a large drop in business. World War II, with the transportation of troops, machinery and supplies, helped reverse the decline. The end of the war saw another irreversible decline.

The original B&O depot was replaced with this building on Grant Street in 1955.

The original railroad depot was razed in the 1955 during construction of the Penn-Lincoln Parkway, and a new building was constructed at the foot of Grant Street. The railroad continued it's Pittsburgh operation, but continual declines in business eventually led to a merger with CSX Transportation in 1987. The Pittsburgh depot was closed and the B&O rail yards were demolished. The land was reclaimed and today the Allegheny County Jail and the PNC Bank Firstside Center stand on land once owned by the railroad.

Photos of the B&O Rail Depot in Pittsburgh

The B&O rail yard along the banks of the Monongahela River in 1905.

  
The B&O railroad depot along Smithfield Street in the 1890s and again in 1911.

The B&O terminal building on the north end of the Smithfield Street Bridge in 1920.

  
The railroad depot in 1936 and in 1950.

  
The railroad depot in 1951 and the warehouse building in 1960.

For decades the B&O Railroad used the tracks of the P&LE Railroad for through trains in Western Pennsylvania.
This is a passenger car of the "Capitol Unlimited" on a stop at the P&LERR station in 1966.