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B&O Railroad Museum Opens Exhibit Commemorating The Civil War

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A look back in time. The B&O Railroad Museum opens the largest train exhibit in the world commemorating the pivotal battles of the Civil War 150 years ago.

Andrea Fujii reports on the exhibit.

Welcome to 1861 and the B&O Railroad's "The War Came by Train" exhibit.

"There are more than eight full-sized pieces here that people can wander in and out of and hear and learn about the stories about each piece of equipment, but also people that were associated with them," said Courtney Boyd Wilson, B&O Railroad Museum.

Each locomotive served in the war and is refurbished, including Abraham Lincoln's inaugural train.

Its engine was fully restored by Warner Brothers for the movie "Wild Wild West," and in October the museum will rev it up once again.

Just minutes after the exhibit opened, dozens of children came to visit.

Some parents, like the Schroeders, use this as an educational tool.

"We learn from our past, so it's good to teach them," said Benjamin Schroeder, parent.

"Letting them know how things started, how things came about," said Jennifer Schroeder, parent.

The invention of the train changed the war forever and the railroad through Baltimore in a border state played a pivotal role in the war.

"The loss of Baltimore would have meant that Washington and Lincoln would have been cut off from the rest of the Union," said Wilson.

The exhibit lasts for the next five years. For more information on tickets, click here.

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