BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 14, 2026--
As the nation prepares to commemorate the 200th anniversary of American railroading in 2027, the B&O Railroad Museum, birthplace of American railroading, today announced it will become the National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation, reflecting its expanded national mission to preserve and interpret America's railroad heritage while exploring the innovations shaping the future of rail transportation.
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Rooted in the place where American railroading began, the museum's new name reflects a broader vision that honors the extraordinary legacy of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad while embracing rail's continuing role in shaping America's future.
"Nearly 200 years ago, a bold vision launched from this very place transformed our nation," said Kris Hoellen, executive director of the National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation. "As we prepare to commemorate the bicentennial of American railroading, we are embracing a name that reflects both our responsibility to preserve one of America's greatest transportation stories and our commitment to exploring where rail transportation is headed next."
Located on the 40-acre campus where the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad—the nation's first common carrier railroad—was founded, the museum occupies one of the most significant railroad sites in the United States. The campus is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a Smithsonian Affiliate and a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom site, preserving nationally significant collections and the historic B&O buildings and grounds where American railroading began.
While the institution's name is changing, its commitment to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad remains unwavering. The story of the nation's first common carrier railroad will continue to be central to the museum's exhibitions, collections, educational programs and historic campus.
“The B&O is not being left behind—it is the foundation upon which the museum's expanded role as a nationally significant institution is built,” added Hoellen. “With today’s announcement, we celebrate the past, the present and the possible.”
The announcement comes as the museum continues its transformative $38 million campus expansion, one of the most significant investments in its history. The project includes new visitor experiences, expanded gathering spaces and an outdoor amphitheater. As part of the expansion, the museum will also provide public access to its nationally significant railroad archives for the first time in its history. Comprising more than 30 million documents, the archives represent one of the nation's most important collections chronicling the history, development and impact of American railroading. The expansion will culminate in the opening of the Innovation Hall in 2027.
Opening in 2027 as part of the nation's commemoration of the 200th anniversary of American railroading, the Innovation Hall will introduce a first-of-its-kind museum experience showcasing the present and future of railroading technologies. Through immersive exhibits and interactive experiences, visitors will explore engineering, automation, sustainability, freight systems, passenger mobility and emerging innovations shaping the next generation of rail transportation. Together, the museum's historic campus and Innovation Hall will connect the place where American railroading began with the technologies shaping its future.
"This announcement represents a defining moment for one of our nation's most significant cultural institutions," said Maryland Governor Wes Moore. "The birthplace of American railroading has long preserved a story that began in Maryland and transformed America. As the National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation, it will continue to honor that extraordinary legacy while helping future generations understand rail's continuing importance to our economy, our communities and our future."
“As the direct corporate descendant of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, CSX is especially proud to celebrate this historic milestone," said Steve Angel, president and CEO of CSX. "The B&O lives on today through the railroad industry it helped create. We are proud to support an institution that honors this extraordinary legacy while embracing the innovation that continues to shape rail transportation."
The announcement also introduces a new visual identity and logo that reflect the museum's broader vision while honoring its historic roots.
"Our story began here," Hoellen said. "As the birthplace of American railroading, we have a responsibility to preserve that extraordinary legacy, explore how rail continues to shape our lives today, and inspire what is possible for the future. That is the vision behind the National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation."
About the National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation
The National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation is the birthplace of American railroading, located on the historic grounds of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the nation's first common carrier railroad. Situated on a 40-acre National Historic Landmark campus in Baltimore and recognized as a Smithsonian Affiliate and a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom site, the museum preserves one of the nation's most significant collections of railroad history while exploring the innovation and technologies shaping the future of rail transportation.
As the birthplace of American railroading, the museum is uniquely positioned to help the nation commemorate the 200th anniversary of American railroading in 2027 while preserving the legacy of the industry's first two centuries and exploring the possibilities that will shape its next century.
For more information on the National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation, visit www.nationalrailroad.org.
Kris Hoellen, Executive Director, and Francis Smyth, Board Chair, stand in front of the newly installed sign for the National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation.
BIDDEFORD, Maine (AP) — Hundreds of people protested in Maine on Tuesday over the killing of a Colombian man by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, after federal officials appeared to shift their narrative about the deadly encounter.
The Department of Homeland Security said an ICE officer, “fearing for public safety,” shot and killed the man Monday in Biddeford while officers were watching the home of someone they believed was in the U.S. illegally and had a final order of removal from the country.
The department said in a post on X that when ICE tried to stop a car driven by someone coming from the home, the vehicle attempted to flee and the officer fired his weapon.
That was a change from how Maine Sen. Angus King described the encounter hours earlier, when he said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the officer opened fire after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon. King said Mullin told him the officers were trying to serve an arrest warrant, but not for the man who was shot.
The driver was Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian national, the Colombian Embassy told The Associated Press in a statement.
In a scathing post on X, outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the shooting a targeted killing “at the hands of the U.S. government.”
Petro, who has openly quarreled with U.S. President Donald Trump, urged Trump to provide an explanation and accused ICE officers of treating Durán Guerrero as “an inferior being without rights.”
The shooting has sparked outrage in Biddeford and the wider area. Protesters gathered Tuesday outside of an ICE detention center in Scarborough, which is just up the coast between Biddeford and Portland.
“These people are killers and they must leave our state now,” organizer Todd Chretien told the gathering, including some who held signs reading "Stop the murder” and “End this terror.”
Durán Guerrero's shooting marked the second time in a week that ICE used deadly force and at least the ninth death since Trump began his immigration crackdown.
The officers involved in shooting in Biddeford, which is just southwest of Portland, didn’t have body cameras, leaving many questions about what transpired. Among them are how close the officer was to the vehicle when they fired, whether officers told Durán Guerrero to stop, and how ICE believes he had put the public in danger.
“We are always evaluating our procedures to keep our officers safe and criminals off our streets. We will not disclose or discuss law enforcement tactics,” an ICE spokesperson said in a statement.
Maine’s other senator, Republican Susan Collins, said Mullin told her that DHS’ Office of Inspector General is investigating in cooperation with the FBI.
Photos showed bullet holes in the car’s windshield.
The Maine attorney general’s office, which said it's working cooperatively with federal agencies to investigate, said initial statements suggest the driver was trying to flee in the direction of the officer, whose name hasn't been released and who was placed on leave.
Video from a nearby business' security camera obtained by the AP shows a white car slowly approaching an intersection before making several circles. A law enforcement SUV blocked its path and two officers opened the driver’s door and dragged out a limp body.
It isn't clear from the video when the shots were fired.
Daniel Boucher, who lives nearby, said he heard a “pop, pop, pop” and ran to the intersection.
“His face was bloody. His head was bloody,” Boucher said. “I clearly heard the victim say, ‘I tried to stop.’”
At one point, Boucher said, the officer who shot Durán Guerrero walked close to him.
“He looked at me and said, ‘He tried to run me over,’ or something to that effect,” Boucher said. “I don’t remember his exact words.”
Two advocacy groups — the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! — said Durán Guerrero was authorized to work in the U.S.
Neighbors say Durán Guerrero was a friendly and familiar face even though they rarely chatted because he didn’t appear to speak English.
Sadie Dilboy and Cory Poulin, who own a laundromat near the intersection where the car came to a stop, said they saw Durán Guerrero all the time.
“Everyone knows him,” said Dilboy, who remembered that he often came to their store with his daughter and gave her quarters to buy candy.
Claudia Morton, who lives near Durán Guerrero and his family and often waved to him, was distraught over the shooting. “The whole world should be crying,” she said Tuesday.
Last week in Houston, an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo after federal authorities driving unmarked vehicles pursued him while he was driving to a construction job site.
The two shootings come amid a Trump administration push to carry out its mass deportations agenda. Over five days at the end of June, ICE arrested more than 10,000 people.
The figures indicate that while the administration is no longer cracking down on individual cities, arrests are surging. The administration’s enforcement efforts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.
Brook reported from New Orleans and Sisak from New York. Associated Press reporters Astrid Suarez in Bogota, Colombia, Rebecca Santana in Washington and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
Dr. Nirav Shah, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks to reporters a day after a shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Tuesday, July 14, 2026 in Biddeford, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Attendees stand during a vigil after a man was shot and killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday, July 13, 2026, in Biddeford, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A demonstrator fights back tears at an anti-ICE rally after a man was shot and killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday, July 13, 2026, in Biddeford, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Blood is seen on the pavement near the scene of a shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Monday, July 13, 2026 in Biddeford, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A man pauses to view a makeshift memorial to the victim of a shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Tuesday, July 14, 2026 in Biddeford, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
