The B&O (Baltimore & Ohio) Railroad Museum has announced that Benjamin H. Griswold IV will be joined by Steve Angel, the recently hired CSX President and CEO, to co-chair its $38 million capital campaign for restoration work ahead of American railroading’s bicentennial anniversary in 2027.
Angel took on the CSX leadership role in September, following Joe Hinrichs’ departure.
The B&O Railroad Museum is a historic site located on the original grounds of the B&O, the first steam-operated railroad in the United States to be chartered as a common carrier of freight and passengers. Its campus extends 40 acres into southwest/west Baltimore, Md., and features the first mile of commercial track ever laid in the country; five historic buildings, including the 1851 Mt. Clare Station (designated a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Site); and the 1884 B&O Roundhouse. CSX, the B&O’s successor, in 1987 officially transferred all land and property for the museum to a non-profit that became the B&O Railroad Museum.
As part of the capital campaign, the museum will restore its South Car Works building, which is said to be the oldest, continuously operating railroad repair facility in the United States if not the world (1869-1990). The 33,000-square-foot building’s transformation will include an Innovation Hall to exhibit the present and future of American railroading technology, as well as educational and historical archive space. Additionally, the building will serve as the new entrance to the museum. The museum said this will allow it to “reimagine its campus flow to face Southwest Baltimore to spark community economic development and to create the CSX Bicentennial Garden.”
CSX is donating $5 million to build the garden, which will include an amphitheater and multi-use space that can host local organizations and hold community gatherings. “This installation will serve as a vibrant event space and provide a fresh, new location to welcome visitors to the museum,” the railroad reported in 2023, when it became the first corporate patron to pledge support for the campaign, along with the state of Maryland, which included a $1 million grant in its FY2024 capital budget.
Benjamin H. Griswold IV became Co-Chair of the museum’s capital campaign in March. He is the great-great-great-great grandson of Alexander Brown, who in 1800 founded Alex. Brown & Sons, the first investment bank in the United States. “It was also at Alex’s son’s house where Baltimore [Maryland] merchants convened [in 1827] to charter the first American common carrier railroad to compete against New York merchants who were investing in the canal system,” according to the museum. “The B&O Railroad was conceived with the goal to reach the Ohio River from Baltimore to transport goods west. The B&O Railroad reached the Ohio River in 1852 and ultimately expanded over 10,000 miles.”
Griswold is a former Director of the New York Stock Exchange, Stanley Black & Decker Inc., W.P. Carey Inc. and Flowers Foods (Lead Director). He is currently Chairman Emeritus of W.P. Carey Inc. and Trustee Emeritus of the Johns Hopkins University.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the museum project was held in May 2025. The museum is said to have raised $28 million so far for the project, which is slated for completion in October 2026.
“CSX, as the proud successor to America’s first commercial railroad, is committed to honoring our heritage while advancing the future of rail,” Steve Angel said. “Co-chairing the B&O Museum’s 200th Anniversary Campus Transformation Campaign is an opportunity to help shape how that story is told—connecting past achievements with the innovation driving our industry forward. This effort isn’t just about celebration; it’s about creating an experience that will educate, inspire, and strengthen the connection between railroading and the communities it serves.”
“I’m thrilled to have Steve Angel join me as co-chair of the B&O Railroad Museum’s capital campaign,” Griswold said. “I look forward to working with him and am confident that together we will honor railroading’s legacy, celebrate its 200th anniversary, and prepare the museum and surrounding community for a bright future.”
“We’re extremely honored that Steve Angel, President and CEO of CSX, is joining the campaign as co-chair,” said Kris Hoellen, Executive Director of the B&O Railroad Museum. “Steve is a visionary and understands that the museum’s campus transformation is not just about celebrating our past, but also about leveraging our heritage to propel the Museum into its next 200 years. One could not ask for a stronger team at the helm than Steve and Ben!”
