a new group struck against the baltimore and ohio railroad beginning in july 18 77. ltimore police broke up the first round of strikers. then they took control of the key railroad junction in martinsburg west virginia. a battle between police and the mob required intervention by the militia. and eventually federal troops had to restore order. within days these kinds of schemes were wrapping around the country. in baltimore a mob tried to trap the militia in an armory. the militia fired and killed 10 people. in pittsburgh rioters burned railroads and destroyed the depot. while exchanging fire with troops. strikers in indianapolis seized control of the depot and halted all cars and trains except for ones carrying mail. by july 25th all the lines outside new england in the south are being affected one way or the other. you could feel the tension on streets around the country. in chicago businessmen can -- patrolled the streets cheering a potential revolution. in buffalo the revolution was underway. crowds swarmed the yard of the new york central. ultimately this great ra

baltimore and ohio railroad. wikipedia says it was the longest common carrier in the united states. but everybody forgets about the hamburg to charleston line. 60,000 bales of cotton's worth $2 million moved through hamburg each year. what happens to hamburg is that becomes a area where the railroad goes around it. to find another route. by 1876 hamburg is a ghost town. essentially. what you have after the civil war is african-american specializing in these places. what real estate you actually own. none of it. 40 acres and a mule? forget about it. the african-american church becomes the center of not just religious life of political life and civic life. that's the one building that. it becomes a schoolhouse at a recreation center and a political incubator at a place where people gather. with the firebombing churches that are doing more than just attacking the spiritual life of the people. they've been left behind in our ghost towns. you can buy real estate from us nothing. you can build a community. you can safeguard yourself and your kids and your community. that is what hamburg i

the baltimore and ohio railroad. if you look on wikipedia right now, it will say that it was the longest common carrier in the united states, because everybody forgets about the hamburg to charleston line chartered in 1827. it was the world's largest railroad in its completion in 1833, and 60,000 bales of cotton worth $2 million moved through hamburg each year. student: and i'm guessing this area before that was economically depressed? >> yes, and that is what we would see afterward. what happens to hamburg is that it becomes a spur town, where the railroad goes around it. finds another route. by 1876, hamburg is a ghost town, essentially. what you have after the civil war is african-americans specialized in these places. if you are african-american after the civil war, real estate -- what real estate do you actually own? none. 40 acres and a mule? forget about it. we are all familiar to the degree of which the african-american church becomes a center to not just religious life, but political life and civil life. a r

guest: it is the baltimore and ohio railroad museum.ou mentioned it because railroads were the shipping technology of the 19th and that railroad museum in baltimore, you can appreciate the profound influence that railroads had on america. we would not have the country we have today without the railroad, and they continue to be relevant and important in shaping our economic life. host: number 34 on the list, grand central station in midtown manhattan. randy joins us from virginia. could when. caller: good morning. -- host: good morning. caller: good morning. yourld like to add one to list, the battle in west virginia. it was recognized as the first battle of the american revolution, where they fought against the confederate. thank you. i hope people will create their own list when they look at the book. the fun part of this is to say, what would you include and what we do leave out? i hope that gets people talking about what is most important and what is most significant in american history, and i hope --ple talk about the themes freedom

the winning artwork will be on display at the national underground railroad freedom center in cincinnati, ohiof july. the contest deadline is may 20th, so get those entries in. good luck! >> a dutch firm and a software company are creating a robot that can build bridges. using technology similar to what printers use, the robot shoots out cords of molten steel in intricate patterns. once the steel hardens, the robot moves forward and shoots out more molten metal. it's like a train building its own tracks. the first test will be over an amsterdam canal in 2017. >> coming up, we go to the circus, and i get to meet an elephant. >> who doesn't love the circus? alexa visited one that bills itself as having a lot of "soul." >> when you go to the circus, you expect to see acrobats, wild animals, andnd other incredible acts from faraway countries. as zeke explained to me, the universoul circus certainly has all that. >> we bring different people from china. we bring them from africa. we bring them from brazil. we bring them from france. jean claude -- he's out of france. we go to africa. we go all over

the winning artwork will be on display at the national underground railroad freedom center in cincinnati, ohio of july. the contest deadline is may 20th, so get those entries in. good luck! >> a dutch firm and a software company are creating a robot that can build bridges. using technology similar to what printers use, the robot shoots out cords of molten steel in intricate patterns. once the steel hardens, the robot moves forward and shoots out more molten metal. it's like a train building its own tracks. the first test will be over an >> coming up, we go to the circus, and i get to meet an elephant.

railroad bridge between d.c. and virginia. it happened on the csx tracks that cross over ohio drive and parallel i-395. trains are moving on the bridge again, but officials held up vra, amtrak, and csx trains for more than two hours while firefighters put those flames out. the fire started on the railroad ties, but investigators are still trying to figure out how that could happen. the d.c. fire department had to use crews on land and also a fire boat underneath to get this fire under control. >>> some people have already made it to their memorial day destination. the beaches are packed. we're actually paying doug kammerer to go down there and be in the middle of it. >> we weren't paying them, but somebody is paying him to go downre how are you, doug? >> reporter: it was today. >> yeah, we know. >> reporter: we all got paid today. isn't it great? >> beautiful. i love it. >> reporter: when you come down here, every day is payday. not a lot of traffic here in d.c. or here in ocean city, but we saw a lot of traffic toward rehoboth a little bit earlier. the weather has been great so far. i want to show you