Completion
The following president, Louis McLane (1786-1857), extended B&O to Cumberland by 1842, but further westward expansion was delayed by mountains and opposition from Virginia and Pennsylvania. The cost per mile of rail network for Baltimore and Ohio was $54,000, but in southern and western states, where terrain was fairly even, the cost was no more than $21,000. The last spike on the route from Baltimore to Wheeling was driven on Christmas Eve, 1852, with the first train entering Wheeling on January 1, 1853. A trip that had taken several days by turnpike stagecoach, now took 16 hours by passenger service from Baltimore.
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The owners of the Baltimore and Ohio now planned to build more direct lines westward to Cincinnati and St. Louis. Current President Thomas Swann (1806-83), gave up presidency of B&O in 1853 but became president of the new Northwestern Railroad of Virginia. Along with the growth in miles of track, freight cars, passengers, profits, and even investors also grew, and by 1854 the railroad had 380 miles of track.
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