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Zoom program: The Lady Engineer and the Train – Remembering Olive W. Dennis and The Cincinnatian

Join Sharon Harwood in an immersive experience aboard the first run of the B&O’s Cincinnatian passenger train in January 1947. City officials, press, and railroad executives gathered for ribbon-cutting ceremonies in Cincinnati’s Union Terminal and the Washington, D.C., Union Station as the B&O Railroad presented its new daylight luxury streamliner. The Cincinnatian would become one of the most admired trains of its era, remembered even today for its beauty and amenities. The onboard experience was the creation of a remarkable civil engineer, Olive Wetzel Dennis. In this presentation, historian Sharon Harwood will detail her contributions to the B&O Railroad as a ‘real railroader’ and take us on the inaugural run of this remarkable train.

Sharon A. Harwood is a retired educator and administrator from Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland. Pursuing her interests in railroad history, she now reaches out to railroad historical societies and community groups presenting information about the life and achievements of Olive Wetzel Dennis, Engineer of Service on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 1920-1950.

This program originally aired on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. U.S. Central Time. At the presenter’s request, the recording is not available for later view.

 

The Cincinnatian was designed by Olive W. Dennis and put into service in 1947. Courtesy of Underwood Archives/Getty Images
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