The Baltimore Belt Line, opened in 1895, connected the main line to the Philadelphia Branch without the need for a car ferry across the Patapsco River, but the cost of constructing the Howard Street Tunnel drove the B&O to bankruptcy in 1896.
Baltimore Belt Line åbnede i 1895 og forbandt hovedlinjen med sidelinjen til Philadelphia uden at der var behov for en færge over Patapsco floden, men prisen for at bygge Howard Street Tunnelen fik B&O til at gå bankerot i 1896.