The Martin F. O'Rourke Memorial Railroad Library at Bowie Tower is a public reference library of railroad books, materials, manuals, maps, publications, timetables, and other railroad related materials and ephemera. The project's purpose is to preserve information about railroads and share that information with the public.

Currently our catalog contains well over 900 books and manuals. The library also has several hundred additional vintage magazines and other periodicals and an assortment of railroad timetables making the total number of items in the collection well over 1,800. The library also has a small childrens' section (a few non-train books too) with an array of books suitable for kids from two and up to help you entertain your little companion when you spend time at the library. For more information on the collection and how it can be used, see our Services section.

The library, which opened to the public on September 22nd, 2007 in a formal ceremony, is operated by the Washington, D.C. Chapter, Inc., of the National Railway Historical Society in partnership with the City of Bowie, Maryland and its Museums Division. The library is located in the base of the former Pennsylvania Railroad Interlocking Tower at the Huntington Museum in historic old Bowie, right next to the tracks of Amtrak's (formerly Pennsylvania Railroad) high speed Northeast Corridor and at the north end of CSX's (formerly Pennsylvania Railroad) Pope's Creek Branch.

Our library is designed, organized, catalogued, and managed by a professional librarian. It is open to the public six days a week. Visitors will be able to browse the collection and read books, magazines, railroad timetables, and railroad technical manuals, and look at other railroad related material in the library. This is a reference library; few if any materials will be "removable" from the facility but reproduction capability will be available for a small fee. The library contains mostly an assortment of materials on U.S. Railroads and dates from the late 1880's to present. Currently the library has a broad focus on railroading history because of the nature of the materials we have obtained. Over time the focus of the library is expected to become increasingly that of the Washington, D.C. region, surrounding areas, and railroads that historically served or still serve these areas.

The library is named in honor of longtime member and former Chapter President Martin F. O'Rourke.

The City of Bowie, Maryland is an outstanding partner in this project. Without their genuine cooperation, enthusiasm, and support this educational project would not be possible. We are especially appreciative of the support of the City's Museums Division.

On April 14th 2012 a group of DCNRHS Library volunteers banded together to recover some unique Washington, D.C. railroad history from a damp, musty basement in Suburban Maryland that was literally crammed with rail history from all over the world (most of it streetcar related). Some of the material goes back 150 years. It took two pickup trucks, two SUVs, and a car to haul the treasure trove of history away from an estate that was anything but your run of the mill railroad ephemera. Over the next several years, led by our intrepid and extremely talented Librarian Erik Delfino, DCNRHS volunteers will sort through the "treasure" to catalog and sort the material and find proper final destinations for items that do not fit our collection. The efforts of our volunteers, enabled through the cooperation of the Baltimore Streetcar Museum, will benefit the DCNRHS and most importantly FUTURE GENERATIONS, for years to come. For that is our ultimate job, preservation and education about our railroads and their rich and storied history. Photo by J. Lilly.

The Liberty Limited, an all-private car special train carrying wounded soldiers, sailors, and marines to the 2006 Army vs. Navy football game, passes Bowie Tower on December 2, 2006. Photo by Teresa Renner.