Photo Provided The Great Stone Viaduct Historical Education will dedicate a historical marker at the Great Stone Viaduct plaza in Bellaire as people learn about the history of the railroad during the Baltimore & Ohio Mini-Con on May 2-3. Here, a train crosses the viaduct that spans the village.

BELLAIRE — Railroad history buffs can enjoy a weekend filled with the story of the railroad in Bellaire and across Ohio.

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Mini-Con gets underway at 7 p.m. May 2 and resumes at 8 a.m. May 3.

Friday evening will feature a reception at the Great Stone Viaduct plaza that will be open to members of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Historical Society and the public for a meet and greet, bridge lighting and light refreshments.

Saturday’s adventure will be at the Bellaire Public Library community room at 330 32nd St.

The day will include speakers such as David Slie, who will talk about the movie “Unstoppable: Behind the Scenes;” William Carmen to talk about the Wheeling Bridge and Terminal Company Railroad; Ed Mowrer speaking about “The Great Stone Viaduct: Bridging Past to Present Over 150 Years;” Bill Logan to talk about Ohio’s last narrow gauge railway with “Bellaire to Zanesville on the O.R.&W;” and Baltimore & Great Stone Viaduct Historical Education Society’s Dan Frizzi to give two presentations.

The Great Stone Viaduct Society is sponsoring the event.

People from all over the Midwest will be coming to participate in the weekend, including folks from Kansas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Michigan, Virginia and Massachusetts. Frizzi expects 60-65 people to attend the event Saturday.

One must be a member of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Historical Society to attend Saturday’s presentations; however, the bridge lighting and reception at the Great Stone Viaduct plaza is open to the community for free Friday evening. Members of the Great Stone Viaduct Society who would like to attend Saturday’s events can register at the door for $12.

On Friday night, the society will be dedicating a historic marker that was provided to the Great Stone Viaduct Society by the Pomeroy Foundation. The historic marker is to commemorate Bellaire as the Eastern terminus of the central Ohio Railroad.

The Baltimore & Ohio Historical Society put on this event every year in a different location and chose Bellaire this year because of the Great Stone Viaduct.

“That’s a big deal,” Frizzi said. “So that’s why that was chosen this year. People want to come and see the viaduct and the bridge and see it lit at night.”

The Great Stone Viaduct Society tried to put together historical presentations that are going to help foster learning and understanding of how important the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was to the development of the community in the area, Frizzi said.

“We hope that folks that attend are going to get to see this magnificent structure called the Great Stone Viaduct,” he said.

The Great Stone Viaduct was known as the “great short line” to the west when it was built because once the viaduct and bridge were built across the Ohio River in 1871, trains could leave Baltimore and go all the way to Cincinnati, St. Louis and Chicago. The stone arches of the viaduct served as a bridge approach to elevate trains to the proper level to enter and exit the bridge.

Frizzi described the viaduct as the thoroughfare for the nation during the 1800s and even into the 1900s.

“It’s going to bring people from all over the Midwest for the mini convention. And many of these folks, the reason that they’re members of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Historical Society is because the B&O railroad touched the communities where they are from,” Frizzi said. “So this is kind of an opportunity for them to learn more about the impact that the railroad had on the nation.”