"The Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road" Staffordshire Transferware Soup Dish

Staffordshire transferware soup dish by Enoch Wood & Sons, circa 1830.
 
Dimensions: Approximately 9¼” diameter
 
Decoration: 
The border is decorated with Wood’s shell pattern.
 
The central scene is of an early steam engine and cars crossing a landscape. In the background a similar engine and cars are shown.
 
The reverse bears a printed cartouche with an American eagle and shield and the words “The Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road”, what appears to be an impressed “Z”, and an impressed Woods mark.
 
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was built to transport freight and transport over the Allegheny Mountains. It was begun in 1828, but not until June 1831 was a practical steam locomotive built for regular service. This locomotive was perfected by Phineas Davis of York, Pennsylvania, for the Baltimore & Ohio.
 
The source for the central design appears to be an engraving of Hetton Railroad, England, published in 1826. It was first published in The American Traveller Broadside, Boston in 1826 and subsequently reproduced in Dunbar's History of Travel in America, Vol II, p.725.
 
A second version of this design shows the engine and cars climbing an incline. 
 
References: 
“Historical Staffordshire An Illustrated Check-List” by David & Linda Arman. 
 
“American Historical Views on Staffordshire China” by Larsen.
 
“Historical Staffordshire: American Patriots and Views” by Snyder.
 
Condition: Minor staining on the reverse, otherwise in excellent condition consistent with age and usage.