TeleTales #89…The Early Days Of WMAR, Baltimore

TeleTales #89…The Early Days Of WMAR, Baltimore

These are the new WMAR mobile units in 1948, shortly after they became the third CBS Television affiliate. Up till then, CBS only had WCBS in New York and WCAU in Philadelphia. By comparison, NBC had at least six affiliates, and by the end of the year would have eleven.

WMAR was the eleventh licensed station in the country, and went on the air in ’47. They spent a year as an independent station because at the time, they did not know if they would be included in the Washington DC metro area or if Baltimore would become it’s own metro market. In early ’48 the FCC declared Baltimore a separate market area. The vans and TK30s are from RCA. Enjoy and share. -Bobby Ellerbee

Source

6 Comments

  1. John Mainelli February 24, 2015

  2. Michael Husser February 24, 2015

    Those buses would make great blues touring rigs!

  3. John Roger Bolin February 24, 2015

    Neither camera has a lens in the taking position-obiously a posed picture.

  4. Bill Morris February 24, 2015

    Any of those old trucks around, or have they gone the way of scrap?

  5. Bobby Reyes February 24, 2015

    …very cool photo ! ..thank you, Bobby E. ! !

  6. Eric R Boyer February 24, 2015

    Also I do remember they had names for these.. I thin they were the Whale and Hippo