I stumbled on this really fascinating article about quarrying on the Potomac River, something that I had never heard of. I knew that Smoot Sand & Gravel, a major customer for the B&O’s Georgetown Branch, did dredging in the Potomac River for sand and gravel, but I did not know they did quarrying, and to such a large scale! Apparently there were many, many quarries located on the Potomac shores which were all abandoned some time in the late 1930s/early 1940s. This article outlines some of those details and shows the location of one such quarry with equipment still left behind. Amazing. I will have to go!
https://blogs.weta.org/boundarystones/2017/06/13/little-italy-under-parkway
Ben: Great piece of history. You may enjoy a similar piece describing a site just east of Wheaton, MD: http://www.fosc.org/MysteryRuins.htm
I’m sure you are aware of the cement plant once found at the eastern terminus of the GB; it hosted a fairly extensive (for DC) collection of team tracks. Any photos or history on that enterprise?
I recall seeing a topo map a long time ago (in the 1980s) that showed a double ended siding above chain bridge. I want to say the map was dated 1924.
It was awhile ago and I am now questioning my memory.
A topo map of that date is not present in the historic aerials or USGS collections. No siding is listed in the 1913, 1917 or 1922 B&O form 6, nor in 1935 or 1941.
I can only imagine that this siding – if it actually existed – served these quarries. I cannot now find any such evidence. Did I in fact see this siding on a map as I recall? And was the map right? All this occurred before the internet and apparently never transferred over.