Monthly Archives: February 2024

Rails at the Connecticut Ave Crossing Persist

A recent post by the Purple Line folks got me thinking about how much the Connecticut Ave crossing at Chevy Chase has changed in recent years. Here are a small collection of Google Map screenshots showing the conditions:

2023 – the new overhead bridge is up, but yet, the old rails still poke through the roadway in some places. Amazing.
2019 – The bridge had not been erected and the road was being resurfaced, revealing the tracks one more. Note that the island is now blocking the tracks.
2017 – As late as this, the tracks are still evident and there is a break in the right of way for the tracks to pass through. As if that train would one day come.

May 13, 1924: Flooding in Georgetown

May 13, 1924. Boat houses above Georgetown. Note the B&O hand car and scale house at the top.
May 13, 1924. Boat houses above Georgetown. Note the B&O hand car and scale house at the top. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.86004

Stumbled across this photo on eBay earlier this week (above) and it reminded me that I’ve been sitting on a handful of really fascinating images I found on the Library of Congress site capturing the flood of May 13, 1924. Like so many things on eBay it’s far from rare or original, but rather just an overpriced print of a Library of Congress file that you can snag at high-res via the website. Pro tip – before you purchase that print, search the LoC thoroughly to possibly save yourself some dough.

The subject matter is interesting because it shows not only the scale house in Georgetown, but also a hand cart full of railroad employees, no doubt headed out to inspect the line as the waters recede. Note the jacks and other tools they have on the cart. They would have been met with some troubling finds. There are many photos on the LoC – here is a selection of relevant ones I found interesting. In the following image I believe it is the same crew; note the lighter color pants on the gentleman standing at the back left of the hand cart, visible in both photos. Note the detail of the scale and scale house as well as all the equipment around the section shed.

May 13, 1924. The B&O section crew prepares to head out to inspect the line. The view is from the Aqueduct bridge facing west. The section shed is on the left and the scale and scale house is visible to the right. Also note the trunk of the water column in the bottom left.
Flood. , 1924. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016837495/.

A neat thing I noticed, if you look really closely in the top right, you’ll see a B&O steam loco doing some switching, with someone sitting on the front pilot. It is likely moving the freight cars you’ll see in some of the next photos. Pretty cool!

A B&O steam engine is visible in the distance.
A B&O steam engine is visible in the distance.
May 13, 2024. View from the Aqueduct bridge again, now facing east. Looking down on the boat yards adjacent to the Key Bridge, much of it washed away and damaged. B&O hopper 135925 and others sit loaded with aggregates, likely from the Smoot Sand & Gravel plant.
May 13, 1924 . View from the Aqueduct bridge again, now facing east. Looking down on the boat yards adjacent to the Key Bridge, much of it washed away and damaged. B&O hopper 135925 and others sit loaded with aggregates, likely from the Smoot Sand & Gravel plant.
Flood. , 1924. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016837490/.

Eric Hansmann has a wonderful set of resources for the 1926 B&O freight car fleet: https://designbuildop.hansmanns.org/bo-freight-car-fleet-of-1926/

B&O Hopper 135925 is a class W-1 (135000-135999) 2511 cu/ft capacity, blt 1910. A bit further down the line, just past the boathouses and at the west end of the long passing siding, we come to another string of hoppers and some folks who have rescued their belongings from the floodwaters. The shoreline of the Potomac was absolutely littered with small shacks and cabins that folks had to escape the downtown hustle-and-bustle. Stretching all the way up to Chain Bridge, these shacks were a fascinating part of the history of Georgetown.

 May 13, 2024. We're a bit further west now, at the end of the long passing siding and near the small 2-track yard that was there. Have yet to figure out the purpose of that yard, but the coal car in the distance is spotted on one of the sidings.
May 13, 1924. We’re a bit further west now, at the end of the long passing siding and near the small 2-track yard that was there. Have yet to figure out the purpose of that yard, but the coal car in the distance is spotted on one of the sidings.
Flood. , 1924. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016837488/.

Attempting to ID the freight cars, it looks like from the right to left we have:

  • 1: Philadelphia & Reading 77xxx – 34′ 55-ton arch bar trucks, 1880 cu.ft. capacity hopper, class HTh (nos 74500 – 78999), built 1916-17 by Standard Steel Car. Approx. 4495 on the roster in 1924. Detailed roster info from RT&HS. Builders photo from Kinkaid collection here and here.
  • 2: Philadelphia & Reading 30′ 40-ton, 1485 cu.ft. capacity hopper, class HTk (nos 61000 – 61863), being rebuilt in 1921 from HTb (blt 1902) series 60000-60999 by AC&F. Note unusual Fox Pressed Steel Trucks. In 1924 there were 854 on the roster. Detailed roster info from RT&HS Pic from Kinkaid collection.
  • 3 & 4: Based on the distinctive side sills, these appear to also be Philadelphia & Reading class HTf hoppers, but slightly modified from as-built images I found. The HTf (86000-89999) was a 34′, 55 ton, 1843 cu.ft. capacity car with arch bar trucks. They were built in four batches from 1910-11 and again in 1913. In 1924 there were 3970 on the rails. Likely after shopping they received grab irons on the sides as well as some sort of bracket/brace above each bolster on the side sill. Early photos do not show these brackets. Here are some builders photos from the Kincaid collection one two three. Here is a photo of one with the brackets from Shamokin Div website. Detailed roster info from RT&HS.
  • 5 & 6 These cars are just too far off for me to get a read on what they are.

I believe the cars are actually being moved. Why? Because in this next photo, which is of the same subjects, there are different cars in view:

May 13, 2024. Same spot as previous photo, looking toward the track. The freight cars have moved! BO 328805.
May 13, 1924. Same spot as previous photo, looking toward the track. The freight cars have moved! BO 328805.
Flood. , 1924. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016837496/.

Two B&O Hoppers in view:

  • 1: BO 328805, class N-12g (327000-331999) (4998 cars) 1800 cu.ft capacity, blt 1923.
  • 2: BO ? – appears to possibly be another N-12 class.
May 13, 2024.  View of the shack seen above, looking out at the Potomac. Note the white tent in the distance, you'll see it in the next photo shot from the Virginia shore.
May 13, 1924. View of the shack seen above, looking out at the Potomac. Note the white tent in the distance, you’ll see it in the next photo shot from the Virginia shore.
Flood. , 1924. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016837486/.
View from the Virginia shore looking back at Georgetown. The hopper cars seen above are visible just left of center.
May 13, 1924. View from the Virginia shore looking back at Georgetown. The hopper cars seen above are visible just left of center.
Flood. , 1924. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016837494/.
May 13, 2024, Wash out of the Canal above Georgetown. The tracks of the B&O Georgetown Branch would likely be on the other side of the Canal towpath (washed out).
May 13, 1924, Wash out of the Canal above Georgetown. The tracks of the B&O Georgetown Branch would likely be on the other side of the Canal towpath (washed out). https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.86005

The B&O RR had gained a controlling stake in the C&O Canal, in 1890 it was put into receivership. The B&O wanted to prevent other railroads from purchasing the right of way. A history of damaging floods and maintenance headaches meant that the canal was holding on for dear life but thanks to many unusual years of relatively minor flood issues, the canal soldiered on. The B&O had to maintain it just enough to keep it in service, which they did. That is until 1924.

May 13, 2024. High Water at Chain Bridge. The B&O Georgetown Branch right of way is visible just above where the bridge makes landfall across the river, evidenced by the steep cut.
May 13, 1924. High Water at Chain Bridge. The B&O Georgetown Branch right of way is visible just above where the bridge makes landfall across the river, evidenced by the steep cut. Here is the location on Google Maps. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.86001

The first flood of 1924 came in March but it was largely focused on Northern sections of the Canal. Repairs were not too overwhelming and were undertaken by contractors for the B&O. The flood that occurred two months later in May was another story, and proved to be too much for the Canal to survive in the long run. By August of that year, the Canal had largely been shut down save for some sections kept open for various contract obligations.

May 13, 1924, Chain Bridge during high water.
May 13, 1924, Chain Bridge during high water. View from Virginia shore. Georgetown Branch right of way in the distance.
Flood. , 1924. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016837498/.

There were many historic floods on the Potomac, and many which affected operations on the Georgetown Branch. In fact, in many instances, the flooding dictated the survival of the line – remember famously the engine that was stranded in Georgetown after the devastating flooding from Hurricane Agnes, which toppled the Rock Creek trestle and damaged many waterfront industries. The 1924 flood, in particular, was interesting because afterwards the B&O was finally able to neglect the waterway, performing only minor maintenance on it until selling to the National Park Service in the late 1930s.

May 13, 1924, Chain Bridge during high water.
May 13, 1924, Chain Bridge during high water. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.86000

More LoC photos here: https://www.loc.gov/search/?in=&q=11200+flood&new=true

A fantastic history of the C&O Canal and flooding, published by the National Park Servicehttps://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/choh/trouble.pdf