All posts by bsullivan

Checking In

News
Taking a call on the Southern RR steam loco telephone while at the Great Scale Model Train Show last month.

It’s been three months since my last post and a lot has been going on. Between sending my kids off to college, presenting a clinic on the Georgetown Branch at the Mid Atlantic Railway Prototype Modelers meet, a trip to Portugal to watch my daughter compete in the Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championship, prepping for and attending the Great Scale Model Train Show for the weekend as a vendor with my model RR club, presenting a clinic on upgrading Proto2000 GP7/GP9’s for the Potomac Division of the Mid East Region, NMRA, Parents weekend at aforementioned kids’ schools (JMU/Quinnipiac), traveling to New England to visit family for a long weekend, attending a Slowdive concert in Philadelphia and a Brothertiger show in DC, layout ops and open houses and much more…

So, yeah, it’s been hectic. The Georgetown Branch project has taken a back seat this Fall to “life” but fear not, it’s still very much active and moving forward in different ways. I have been talking to Kelly a lot lately as he pushes through with his designs of the Whipple Truss bridge across the C&O Canal. He’s been working on this for the last couple years and recently revamped his approach, integrating steel beams for support due to the wide span. Testing of the fine 3D printed parts continues with promising results. I think he’s close to a final design and will be producing test prints soon. It’s exciting times.

Test fitting bridge parts.
The first iteration at the top, with a carbon fiber center spar. Steel beams at the bottom for reference.
Kelly measuring the deflection on the steel bars across the span with the weight of one loco in the center.

Follow along on Kelly’s Blog.

Regarding the MARPM Georgetown Branch presentation, which hopefully some of you witnessed. Fear not. While that clinic was not recorded, I will be presenting it online for the OpSIG group Virtual Meetup on December 8th, at 7:00pm. It will hopefully be recorded and posted to their YouTube channel afterward for public viewing.

1970 National Christmas Tree in Georgetown

History, Prototype

I stumbled on this image on eBay and had to snag it. Yes, I know it’s not great with “A-OK” Paddy taking up most of the frame, but these things are hard to come by so I’ll take what I can get. 🙂 Anyway, this depicts one of the most cursed shipments I’ve ever heard of on the Georgetown Branch.

November 28, 1970. Caption on the back: “Giving the okay sign is C.L. “Paddy” Ingvalson, president of the Keep South Dakota Green Association, who was on hand Friday when the National Christmas Tree was unloaded after a trip from Rapid City, S.D. The closely-guarded train was twice-derailed on the journey. The tree will be erected in the Ellipse, south of the White House. Lighting is scheduled for Dec. 16.”

Since 1954 the National Christmas Tree was shipped via rail from destinations far and wide across America, often arriving in Georgetown to be transloaded by crane to a flatbed truck, driven across DC to the Mall, and erected in front of the White House for the Pageant of Peace. In 1970, a 78′ spruce in Nemo, South Dakota was selected. The tree was felled on Nov 10th and loaded onto a truck for the 22 mile journey to Rapid City, SD. There it was loaded onto Chicago North Western 132577, a 70-ton 65’6″ gondola, to begin its journey to the Nation’s Capital on Nov 16th.

CNW 132577 with the National Christmas Tree, Proviso yard, Chicago, IL. Chicago North Western Historical Society

Unfortunately the train derailed twice along the way. The first was two days after departing Rapid City near the town of Beemer, NE on Wed Nov 18th when the train took a siding and derailed.

Train Derailment Slows Nations Christmas Tree – Fremont Tribune – Fremont, NB – November 18, 1970

The ill-fated train would derail again, this time outside of Pittsburg, PA. It arrived a bit early to DC and had to layover from November 24 to 27 on the US Army Map Agency siding, adjacent to the south entrance of Dalecarlia Tunnel. The train would continue on to Georgetown on November 28, where it would arrive in the yard to be transloaded onto a flatbed truck and head to its final destination, the National Mall, where it would be the centerpiece of the Pageant of Peace.

December 6, 1970. After erection, the tree was blown over by high winds over 50mph. Historic Images photo.
December 7, 1970. The next day, the tree was righted and repaired. Historic Images photo.
December 15, 1970. The lights were tested on the tree. “President Nixon will officially light the tree on 12/16 to open the Pageant of Peace.” Historic Images photo.

Switching the Georgetown Branch in 1995?!

History, Prototype

You read that right! Friend Matt Robertson shared two photos he shot himself back in October 1995 of local D782 (out of Jessup, MD by this time) working the Mason-Dixon Recycling plant, which of course used to be E.C. Keys; one of the oldest industries on the GB.

Matt writes: “Local is the D782 which operated out of Jessup on weekday afternoons. They worked industries on the Capital Sub and Metropolitan Sub as far west as Derwood in this era. Honestly I don’t know where the tank car came from. They are working the only place left on the GT branch by this time. I believe it loaded scrap paper and the two Railbox cars will be placed. I think maybe they pulled some cars out too but unfortunately these pics are the only two I took.”

Oct 9, 1995: Local D782 backs down the Georgetown Branch spur, headed toward the Mason Dixon Recycling plant. Photo by Matt Robertson.
Oct 9, 1995: Local D782 working the Mason Dixon Recycling plant. EMD GP38-2 CSX 2699 (Blt 1979 as SCL 6048) is the power for the day. Photo by Matt Robertson.

Going back through my notes, to add some context to the Junction in the later years, I found a reference from the old Yahoo! Group where Christopher Parker wrote: “I first saw Georgetown Junction in 1981 and the coal trestle hadn’t been there for some time. It was an empty gravel lot, with only a concrete abutment and the bit of track that rested on solid ground. No switch. At that time the Mason-Dixon Recycling siding was gone too. It was Silver Spring Recycling then, and I remember seeing lots of Garden State Paper trucks up there. Sometime between 1982 and 1984 (?) the siding was relayed. The USGS topo map from 1971 shows the coal trestle, but that’s not terribly reliable.”

New Talbot Ave Bridge is Open

Georgetown Branch related links, History, News, Prototype
View across the new Talbot Ave bridge, looking North. Photo: MDOT

The new Talbot Ave bridge across the Metropolitan Branch at Georgetown Jct has officially opened.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/transportation/new-talbot-avenue-bridge-opens-in-silver-spring/3624819/

https://x.com/MCDOTNow/status/1795569974876270652

Facing Southeast. Photo: Purple Line

https://x.com/PurpleLineMD/status/1784587184927801627

Interesting Wilkins Rogers 1958 “OBJECTIONAL ODORS” sign

History, Prototype
Wilkins Rogers Milling Co building sign. DC Historic Society. Emil A. Press slide collection. Item PR 0086A.

The Hopfenmaier rendering plant was a fixture on the Georgetown waterfront, producing constant odors of putrescence from 1873 to its demise in 1971. The Wilkins Rogers milling co across the street produced baking goods, receiving grains via rail and shipping out their mixes to local grocery stores and distributors via truck. In the 1950s and 1960s, as more and more of Georgetown became residential, folks were really starting to take notice of the incredible odors that permeated. Even when the plant wasn’t operating, on very hot days the caked-on slime and sludge from the plant would permeate the air along the waterfront. At some point around 1958, in protest, the Wilkins Rogers company had this sign created and mounted prominently on their mill where passing motorists on the Whitehurst Freeway could view it.

It read “THE OBJECTIONAL ODORS YOU MAY NOTICE IN THIS AREA, DO NOT ORIGINATE IN THIS PLANT. W.R.MLG. CO.”

In the late 1960s the government even used a sort of “smell-o-meter” to try to detect dangerous levels of chemicals. This failed, but eventually the Government “won” by buying out the Hopfenmaier company and razing it ca 1971.

Additional reading:

Searching for that old Washington Flour sign about ‘objectionable odors’ along the Whitehurst Freeway

AIA Honors The Rebuilders Of History

Two Special Photos – Dalecarlia and Rock Creek Trestle, 1949

History, Prototype

Earlier this week my model railroad club visited the historic B&O station in downtown Silver Spring, MD to assist in reassembling the model railroad there in the baggage room. The layout had recently been moved due to some HVAC work above. While there, the host gave me a tour of the building. As I entered the station master’s office, and was glancing around, a poster board with photos caught my eye. On it were a collection of images from the long time Silver Spring station agent, Robert Davis, taken in the late 1940s mostly depicting the railroad in the area; wrecks, maintenance work, etc. But there were two photos that jumped off the poster for me. First is this image of the Rock Creek Trestle:

“November 18, 1948. Looking West. B&O Trestle over Rock Creek, Georgetown Subdivision.” Photo by Robert Davis.

The reason this image is so special to me, is it is perhaps the best image I’ve seen that shows the trestle as it stood from the mid 1940’s until the Hurricane Agnes flood of 1972 when the west side of the trestle collapsed, forever changing the bridge. The trestle was demolished in 2019 to make way for the Purple Line. We are looking north in the photo, trains to Georgetown would be heading to the left.

“February 17, 1949. Looking East. The Dalecarlia Tunnel, now part of the Capital Crescent Trail.” Photo by Robert Davis.

This image shows the south portal of the Dalecarlia Tunnel. For context, just eight months earlier the B&O ran an excursion for the MSME, taking Q-1c 4320 out for a grand trip to Georgetown and back.

“B&O Engine emerging from Dalecarlia tunnel on Georgetown Branch, May 1948 [sic]” Photo by Paul Westhaeffer. B&ORRHS Collection.

It was a delight to stumble upon these two photos. I am always looking for images to fill in the gaps of understanding and context as I do my research and these are two that I’d never before seen. I am hoping that there are more!

Layout Progress – Lower Deck

Model RR, News

Over the last two weekends I managed to squeeze two big work sessions in and made some great progress. First up was nailing down the rough track plan based on lots of trial and error over the last year.

Working on the lower deck track plan, sketching and mocking things up. The tracks to the left will be Dalecarlia water treatment plant. The track curves downhill into the “long siding” west of Georgetown. If/when the bridges over the C&O Canal are built, they will go in the left corner where the track swings to the left near the wall.
And some of Georgetown mocked up. This is the “new yard”. The photographer is standing at the foot of Wisconsin Ave looking West. I’ve managed to fit every track in the yard on the layout.

So, this weekend Kelly was able to swing by and we had a marathon construction session. After checking all of the templates and doing a lot of measuring, we took them up to the garage for some cutting.

Kelly cutting out some of the curved sub roadbed.
Kelly installing the splice plate at the apex of the “long siding” sub roadbed. Having a drill and impact driver make this process go a lot faster.
I persuaded Kelly to pause for a moment so I could snap a photo. This man is a force of nature!

After cutting the sub roadbed and splicing it together, we measured and cut risers. We then spent a considerable amount of time figuring out the grades, as Dalecarlia is a few inches higher than Georgetown on the layout. After a LOT of fiddling and experimenting, we got it figured out and permanently installed the risers. Last was cutting and installing Homasote over all of the Georgetown waterfront area (the plywood-covered sections.) It turns out I was shot one 28″ square piece, but thankfully Kelly has some extra at his house that he is going to give to me. Sweet! Here are a couple wrap up photos of what the layout currently looks like:

Dalecarlia on the left, down-grade to Georgetown at the end of the room, Georgetown is the Homasote section.
Standing at the other end of the room. Georgetown stretches out to the left.

Next steps are to do a bit of finishing on the Homasote and fasten it to the plywood base. I will also finish designing and building the bridge from the helix into the layout room, which will be a basic sheet of plywood and Masonite. I then need to empty out the room so I can get under the layout to cut holes and run bus cables. I need to do some work on the walls and figure out the backdrop corners as well as a few other things. A huge thanks to Kelly for pushing me today to get all of this done! The most progress I’ve made in a very long time.

Onward.

1951 Georgetown Aerial Images

Georgetown Branch related links, History, News, Prototype

While going through some old notes today I found a link to the USGS EarthExplorer website with the note “will want to create a login.” This puzzled me, so I went ahead and explored the site a bit. After creating a login (a somewhat involved process) I was able to access some pretty wonderful imagery. There are aerials going back to 1949 and some of them are full of tremendous detail that I enjoyed exploring. First up is a crop of the downtown Georgetown area:

Georgetown, DC. July 5, 1951. USGS image.

Let’s drill down a bit.

Georgetown, DC. July 5, 1951. USGS image.

Starting on the east end of town, we see a relatively busy yard full of boxcars, covered hoppers and a gondola. The photo was taken in early July so it’s not surprising that there aren’t too many coal cars in the yard. The switching loco is visible at the top right next to the Whitehurst. Note the sharp shadows being cast. A fantastic view of the Smoot Sand & Gravel operation along with the cement vendors next door. It’s pretty incredible how many trucks they had! The idle power plant stands silent.

Georgetown, DC. July 5, 1951. USGS image.

On the north side of Whitehurst we get a closer look at some industries. To the right is the West Heating Plant and its large coal yard. Next is the diminutive King & Sons Coal, still in service, but not long for the world. Next door is the massive sprawling W. T. Galliher Lumber complex with its large storage yard. They were a major customer of the Branch up to near its end. Further left is the massive Rosslyn Steel shed, with a freight car on the siding leading into the plant. Note that about four years prior the massive cement silo structure which sat along that curved track had been removed. Next is the DC Incinerator and then Wisconsin Ave.

Georgetown, DC. July 5, 1951. USGS image.

Now we get a nice look at the “new yard” which is really packed! From my eyes, it looks like there’s ten carloads of gravel (or other aggregate) sitting in the yard along with many boxcars and at least one gondola. On the left side of the yard are the two old MoW cars which housed equipment. The Maloney Concrete batch plant was across the street. Several other industries are visible as we move further to the west.

Georgetown, DC. July 5, 1951. USGS image.

Finally, here’s the west end of the industrial area of town. Some great views of Lone Star cement, Key Bridge and all the layout of industries in this area. For sure all of these images will be indispensable when planning the Georgetown area of my model RR because this is pretty much exactly how I’d like to represent it! Very exciting to find this image set.

1936 Capitol Limited Passing Georgetown Jct

History, Prototype

A recent eBay purchase. The caption on the back reads “B+O No. 6 “Capitol Limited” + P-1d 5038 4-6-2 Geo’town Jct, MD. 8:41AM 4-6-36 (all Pullman consist)” (Collection of Jay Williams & Big Four Graphics)

Capitol Limited thundering past Georgetown Junction.

The view is looking North, and the train is headed for Union Station, DC. It has just passed under Talbot Ave (seen in the background) and the westbound siding for the Georgetown Branch with a boxcar sitting on it. Visible just in front of the pilot is the turnout (and lantern signal) for the Georgetown Branch. Note that at this point the long siding that extended from Silver Spring all the way to the siding with the boxcar on it where it rejoined the Westbound main. A phone call box is visible to the right.

Rails at the Connecticut Ave Crossing Persist

History, Prototype

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.