All posts by bsullivan

May 13, 1924: Flooding in Georgetown

Georgetown Branch related links, History, News, Prototype
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

1862 to 1968 Georgetown Comparison

History, Prototype

From the book, Georgetown Architecture, THE WATERFRONT, Selections from the Historic American Buildings Survey, Number 4, comes this neat side-by-side shot of the waterfront.

I especially like the two B&O and one SCL box cars visible in the new yard. By now the overhead crane had been dismantled and removed. In a few years, the yard would be paved over to become a parking lot.

As a sidebar, and linked above, you can read the entire book on the Internet Archive! https://archive.org/details/georgetownarchit04comm/

Freight Cars in Georgetown, March 1949

History, Model RR, News, Prototype

The National Archives has a magnificent set of photos from the construction of the Whitehurst Freeway. Naturally, there are some wonderful trains caught in the shots and I’d like to document them here.

First up is this shot from March, 1949. There are actually a couple prints from this day, showing these and some other freight cars. I imagine the Georgetown switcher was hard at work preparing the train for the Georgetown Turn or perhaps receiving some new cars into the yard. Regardless, it’s a pretty special photo. Before we go on, a huge shout out to the Steam Era Freight Cars group for car data and other info, as well as the various manufacturer pages linked below. Let’s dive in.

Chesapeake & Ohio 152×8

This is a Pullman-Standard Co. built 40′ PS-1 boxcar, lot 5886, C&O series 15000-15999 (1,000 cars), built in Feb 1948. It has 6′, 7-panel Superior doors (evenly spaced, placard mounted to stiffener), Ajax hand brake, Apex Tri-Lok running boards, A3 trucks, 12-panel sides.

Kadee produced a similar model of this car in HO scale, #5023.

Great Northern 49730

In 1940-41 GN received 3,000 cars of this type, built by Pullman Standard, American Car & Foundry and others. This car was built by Pullman-Standard Co. in 1941 in a lot of 500 cars. This 40’6″ car features a 6′ Youngstown door, steel frame, steel ends, wood sheathing. Note that this car has a rare front-facing goat logo, with the slogan: “SEE AMERICA FIRST, GLACIER NATIONAL PARK.” GN specified boxcar red sides with a black roof, ends and underframe.

Comparison of early GN logos, BNSF website.

Resin Car Works produced a similar model of this car in HO scale, Kit 11.01.

Delaware Lackawanna & Western 51963

This car is an AAR 1937 design boxcar from DL&W series 51750-51999, built Dec 1944 by Magor Car Co. lot W708, a total of 250 cars. The car features 10′ IH, 6′ seven-panel Superior doors, 10-panel riveted sides, 4/5 Dreadnaught ends with round corners and no push-pole sockets. Murphy raised-panel roof, Ajax handbrake, wood running boards, T-Z brake step, 7/7 ladders, double-truss, spring plankless trucks with cast iron wheels. These cars were built between Dec 1944 and Feb 1945.

Rapido Trains has just announced a run of AAR 1937 cars and feature this paint scheme in a slightly different series. SKU 181002A. Atlas offers an entry-level version of the AAR 1937 boxcar as well. From what I can tell, the Intermountain 1937 AAR boxcar has square corners only and is not ideal. They do offer a DL&W paint scheme on the square corner car.

Delaware Lackawanna & Western 47367

Between Nov 1929 and Feb 1930 DL&W took delivery of 1,000 of these unusual cars were derived from the USRA standard design. These all-steel boxcars were from series 47000-47699, 700 cars, built by American Car & Foundry, Lot 998, delivered Nov 1929 – Jan 1930. (The other 300 cars, 47700-47999, were produced by Magor Car Co. Lot P-7072, delivered Jan-Feb 1930.) Cars had an insight height of 8’7″, Hutchins Dry Lading roofs and Youngstown doors. After 1940 when cars were outshopped and AB brakes added, many were outfitted with Murphy panel roofs, steel running boards and Superior panel five-panel doors. Cars were delivered in DL&W freight car brown, with standard white freight lettering. Repaints began in 1942 and included the addition of the “Phoebe Snow” slogan design. In 1955 many of these cars were repainted a second time and received the large” “Billboard” road name stenciled and moved to the left side. (Special thanks to Brian Carlson from the Steam Era Freight Car group and Protocraft for some of this info!)

Ozark Miniatures produces a decal set for these cars in HO scale. Tichy also offers three decal sets for variants of this car. (one, two, three.) As does K4. Decals for O scale cars produced by Protocraft. Apparently the Broadway Limited NYC 40′ Steel Boxcar is a close match to the DL&W prototype, but lacks the correct ends. It can be kitbashed into a stand-in.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this dive into some freight car specifics. I know that I’ll be hunting some models of these cars for my roster!

August 2023: Progress Update: Rock Creek Trestle & More

Model RR, News

So are you sick of me posting “updates” on the Rock Creek trestle yet? Yeah, me too! 🙂 Anyway, onward. Made a bit of progress on the Rock Creek trestle scene. First up, some terraforming. That requires gluing all the foam I cut in an earlier work session. After some research, I settled on this stuff:

Gorilla Heavy Duty Construction Adhesive

Worked a treat for gluing all the foam together.

Weighing the foam down while the glue dries

Next up came the actual carving with foam cutting tools, knives and a rasp. I wore a respirator mask, had a fan on, and a powerful extraction fan running while working with the foam cutting tools. The fumes are nasty!

The wand had a hard time “cutting” through the adhesive.

After all was done, things are starting to come together

All of this will be covered with a layer of Sculptamold.

This is a very, very messy process.

I also started on the final to-do’s on the trestle itself. I scribed lines in the sides of the stringers simulating the beams. I now will install NBW’s at each joint and above each bent. I need to put the stringers on the top of the trestle as well as build the little escape platforms. That will be last, as they stand proud of the top. After that, a little weathering and it will be time to install the trestle. Here’s a few more shots:

Scribed “joint”, darkened with ink wash and panel liner.
NBW’s installed. Looking good!

Other than this, not a lot going on last couple months. Saw my son off to college this week and work is busy! I picked up several new freight cars and have been doing research and planning on getting my fleet more rounded out – I realized this week that I am severely deficient in decent B&O 2-bay hopper cars.

I scored a copy of the wonderful Merchant’s Despatch book by Roger Hinman from Signature Press. I’ve had my eye on this for years and the price via the usual used book joints always dissuaded me. A random search turned up new copies for sale at Arizona Hobbies for $35! This is an excellent price and if you’re looking for this book, jump on it! I read the whole book when it arrived and enjoyed it tremendously.

Probably the biggest thing was I FINALLY was able to purchase the needed DCC Concepts Cobalt IP Digital turnout motors – these babies have been like hen’s teeth for the last several months due to manufacturer shortages. Iron Planet Hobbies stocked a few 12-pack cases and I picked up a couple, so now I am all set for turnout motors! (Side note, as of this writing Iron Planet Hobbies is again out of stock for the 12 and 6 packs. They have 17 single units in stock. They have had the BEST prices of any place I have found, so I highly recommend!) Need to figure out what I’m going to do for track in Georgetown (to hand-lay, or not to hand-lay!) but that’s a discussion for another day.

Oh, and one more thing. Here’s a sneak peek at something Kelly is cooking up:

Talbot Avenue bridge, anyone?

Talbot Avenue Bridge Preservation and Park

Georgetown Branch related links, History, News, Prototype

One of the great things from all of the Purple Line destruction/construction is the preservation of the historic Talbot Ave bridge that once spanned the Metropolitan Branch at Georgetown Junction. As you may recall, back in 2019 the bridge was removed in preparation for the installation of the additional two tracks and a new overpass. The County planned to save the bridge for a future installation in a park, and we finally have some renderings of what it may look like.

Lyttonsville Park rendering with the Talbot Ave bridge feature

At the Lyttonsville Park community meeting, a slide presentation outlined the current designs and status. Link to the slide presentation: https://montgomeryparks.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Lyttonsville-community-3-2023-0330-web-r.pdf

In the presentation are several really neat photos of the current state of the bridge. The girders, one of the only parts of the original 1916 construction, are preserved, sitting atop the pedestrian bridge sections that once topped the Rock Creek trestle. Not sure of the current location; probably in a Purple Line storage yard.

A hundred years of weather, deferred maintenance and punishment has not been kind to the old steel, and it shows. I’m so grateful it will be refurbished and preserved; a small piece of railroad history that will continue to be enjoyed for generations to come. I’ll take it. Plus, I can actually go and get more measurements if I need them! 🙂

Where Trains Once Ran; A Georgetown Branch Documentary

Georgetown Branch related links, History, News, Prototype

Well, this was a special project that I can finally share with everyone. A few months back I was contacted by a Georgetown University graduate student who was putting together a brief documentary on the Georgetown Branch; specifically its history and transformation into a rail trail. We initially shared stories and historic reference material and eventually I was interviewed on-camera at home. I think the project turned out brilliantly and my hats off to Evan, the director, producer, writer – well, everything! He did an awesome job capturing the entire story of the Branch. I hope you enjoy!

Where Trains Once Ran

Georgetown Branch Track Chart and Turnout List

Model RR

I spent a bit of time mocking up the layout track plan in Google Sheets and coupled that with my turnout list. This will be used as part of my wiring package to keep handy for troubleshooting and planning. Having the line drawing of the layout will also come in handy for operations planning and as I work toward my NMRA AP Dispatcher cert, I will build off of this diagram. Here’s a PNG (below) and a link to the original, on Google Sheets.

Layout Progress Update: June 19

Model RR

I spent a few hours working on the area around Rock Creek today and figured I’d throw an update on the blog. When my cousin Eric visited a few weeks back, he helped me get started on cutting and fitting Styrofoam to fit the area and flesh out the basic land forms.

Cousin Eric helping to cut and install Styrofoam as basic land forms.

Today I moved the project forward. First I spent a bit of time planning out the area near Chevy Chase. I decided that I could include the bridge next to T.W. Perry so I added a base for the feature. Here’s a couple prototype photos. It was hard to get a wide shot because there was a fence just behind me.

2015 view of the bridge next to T.W. Perry
2015 view of the bridge next to T.W. Perry

Oh, and sorry to say, this bridge was completely demolished in 2019 when the Purple Line construction passed through the area. 🙁 Anyway, here’s where it will fit on my layout:

The bridge across nothing.

Because the trestle is adjacent to the T.W. Perry scene, I had to work out both areas at the same time. So here’s some shots of how it all turned out:

Hope everyone is doing well and tackling their own model RR projects!

Layout Progress Update: May 2023

Model RR, News

A quick update to share a few snapshots of some progress and talk about what has been going on since the Winter. Well, first up, between December and January I took on a massive project; replacing the transmission in my 2006 Honda Odyssey. The task was no small feat and I did nearly all of the work myself. As a result, I have a functioning car again, and have likely permanently damaged an already questionable right shoulder. (A recent MRI revealed the reality that surgery is likely in my future.)

Out with the old, in with the old. I purchased a replacement JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) transmission on eBay from a local vendor. The job took me a couple weeks of evenings/weekends to complete and was an absolute bear.

But I digress. I showed you the Rock Creek trestle mocked up in place. Now let’s take a look at how I got there. I made the decision that building the trestle would be my priority. First up was to start mocking up the terrain to be sure it would work with the existing design. So I used some masking tape to outline the land forms.

Red highlights indicate where the benchwork interferes with gentle slope on each side of the approaches to the trestle.

What became apparent was that the angle required for the long fill the trestle approaches sat on would not work with the existing benchwork. I also had the idea that it would be nice to be able to remove the trestle should I want to transport/save it from the layout room in the future. This required completely rebuilding this section of the layout, by essentially widening this dropdown area.

After removing some benchwork on the right and left side, widening the gap for the new dropdown section. Thankfully there was enough slack in the wiring to simply slide the new pieces in.

I then needed to install the trestle and shim it to sit flush and level with the track, so I could measure the height of each riser.

Bridge is in the new, wider dropdown benchwork and shimmed to be flush up against the level which is gently clamped to the railhead.

I measured the height from the base to the lowest pile in each bent. I subtracted about 1/16″ and fashioned risers from 1×4’s and other boards.

Risers, laid out in order.

I installed the risers so the bent sits just on the edge. I will shim up to the height of each pile, since they are uneven. Risers were glued in place with wood glue.

Risers installed, bridge in place. Need to shim up to each piling.
The risers all installed. Note the new, wider dropdown for the bridge. This allows for the approaches to be nicely contoured similar to the prototype.

Now that the risers are in place, I can begin building the landforms, including the creek itself. I’ve still got a bit of work to be done on the bridge; namely the stringers on the top deck and some other details, but otherwise I’m nearly done. The same day I worked on the new benchwork, Kelly came over and helped me figure out and install the new benchwork as well as some foam at Chevy Chase and at Georgetown Jct. Progress!

Making sure the edge is flush. This is Chevy Chase. That area will have the golf course, part of the swimming pool and some other terrain.

A few other command system and lighting improvements: I deaccessioned myself from the old Digitrax Empire Builder II system and picked up a new TCS CS-105 unit.

After a weekend of setup, it is functioning beautifully.

With the addition of my trusty RasPi/JMRI, the ProtoThrottle is working well, too.

I also installed LED strip lights beneath the upper deck on half of the layout.

This is very much a work in progress as I attempt to best engineer how to get the most out of them, but I am really pleased with the initial setup. More to come on this later.

This is with the room lights off.

I’ve also been giving some thought to completing my model of the Bethesda Freight House. If you recall, a few years back I designed and laser-cut parts for my model of the station, but hadn’t assembled it. I spoke with Greg C. who is a master at building structures, about how to proceed and he gave me some great tips. I need to figure out the inserts for some of the moulding around various windows and engineer how I will install the garage doors, and get building.

Well, that’s all for now. Life is quite busy at the moment; my kids are wrapping up the school year, lots of sports activities, road trips, and other commitments. I’m taking a week off to host my cousin and we are planning on hitting several regional railfan spots, hobby shops and working on my layout. Hopefully more progress reports soon!