A really neat article from a few years ago that begins with a search for a long-lost sign and ends with a shoebox history of the struggle between one smelly industry and residents (and everyone else) in Georgetown. The Hopfenmaier rendering plant existed at 3300 K St., NW on the waterfront for nearly 100 years, until finally being ousted by fed-up residents and politicians. The rendering process takes leftover animal parts and oils used in food prep and renders them into lubricants, fuels and other uses. It’s an aged process (still in use today) but one that results in a massively horrible odor and residue. I have been told by first-hand accounts that the Whitehurst Fwy. (erected in 1948) had a coating of sooty grease and an odor that on a hot day, many years after the plant had shut down, would be unbearable. I can only imagine. Enjoy!
It has been a very, very long time since I posted an update here on the blog about my model RR progress. Let me get things up to speed. The benchwork for the layout is about 95% complete. I have a few odds and ends to do but that hurdle has been crossed. Now I am working on adding the subroadbed, roadbed and connecting bridges and track. I completed construction on the helix and recently constructed the upper bracket and transition to allow the track to transition off the helix and enter the layout room. Remember, my helix is mobile and must be able to detach and roll away from the wall whenever the HVAC is serviced (like today!)
The staging yard was completed and track laid. I also built and installed a hinged swing-up bridge (with neodymium magnets to hold it in the up position) that connects the staging yard and the staging lead going into the layout room. With some assistance from my train club several areas were completed, including the base for Rock Creek, and the lower helix lead entry point through the wall. One member, Tom, came over and helped me figure out how to do the entire Georgetown Jct. area, including the subroadbed and track arrangement. I realized I needed to put in the upper helix lead first, so that is what I am working on currently.
All in all, I have not been terribly busy with the layout. There are many distractions and I have many hobbies so I come back to it when I can. Also, I have spent a good bit of time researching the GB and have many, many materials to go through and add to the catalogs and notes and that takes time, too. I’m having a heck of a lot of fun with it.
I found a brief mention of the Frito-Lay plant in Bethesda today while searching for some info on lineside industries. This was featured in a Q&A section on Bethesda Magazine’s website:
A neighbor who grew up here told me there was a Frito plant on Elm Street and Arlington Road in the 1940s. What was its exact location?
—Susan Rubel, Bethesda
The Frito Capital Company was at 4860 Bethesda Ave.—the current location of the Apple Store—according to a 1949 telephone directory in the Montgomery County Historical Society library.
Frito-Lay spokeswoman Aurora Gonzalez says the plant was purchased by H.W. Lay & Company in the 1950s, and that it made Fritos corn chips until a new plant in Brentwood, Md., replaced it in about 1963.
William M. Offutt, author of Bethesda: A Social History (1995), recalls the plant being served by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He says the scent of Fritos chips baking “added a very distinct smell to the neighborhood.”
An alert fan of the website alerted me to an image on the LoC.gov website showing the steam switcher in action! These photos are so rare I just had to see. Wow! The photo is far away, shot from Rosslyn, looking toward Georgetown, but there it is. It’s making quite a good bit of smoke and appears to be idling or moving slowly. Can anyone identify the class of loco?
I put together this quick-and-dirty overlay of the proposed changes to the easternmost yard in Georgetown from the late 1940s compared to the current satellite photo. As you can see, it’s quite a striking difference. Probably the only thing still in place are the bulkheads along the waterways and the Whitehurst Freeway. Fascinating.
Just discovered this while perusing some websites. It dates back to 2008 but it includes links to the author’s Flickr page with many photos of this iconic bridge that dates back nearly 100 years! Interesting read. Enjoy!
Here we see Norm (center) telling a story outside the B&ORRHS Archives in Arbutus, MD
Mr. Norm Nelson, an oft-quited source for B&O history passed away Monday. I met and got to know Norm on a few occasions when working at the B&ORRHS archives and at various meetings and get-togethers. He was always friendly and approachable, full of wonderful stories and detailed descriptions of how the railroad operated, what it was like and what the people who worked the trains were like. I remember one entertaining story in particular that had to do with a dispatcher in DC accidentally making some inappropriate comments into an open mic which was broadcast down the line to where Norm was waiting with his crew. He said that there were some funny responses back to the dispatcher which I’m not going to mention here. He was such an amazing contributor to the B&O Yahoo! Group as well, and a search through their archives will reveal a trove of first hand stories about the B&O and its inner workings. Some folks on the list will admit that they stick around just to hear his input. Norm, you will be missed. Hope you’re having fun with all the other ‘Domers up there sharing stories of the good old days. Thank you.
I recently discovered the most excellent Bethesda Chevy Chase Back In The Day Facebook group, which is loaded with memories from back in the day. A few railroad related photos and stories, which are fun, but I particularly enjoyed this dark, psychedelic film which ends with a sort of twisted murder rampage. It’s not that graphic but the music and filming style makes it pretty fun to watch. Anyway, what’s this got to do with the Georgetown Branch? Well, the final “scene” of the film part of this movie was staged on the bridge across Bradley Blvd.! You get some neat scenes (albeit short) showing the tracks and surrounding area. Enjoy!
I was interviewed for an article recently published in the Gazette, a local Montgomery County paper. The article covers the tracks recently uncovered in Bethesda (old team tracks, I believe) and how they provide a link to Bethesda’s industrial past. I myself got to see some of the tracks uncovered a month ago and it was a really special sight.
Mr. Mumford passed away last Tuesday unexpectedly on Dec 13, 2011. His enthusiasm and pride for each and every photograph and story he shared with me was wonderful. I always considered his photo collection depicting the Georgetown Branch as the “missing link” of my research. I have never found any other sets of photos that document the railroad in the 40s and 50s as well as his. He was always friendly and helpful to me and I will never forget that. God Speed, Mr. Mumford.
To view photographs from the collection, click here.
