Saw this video this morning, posted to the CSX “Cap, Met, and OML” subs, Railfans group on Facebook. I know it’s not Georgetown Branch related, specifically, but it’s hyper-local and shows some amazing detail shots of the track and some equipment in the 1950s. I don’t have many details about the wreck, only what’s found in the description. Anyone got more info? Post it here in the comments. Also, note all the people on the live tracks! Nowadays that would never happen.

I just stumbled across this really neat photo from the GWU Special Collections showing the mule stables located along the Rock Creek. What’s interesting from a B&O perspective is that just behind it you can see the terminus of the Georgetown Branch as well as what may be the extension of the line built to serve the construction of the Lincoln Memorial.

In the foreground we see a canal boat, docked next to the mule stables. Not sure if the railroad ever provided any service here, but perhaps they brought new animals in stock cars and perhaps feed for them. In some very old Sanborn maps I have, there are stock pens indicated in this location.

Behind the pens, to the left, you can see a few box cars. One has a circular logo. Look carefully for the roof lines. Above and behind them, you will see the roof of the old B&O RR freight station, which was in service until the late 40s when they tore it down and built the coal and ash house which stood until 2006 when it was torn down to make way for the Swedish embassy expansion. The original freight house was a wooden timber affair, built to the B&O Standard Plan.

What interests me most is the prospect that the bridge in the background is the one which was built to serve the Lincoln Memorial construction. The Georgetown branch was completed to Georgetown in 1908-1910. The C&O Canal stopped service some time around 1924. The Lincoln Memorial was constructed between 1914-1922. Being that the bridge appears to be a heavy duty type, and the smaller connecting section to the right appears to have ties and rail on it, and no railing for pedestrian safety, I’d say it’s a good chance. If you look carefully you can see a second bridge, just beyond the first one, behind the light-colored house to the right. This one appears to have sides. I have some other photos of the area that I will have to study more carefully. Enjoy!

Alert reader Christopher R. emailed me to share this wonderful view of the waterfront in 1939. Probably the most interesting thing in the photo is the B&O Georgetown local switcher, at work! If you look above the Aqueduct Bridge abutment, you will see the smoke pouring from the smoke stack of the venerable 0-6-0. It appears to be reversing and has just passed the scale house and is passing beneath the footbridge to the Washington Canoe Club. There is a long passing siding that begins  just behind the Club. Other items of interest are the buildings lining the waterfront, beyond the boathouses, Canal Rd./M St., and the old pilings for the Aqueduct Bridge, now gone. About ten years later the pilings would be demolished by the Army Corps of Engineers.

* interesting note: About ten years ago I found this very same photo in the LoC online collection “American Memory” and gleefully posted a zoomed in view of the lower res image from the site: http://gallery.sluggyjunx.com/railroad_and_industrial/georgetownbranch/gb_prototype_photos/g-town_steam_switcher-wide

I’m a complete sucker for media showing the Georgetown Branch in its heyday, and get pretty excited when it’s of the film/video variety. There are simply not that many films in existence which depict the branch in service! There are fabled copies of a film showing the fan trip down the line in the late 40s held by the NRHS but I haven’t even been able to get a reply from them on this.
Anyway, in this film which is a snippet of a collection of aerial footage of DC in 1954 shows the Georgetown waterfront area for the first 23 seconds. Not that great, it’s wobbly, but it’s there. Note the aqueduct bridge footings, still in place in the river (Army Corps of Engineers had yet to demolish them), the Lone Star cement factory standing tall and the Hopfmaier rendering plant smoking away across from the Wilkins Rogers mill. The power plant is still standing and the coal steam plant can be seen in the background near the end of the line. Very cool!
http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675050411_Potomac-River_Lincoln-Memorial_Jefferson-Memorial_National-Airport_Key-Bridge

I hope you find these photos I recently purchased on eBay as interesting as I do!

I wrote about this previously here.

Interesting to note the rail cars left in the yard as well as the buildings along Water Street. Also note the trails of stains in the water from the industrial area.

Note the giant beer bottle sign on the corner of the building at left. Also the Lone Star cement plant to the right and the Wilkins Rogers milling building in the distance. My favorite has to be the big beer bottle advertisement on the corner of the building in the lower-left hand corner of the bottom image. This was most likely for Brenizer Brewing Co. which maps indicate was located on this site.

Channeling the classic episode of The Simpsons, were you aware that the corridor from Bethesda to Silver Spring could have been a monorail type train, known as an Aeromovel? This odd type of transport uses compressed air to “push” the train along on an elevated platform, and was considered as an alternative for reuse of the Georgetown Branch between the two cities. A study was done and a copy can be found in the Chevy Chase Historical Society archives. http://chevychasehistory.pastperfectonline.com/library/37E6A661-EAA1-4262-BBB2-190821234210

While perusing my daily eBay alerts I have set up for items that come across the auction block, I came across one I had never seen or even heard of before. Apparently on May 16, 1947 there was a fatal accident on the Georgetown Branch somewhere in Bethesda in which a train struck a private passenger bus, killing three persons and injuring five. The bus appears in the photo on its side, along the tracks, wrapped in chains and surrounded by emergency personnel. The caption reads that the photo shows one of the victims being removed; you can see them wrapped in white, on a stretcher, being carried off in the center of the image. A nonetheless, a tragic and fascinating reminder that even though the Branch had relatively little traffic in its later years, earlier on it was much busier, the track in better condition, and trains no doubt were moving faster. I have read about a few other occasions where people and vehicles were struck along the line.

The location has me stumped. I’m fairly certain it’s not in downtown Bethesda. It appears to be a single track so may have been over by River Rd. or Kenwood (Dorset Rd.).  Perhaps some of the roads just north of Bethesda crossed at grade. I would have to dig around some old aerials and maps to see. Would love your input or any feedback on this! (*photos from eBay)

EDIT: UPDATE
Well, that didn’t take long. I posted a link to this blog post on the wonderful Bethesda Chevy Chase Back In The Day Facebook group and within minutes the mystery was solved.  Seems the bus was owned by the Congressional Country Club and was crossing Dorset Avenue when a train struck the bus. Passengers were employees from the CC being taken to the local trolley trolley terminal at Tenley Circle. I would wager that the train was traveling as it normally did, caboose-first, when it struck the bus. First up, it would have been relatively quiet as the business end of the train (the engine/loco) was far away, pushing the train. Second, I don’t know for sure but I believe they would not have blown the whistle or flagged the small Dorset Ave. crossing. Partially because the crossing would have been very minor back then and the neighbors probably wouldn’t have liked it too much. HUGE thanks to Jerry P. for making the pull and finding the following Washington Star sources! Jerry notes that the casualties were caused not as much by the impact, but rather the people attempting to escape from the bus as it was pushed down the tracks by the freight train.