Saturday, June 21, 2014

Railroad siding at Connecticut Avenue

 I like looking around for traces of the old Georgetown Branch railroad line, so I was thrilled to find another abandoned siding.  This one is on the Georgetown Branch Trail, between Bethesda and Connecticut Avenue,  In fact, it is within sight of Connecticut Ave.  In the picture above you can see the fence that marks the edge of Columbia Country Club.  There is a little path next to it and you can walk in a bit and see the rail road tracks
Abandoned railroad siding near Columbia Country Club

 The siding continues to the trees almost to Connecticut Avenue.  Here is a nother bit of it.  In the background you can see a bench and the Georgetown Branch trail.  If you zoom in you can see one of the rails is covered with a bit of chain link fence.
 The siding goes right up to the parking lot of Parkway drycleaning.  I wonder how many people have parked here never knowing what is right next to them.
End of the line
The railroad siding unceremoniously ends with the rail sticking up a bit from the ground.

Next time you are going down that part of the trail, it is worth taking a minute to check out this relic of slightly earlier times.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Railroad siding near River Road

I have walked along the Capital Crescent Trail near River Road many times but I have never noticed the bit of railroad siding that remains in one spot.

See it? It is easy to miss, on the left about 5 feet above the trail and overgrown with vines.

Here's another closer look. This is the end of the siding, I believe this particular bit is to keep railroad cars from rolling off the end. Given how overgrown the rest is I wonder if someone pulled some vines away to make it more visible.

 I walked up the embankment to get a closer look and the rails are still there, going off to the right through the trees.  I removed some vines from a bit of the rail so I could get a better picture.  The cross ties are rotted and spongy, I thought the were going to break when I stepped on them.

The siding connected to the main line right around where the bridge that goes over River Road is.  There is a gravel road next to the trail and you can see a single rail embedded in the road.  Behind that is an open area that slopes up.  This was recently re-graded, the siding is a bit to the left and several feet lower than the current grade.


I walked back among the trees looking for more signs of the siding.  It is all still there, just overgrown with ivy and very hard to see.