The Georgetown Branch trail closes tomorrow

The Georgetown Branch trail will be closing on Tuesday.  Today is your last day to get a run, walk, or bike ride on the trail.  After that it will be closed for the next four to five years while they construct the purple line and the new (paved) trail.

The trail will be re-routed on surface streets between Silver Spring and Bethesda, but you will be sharing the route with cars.

Between now and then, the Apex building (which the trail runs under) will be torn down and a new building put up.  The trail will still go under the new building

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.