Glen Echo Railroad
| Glen Echo Railroad | |
|---|---|
 1939 photo of streetcar at Glen Echo Park | |
| Overview | |
| Other name(s) | Washington and Glen Echo Railroad |
| Status | defunct |
| Termini |
|
| Service | |
| Type | Streetcar |
| History | |
| Opened | 1891 |
| Closed | 1902 |
The Glen Echo Railroad (after 1896, the Washington and Glen Echo Railroad) was a streetcar line that operated independently in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, from 1891 to 1902. It ultimately connected the communities of Cabin John and Glen Echo to a terminal near present-day Friendship Heights, where passengers could transfer to the greater regional Washington, D.C., streetcar network.
Its Glen Echo-to-Cabin John tracks remained in service under different ownership until 1960.
History
[edit]Founding: 1888-1895
[edit]The company was chartered in 1888 and incorporated the following year[1] by the Baltzley brothers, who founded Glen Echo, along with Frederick W. Pratt, Jason C. Pratt, Joseph Reading, Edward Crockett, and Lawrence A. Lodge[1] as a means to connect their real estate projects to the regional trolley network. Initially, its 2.5-mile line ran from the Tennallytown and Rockville Railroad terminal at Wisconsin Avenue and Willard Avenue near Friendship Heights to a masonry car barn and powerhouse at Conduit Road (today's Macarthur Boulevard) near the intersection of Walhonding Road.[2][citation needed]
To draw passengers and buyers, the Baltzleys built a cafe of cedar logs, dubbed "The Arcade", at the western terminus.[3] Eminent domain was used to acquire at least some of the right-of-way[4][5][6], which caused several disputes, including one that temporarily halted construction in June 1891.[7][8] Operation began on June 17, 1891[2][citation needed], nearly a year later than planned[3]. Via connections to other streetcar lines, a passenger could ride from the Glen Echo area to the U.S. Treasury Department in downtown Washington in "about 30 minutes".[9]
New owners: 1896-1902
[edit]In 1896, the Baltzley brothers lost control of the streetcar company to new owners, who renamed it the Washington and Glen Echo Railroad. Securing permission to cross the Washington Aqueduct at Conduit Road, they extended the line northwest from its western terminus, reaching Glen Echo proper and continuing onward to Cabin John.
The owners also planned to extend the line eastward about two-thirds of a mile to Chevy Chase Circle, where their streetcars could connect with the Capital Traction Company's Rock Creek Railway line. This project would include the construction of a more direct route from the Circle to the Conduit-Walhonding car barn, including a new crossing of the Tennallytown and Rockville line about a quarter-mile north of the Wisconsin-Willard terminal. This new line would run through the town of Somerset, where the owners, said to be "Philadelphia capitalists", owned "considerable real estate at Somerset Heights".[10] The company secured permission to run through land east of Wisconsin owned by the Chevy Chase Land Company[11], but the project was never completed.
Ridership on the Washington and Glen Echo declined after the 1897 opening of the Washington and Great Falls Electric Railway (W&GFER) from Georgetown to Glen Echo. By 1900 it was practically closed; it ceased operations entirely in 1902.
Aftermath
[edit]The section from Walhonding Road to Cabin John was incorporated into the W&GFER.[12] The power system was removed and reused elsewhere in DC.[13] The tracks from Tenallytown to Conduit were removed, likely for scrap. The carbarn was abandoned and quickly fell into disrepair and by the late 1930s, it was in ruins with few walls over eight feet tall remaining. By the 1950s, nearly all trace of the structure was gone.[12]
A few remnants of the original line remain. Railroad tracks, a "frog" (part of a switchback) and the trestle abutments remain visible in Willard Avenue Neighborhood Park in Bethesda, Maryland.[14] A few squared blocks from the carbarn can be found in the yard of a nearby home.
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ a b "A New Railroad". Washington Evening Star. 1889-12-16. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
- ^ a b "Trolleys and Conduit Road". Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ a b "A Great Cafe". The Washington Post. 1890-04-27. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
- ^ "Over the Maryland Line". Evening Star. 1890-05-09. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
- ^ "Our Maryland Neighbors". Evening Star. 1890-05-16. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
- ^ S.A.M. (1890-05-23). "Real Estate Deals". Evening Star. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
- ^ "Notes". Evening Star. 1891-07-25. p. 16. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
- ^ "The Glen Echo Railroad". Evening Star. 1891-06-08. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
- ^ "Real Estate Markey Gossip". The Washington Post. 1891-07-12. p. 10. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
- ^ "Railroad Stock Changes Hands". Baltimore Sun. 17 Sep 1898. Archived from the original on 2023-09-01. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
- ^ "Chevy Chase Circle tracks". Evening star. 1896-05-09. p. 13. Archived from the original on 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
- ^ a b E.H.T. Traceries, Inc (June 2005). "Streetcar and Bus Resources of Washington, D.C., 1862-1962 / National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior / National Park Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- ^ "Trolleys and Conduit Road". Retrieved 6 January 2025.
- ^ "Willard Avenue Neighborhood Park". MontgomeryParks.org. Silver Spring, Maryland: Montgomery County Department of Parks. Archived from the original on 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
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