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Washington, Brandywine and Point Lookout Railroad

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Washington, Brandywine & Point Lookout Railroad
The Washington, Brandywine & Point Lookout Railroad, then the Southern Maryland Railroad, as planned
Overview
LocaleWashington, D.C., to Seat Pleasant, Maryland, and Brandywine, Maryland, to Patuxent River, Maryland
Dates of operation1881–July, 1954
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Washington, Brandywine & Point Lookout Railroad (WB&PL) (originally, the Southern Maryland Railroad) was an American railroad that operated in southern Maryland and Washington, D.C., from 1881 to 1954. Its single-track line connected Patuxent River in Maryland to the Pennsylvania Railroad. It operated in and out of bankruptcy and changed its name numerous times.

History[edit]

Southern Maryland Railroad[edit]

The Southern Maryland Railroad (SMR) was incorporated on March 20, 1868, “for the purpose of constructing, maintaining, and working a railroad from some point in Prince George’s County to Point Lookout.” As was typical of the railroads of the era, the alignment of the right-of-way bisected the peninsula created by the Potomac and Patuxent rivers. A rail line from the major north-south Potomac River crossings into Virginia near Washington, D.C., to a port on the Patuxent River near the Chesapeake Bay would be an ideal line to promote agricultural and mineral business and rail shipments from the counties of this peninsula.[1]

WB&PL Engine No. 5 at Mechanicsville, Maryland, on September 1, 1934

The company quickly set its sights on running into Washington, D.C.[2]

Work began on surveying the route and raising the required money, but work on grading the rail line did not start until the spring of 1872.[3] By mid-1873 30 miles of road bed from Brandywine to St. Joseph's Church in Morganza, MD and 12 miles north from Point Lookout had been constructed.[4] Work was delayed by the Panic of 1873 but despite frequent promises of completing the work soon, the SMR had not laid down any rails or ties when it was forced into receivership in 1875.[5] In 1876, the SMR was investigated for defrauding the state of Maryland, the sole shareholder in the company.

In March 1881, the railroad began to lay track from Brandywine.[6] Over the next couple of years they graded the railroad all the way to Esperanza and track was laid to Mechanicsville. Trains began running between Brandywine and Mechanicsville in 1883.[7] At that time the railroad was still planning to build a line from Benning to Brandywine, to extend the line to Point Lookout and to build a spur off the mainline to Esperanza just across from Solomon's Island.[7] [8]

In 1882, the Southern was finally granted permission to enter the District of Columbia.[9] Work began grading that rail line from Benning in 1884 and some track was laid by 1885.[10]

The SMR also graded and partially laid out the right-of-way for 2.2 miles of railroad from Deanwood, where it connected to the Alexandria Branch, to the Maryland line in the District of Columbia.[11] By 1886, the railroad had laid down ties and some rail in D.C., but they never operated trains on this section, which later came under control of the Chesapeake Beach Railway.[12]

In 1885, the railroad went into default and in 1886 it was forcibly sold to a syndicate of Boston investors for $75,000 who reincorporated it as the Washington and Potomac Railroad Company.[13]

Washington City and Point Lookout Railroad[edit]

In 1872, a competitor railroad, the Washington City and Point Lookout Railroad was incorporated and the following year authorized to run trains between Washington, D.C., and Point Lookout with connecting steamers to Norfolk, Virginia.[14]

In 1873, the WC&PL laid track from Hyattsville, Maryland, though Prince George's County to Deanwood and then along the Anacostia River to Uniontown (now Anacostia) to Shepherd's Point directly across from Alexandria. This Baltimore, Washington and Alexandria Branch, known colloquially as the Alexandria Branch, was created to be leased to Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which sought access to the Potomac.[15][16][17]

In 1878, the WC&PL was authorized to purchase the SMR but never did.[18]

In 1881, the WC&PL broke ground on it's rail line to Point Lookout and, like the SMR, it started at a connection with the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad (later the Pope's Creek branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad) at Brandywine. The two started work at almost the exact same time and their two roads were no more than 100 feet apart. At this point both companies had graded separated routes from Point Lookout to California, MD; but only the SMR had graded the road from California to Brandywine and so they were laying track faster.[19] [20]

Washington & Potomac Railroad[edit]

The Southern Maryland Railroad was reincorporated as the Washington & Potomac Railroad (W&P) on April 1, 1886.

In 1894, the W&P merged with the WC&PL, which was by then in receivership.[21]

Washington, Potomac & Chesapeake Railway[edit]

In 1900, the line went through another bankruptcy and emerged on July 24, 1901, as the Washington, Potomac & Chesapeake Railway.[22] The WP&C had a contentious relationship with the state. In 1910, it was ordered to run two trains a day, up from one, and to drop their prices.[23] The line had trouble fulfilling its obligations and in 1914 the state of Maryland threatened to withdraw their charter.[24]

Washington, Brandywine & Point Lookout Railroad[edit]

At the end of 1917, the line again found itself in bankruptcy and was nearly scrapped due to the high price of scrap metal during World War I. In 1918, the state of Maryland attempted to have the U.S. government take over control of the railroad.[25] Farmers in the area bought the line from a salvage firm and in June 1918 the line began running again, this time under the name of the Washington, Brandywine & Point Lookout Railroad, using a new gasoline engine. In November of 1921, work began on expanding the line to Hollywood and then to Esperanza (located on the Patuxent just downstream from the current Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge) with a spur off the main line south of California, where they hoped to gain access to an important freight terminal, and then later to Point Lookout. The work was made easier because much of the route had been surveyed and graded in the 1880's.[26] They had hoped to reach Hollywood by the summer of 1922, but work stalled and the extension only made it as far as Forrest Hall, where a new station opened in 1926.[27][28] In 1928, the railroad ended passenger service because it was no longer profitable.[29]

In the 1930s, revenues were dropping due to increased competition from the automobile and the line probably would have been gone for good, except for the intervention of World War II.

Navy control[edit]

In June 1942, the U.S. Navy took over the line, extended it to Millstone Landing on the Patuxent River the Patuxent River Naval Air Station's northernmost point and changed the name officially to the U.S. Naval Air Station Railroad although it was also known as the Brandywine and Cedar Point Railroad. The railroad included a wye just north of Lexington Park with a small stub into north Lexington Park.[30] The Navy operated an "accommodation" train that connected with the Pennsylvania Railroad in Brandywine until the PRR stopped passenger trains on the Pope's Creek Line in 1949. By 1952, the Navy had 55 miles of track, three diesel locomotives and three dozen railcars, but repairs became so costly by 1953 that the Navy decided to discontinue service and the last train ran in July 1954.[29]

Pennsylvania Railroad control[edit]

From 1954 to 1966, The PRR continued to run a weekly train through St. Mary's and used the line to deliver aviation fuel to the base. However, when fuel started coming in by barge, the importance of the line dwindled.[29]

In 1962, the Pennsy built a spur off of the line from the north side of Hughesville to the new Chalk Point Generating Station to deliver coal, bringing renewed value to the northern 11.5 miles of track.[31] This track is called the Herbert Subdivision.

After operations[edit]

In 1966, the line south of Hughesville was declared government excess.[29]

When train operation ceased on the section from Hughesville to Patuxent, it was offered for sale by the GSA, but there were no takers. On June 26, 1970, the St. Mary's County Commissioners purchased 28 miles of the abandoned right-of-way from Hughesville, Maryland, to Patuxent River, Maryland.[32]

The tracks were removed in the mid-1970s.

Stations[edit]

Original line: pre-1942

  • Brandywine
  • Cedarville
  • Woodville
  • Gallant Green
  • Hughesville
  • Oaks
  • Charlotte Hall
  • New Market
  • Mechanicsville (original terminus)

In 1942, the federal government took over operations of the railroad, extended the line, and added these stops:

  • Oakville
  • Laurel Grove
  • Forrest Hall
  • Hillville
  • Hollywood
  • California
  • USN Pax River

After 1954: Pennsylvania Railroad operation

When the Navy decided it no longer wanted to operate the line 1954, the PRR took over operations, moving freight and occasionally a USN passenger car or caboose for special movements to/from the Brandywine Junction, which became a Department of Defense Warehouse and shipping point until it was destroyed by fire. The Brandywine terminal was U.S. government property and was maintained by Public Works personnel from Patuxent River. The terminal was turned over to the Air Force just before it burned.

Surviving landmarks[edit]

  • CSXT trackage that runs from Brandywine to Hughesville, where it connects to a spur to the Chalk Point Generating Station. These tracks are now part of CSX's Herbert Subdivision
  • From Hughesville to the Patuxent River Naval Station, the railroad's right-of-way is being used to create the 28-mile Three Notch Trail. Its first mile opened on June 3, 2006; as of 2018, it had been extended to 11 miles.[33]
  • Mileposts, MP13 & W

References[edit]

  1. ^ Laws of the State of Maryland. Maryland. General Assembly. State Department of Legislative Reference. 1868. pp. 231–236. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Point Lookout Railroad". The Baltimore Sun. 12 February 1869.
  3. ^ "LETTER FROM WASHINGTON: Southern Claims--Postal Changes--Baltimore and Potomac and Southern Maryland Railroad Construction--German Political Meetings--Butler on Lobbying--Local News". The Baltimore Sun. 27 April 1872.
  4. ^ "The Southern Maryland Railroad-Its Progress and Advantages". The Baltimore Sun. 18 July 1873.
  5. ^ "LETTER FROM WASHINGTON: The Treasury Robbery Case--Judgment on the Attachment Case--Postal Affairs--The Burglar Schneider--The Colored People and the Schools". The Baltimore Sun. 24 August 1875.
  6. ^ "THE POINT LOOKOUT ROAD.: Work Begun on the New Outlet for Southern Maryland". The Baltimore Sun. 23 March 1881.
  7. ^ a b "Brevities". The Washington Post. 4 October 1883.
  8. ^ "Railroad Matters: THE SOUTHERN MARYLAND--IMPENDING CONSOLIDATION OF PACIFIC ROADS--THE SEABOARD AND ITS CAROLINA CENTRAL PURCHASE, ETC". The Baltimore Sun. 6 February 1882.
  9. ^ "Midshipmen Ordered Home-- Star-Route-Cases--Removal of De Long's Remains, &c". The Baltimore Sun. 30 June 1882.
  10. ^ "CITY NEWS IN BRIEF". The Washington Post. 10 June 1884.
  11. ^ "Work on the Southern Maryland Railroad". The Evening Star. 9 June 1884.
  12. ^ "The Washington and Potomac Railroad". The Evening Star. 2 April 1886.
  13. ^ "Sale of the Southern Maryland Railroad". The Baltimore Sun. 14 January 1886.
  14. ^ "An Act to authorize the Washington City and Point Lookout Railroad Company to extend a Railroad into and within the District of Columbia" (PDF). Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  15. ^ "BALTIMORE, WASHINGTON AND ALEXANDRIA BRANCH ROAD". The Baltimore Sun. 9 August 1873.
  16. ^ "B&O Alexandria Branch". Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  17. ^ "LETTER FROM WASHINGTON: The Evangelical Alliance--Swedenborgians--The Financial Situation--Freaks of the Lightning-The Slatter Murder Trial--Local Items". The Baltimore Sun. 6 October 1873.
  18. ^ "Maryland Session Laws, 1878". 1878.
  19. ^ "THE POINT LOOKOUT RAILROAD". The Baltimore Sun. 11 March 1881.
  20. ^ "Proposed Railroads in Southern Maryland". The Baltimore Sun. 26 March 1881.
  21. ^ "Maryland Session Laws, 1894". 1894.
  22. ^ "Chesapeake Beach R Co v. Washington P & C R Co, 199 U.S. 247 (1905)".
  23. ^ "Session Laws of Maryland, 1910". 1910.
  24. ^ "Session Laws of Maryland, 1914". 1914.
  25. ^ "Maryland Session Laws, 1918". 1918.
  26. ^ "With Work Actually Under Way, St. Mary's Hopes to Have R.R.". The Baltimore Sun. 8 January 1922.
  27. ^ "Brandywine Road Plans Extension". The Washington Post. 16 January 1922.
  28. ^ "Trunk Line Association Docket". The Traffic Bulletin. 27: 24. 26 February 1926. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  29. ^ a b c d Leibe, Paul C. (27 December 2006). "Trains once rolled regularly through St. Mary's" (PDF). The Enterprise. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  30. ^ "Map of Calvert County Showing the Topography and Election Districts" (PDF). State of Maryland Department of Geology, Mines and Water Resources. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  31. ^ "Power Plant in a Hurry". The Washington Post. 23 January 1963.
  32. ^ "Amendments to Senate Bill 256" (PDF). 1998.
  33. ^ "Three Notch Trail Awarded $4.1 Million in Funding for 3.3 Mile Extension". 29 September 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2020.

External links[edit]

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