Video of the John Bull's Run 1981

Thanks for sharing. I remember that line well, rarly ever saw a train on it. Maybe once or twice. miss the line. That and the W&OD.  

Jamie

Jamie,

I was born just about 2 years or so after the line was officially abandoned. My uncle mentioned to me seeing, on occasion, a train crossing the Canal Road Bridge (seen at the end of the video). I'm under the assumption that the train regularly ran at night??? See below for great photos of the line both present and past. 

http://gallery.sluggyjunx.com/....php?g2_itemId=59617

I would thinks so given what a train would do to the traffic under Whitehurst freeway.

There is an old joke of who slept with who to get that line built to begin with. It never had that much traffic. The rails are still in the street under the highway.

I remember the W&OD trains running and when I finaly moved to Vienna, they pulled the tracks within two monthes.

Jamie

Rails are still in place on the Rock Creek trestle under the current deck. 

Rails are in place around the River Road Crossing. Up until recently, rails were still in River Road. Many industries existed around the River Rd. crossing and many of the older streets around the crossing have rails in them. The 1/4 of track or so starting at the junction to the trail head still has rails in place. 

The Bradley Blvd. bridge still has B&O Capital Dome Logos stamped into the center concrete pier. 

Last time I was in Georgetown under the freeway, I don't remember rails. Perhaps I missed them. I'll look closer next time. 

I've always been fascinated by that little railroad. I would have loved to see it in operation. 

I was hanging out in Georgetown in the late 70s and don't recall anything running on that rail line.  But the video sure looks like it's parallel to the canal.  Guess I had other things on my mind back then.

Bill, 

The track paralleled the canal from approximately the Canal Road Bridge/Fletcher's Boathouse area to Georgetown. The link I posted a few posts back has some neat pictures of the operation, including trains (freight and steam both revenue freight and the Best Friend of Charleston and the John Bull) running along the canal. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bull_(locomotive)

quote:

on Oct. 14, 1980, the locomotive was successfully field-tested on the Warrenton Branch Line in Fauquier County between Calverton and Casanova, Va. The site was selected because at the time, only one freight train per week used the branch line. On September 15, 1981, the locomotive operated under steam on a few miles of branch line near the Potomac River within Washington, D.C.

I believe the footage in the video is from both operations.

There is an old joke of who slept with who to get that line built to begin with. It never had that much traffic.

It was built as a possible link to the south for the B&O. The PRR got there first, but the B&O did have a separate Potomac crossing during WW II used in case of the Long Bridge was blown-up, since it was thought to have been targeted by Axis powers.