Freshly painted electrical boxes remind us the branch's meet with the Metropolitan Subdivision at Georgetown Junction lives on at least in name. Originally, B&O called this spot Metropolitan Southern Junction.

A rickety-looking, single-lane bridge carried Talbot Avenue over the tracks. It would be removed in 2019. On the left are remnants of the Georgetown Branch.

Link: Wikipedia entry

Talbot Avenue provided access to a recently-cleared hillside where photog Grosselfinger found B&O 9725 working the branch during an early spring day. The engine is a Fairbanks-Morse model H-12-44 of which the B&O Museum has number 9733 in its collection.

As seen beyond, about 15 railcars could be staged along each of two short stub tracks between the branch and main. CSX regenerated one of those two stubs during 2020. This tour proceeds along the branch (left).

Links: 1967, B&O 9733, 1993, 2019

This was much the same view almost 60 years later. Construction for repurposing of the Georgetown Branch by the Purple Line was well underway.

Link: 2021

As part of the Purple Line project, Talbot Avenue's unusual bridge was replaced with this steel-and-masonry version.

A style of signal rare in this region once guarded outbound traffic from the branch.

Links: 1959, 1996 wreck

Some branch trackage survived, like this frog, with a casting date of September 1977.

The rusting, disused tracks were overgrown with weeds.

A forgotten CSX Matweld maintenance of way machine sits forlornly.

The tracks have been pulled up to become a parking area for a local business.

The future Capital Crescent Trail begins at Stewart Avenue. Signage indicates that for now this is called the Georgetown Branch Trail; the trail's mileposts are about 0.1 miles short compared to my reckoning.

This sign on the west side of Stewart Avenue illustrates the route of the roughly 11-mile branch. The railroad traced a crescent around the Washington, DC city limits. The "you are here" arrow is near the top.

Purple Line construction has rendered this area so unrecognizable it is difficult to grasp the photog is standing at the same Stewart Avenue mentioned by the prior two panels. Purple Line trains will cross Stewart Avenue at grade. Note the rail segments are jointed rather than continuously welded.

In the distance, a bus is climbing over a new bridge for Lyttonsville Place.

It's easy to see why the Georgetown Branch became one of the favorite trails in the area. The former Lyttonsville Place bridge crosses ahead.

Link: ~1970

Lyttonsville Station was taking shape at photo time. This is a reverse-to-tour-direction view from the new Lyttonsville Place bridge. It will be awhile before trees regrow to shade the Capital Crescent Trail.

The Purple Line's unusually-large Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs) are being built by the USA factory of Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF). This photo shows car 106A during testing at New Carrollton. Revenue service hopes to begin by 2028.

Link: Wikipedia Purple Line entry, MDOT site

Georgetown Branch's bridge at Rock Creek was something Crocodile Dundee would appreciate. The original 1880s incarnation was a 1400-foot wooden trestle of size and complexity not otherwise seen in this area.

Repairs and shoring up for conversion into a pedestrian trail have given the trestle's woodwork a patchwork quilt appearance.

The original 1400-foot monster was in 1904 sized down to 281 feet by the addition of earthen fill on each side. Another rebuild followed in 1928, and once again in 1972 subsequent to Tropical Storm Agnes. It seems likely some surviving portions dated to that 1972 rebuild.

Look on the right... beneath the surface of the pedestrian walkway... are those railroad ties?

Not only did ties hide under the walkway but also B&O rails! Perhaps they added to the structural integrity of the bridge because they were left in place until the Purple Line arrived.

This "Steadfast Bridge" topping from the 2003 project was manufactured by Biltolast Products of Fort Payne, Alabama.