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 had called this spot Metropolitan Southern Junction.

A rickety-looking single-lane bridge carried Talbot Avenue over the tracks. On the left are remnants of the Georgetown Branch.

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. During 2020, CSX regenerated one of those two stubs. This tour proceeds along the branch (left).

Links: 1967, B&O 9733, 1993, 2019, 2021

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

Link: 1959

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

The rusting disused tracks are now 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 illustrates the route of the roughly 11 mile branch as it traces a crescent around the Washington, DC city limits. The "you are here" arrow is near the top.

The Lyttonsville Place bridge looks more imposing than its two-lanes-of-traffic reality.

Link: ~1970

By comparison, the bridge at Rock Creek is 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 date to that 1972 rebuild.

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

Not only are ties hiding under the walkway, but also B&O rails! Perhaps they add to the structural integrity of the bridge, and thus were left in place.

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