This GM Hopkins map depicts the area as of 1878. The uppermost grade crossing of B&O's line is that of Calvert Road, which is seen in photos below. The tour is heading generally south (down) toward Riverdale Station which this map does not depict. It is located near the & of "Balt. & Ohio R.R." That labeled "North West Branch Potomac River" is now called the Anacostia River.

Automobiles are crossing at Calvert Road. That crossing would soon be permanently closed by the then-imminent construction of Metro's Green Line on the left. The track on the right was part of B&O's spur to University of Maryland's power plant. A freight train derailed in this vicinity on May 10, 1952.

This reverse-to-tour-direction view shows the area around College Park Airport (right) prior to Metro. CSX later moved the distant signals closer to the photog's location. Paint Branch Parkway does not yet exist.

Deep zoom to and beyond the CPL signals (left) shows what looks to be a vehicle waiting at Berwyn Road for an eastbound coal hopper to pass, however online info says Berwyn Road's grade crossing was closed in 1942 and not reopened. Perhaps a vehicle was simply parked trackside.

The distant overpass is that of Greenbelt Road.

Link: Berwyn Road grade crossing history

Since the College Park Airport runway (off photo right) is about 10 feet lower than the adjacent railroads, landing planes must glide in fairly low. Imagine the surprise of a train operator when out from the trees emerges a plane barely above eye level. Double stacks reach almost as high as these CSX signals, so a slightly lower plane could strike such railcars -- or "knock down a signal" the hard way.

Note: to better illustrate the proximity of landing planes and trains, the main photo is a created composite of two, inspired by the actual, poor-quality, cropped photo at left shot moments before. These two photos may not depict the same plane.

When the US Post Office Department during 1918 began air mail service between Washington and New York, they soon chose this airport because it was adjacent to the railroad. Due to the lack of navigation references during that era, pilots followed the tracks. Unfortunately, the very first pilot to try this followed the wrong tracks and ended up flying south to Waldorf, Maryland.

Links: ready for takeoff 1912, 1912

This "brake rotor runner" (that's what the first car holds, as seen at right) is near a mile in length. Both it and this Metro train are passing over Paint Branch Parkway that was cut underneath during 1994. Shoo-fly track on the northwest side had carried CSX trains over the construction. The Green Line began operation here during 1993.

A faster engine must have blown the doors off CSX 940. It looked like this from 2016 until showing up during June 2020 with "CSX" repainted by hand.

Engines operating such as this in the middle of a train, or at its end, are Distributed Power Units (DPUs). The operator is at the head end of the train, as usual, but powering and braking commands are transmitted via computer so that all engines within the train work in tandem. CSX reduced its use of DPUs starting in 2024.

Links: more CSX 940, hand painted

MARC 7755 approaches as a control cab for the locomotive (in this case MARC 11) pushing from the other end. During the 2000s, MARC expanded its rail service to University of Maryland via this stop in College Park. The welcome sign is a bit premature since passengers disembarking on this damp autumn afternoon have another mile-plus of travel to reach the campus.

A quarter-mile in the distance, you can glimpse part of the bridge over Paint Branch Parkway; the road took over what since the 1950s had been the path of a B&O spur to the university's power plant on the east side of US 1. The spur had split off to the left near the far end of the train in this photo.

Links: 1978, spur photos

The MARC "station" here, which consists of platforms with covered shacks, is adjacent to the College Park stop of Metro's Green Line. A walkway connects the two. At first reaction, it seems odd for the two very similar modes of transport to place stops adjacent, but fast food restaurants have studied this issue and learned the best location for a new restaurant is near that of a competitor.

Greenbelt and College Park are the only two adjacent stations served by both Metro and MARC.

This is one of few known photos of B&O's College Park Station. An 1878 GM Hopkins map places College Lawn Station on the other (west) side of the tracks.

College Park Station's brick platforms survived long after the station building, enduring until Metro's arrival. The building had been on the left. Calvert Road crosses the tracks at photo bottom.

Link: 1966

This is much the same view as the prior, except about 50 years later. Motive Power model MP36PH-3C locomotives began MARC service during 2009. They are more energy efficient than their predecessors. They even operate in rain.

Links: MARC roster, MPXpress locomotives

One photo, four tracks and four moving trains, a personal best.

Metro's Green Line rises over the freight tracks before disappearing into a hillside tunnel (unseen at left) and progressing west under University Park.

All Metro cars had the same basic appearance as the original models from the 1970s when the system opened. That changed upon the arrival of the "7000 series" cars in 2016.

Change for: Green Line photos at this site
Link: "7000 series" pictures

With mileposts 32 at each side, MARC 14 rolls under the Lafayette Avenue extension, the Cap Sub's newest overpass.

Deep zoom shows an uncommon "No Whistle" signpost. Federal regulations normally require trains to sound an audible warning when approaching a grade crossing like that of Queensbury Road ahead. In selected locations, residents have successfully petitioned for no audible warning and better sleep. The more common W sign stood here six years earlier.

This GEVO cousin, numbered 28 higher than the one above, came off the Alexandria Branch to lead mixed freight toward Baltimore. CSX 8705 and CSX 8851 follow. East-West Highway, MD 410, has bridged behind since 1966.

Deep zoom shows a passenger at Riverdale awaiting the next MARC train. Farther away, some of the Cap Subdivision's last CPL signals still in operation await the retirement that will come upon activation of their successors standing adjacent.

East-West Highway (MD 410) casts the foreground shadow. It it the perch for the next few photos.

Link: 1966

Marty Hager kindly contributed two photos of a wreck and cleanup near Riverdale. Of this photo, Marty writes:

I'm pretty certain it was winter of '72-73. It is looking north from the Rt 410 overpass. This was a string of covered hoppers carrying corn heading for Baltimore. I remember that as the corn began to rot the entire area smelled like the inside of a port-a-potty for a while. It was around that time that a succession of accidents happened around the Riverdale-Hyattsville area.

Links: 1973, 1973, 1973, 1973

A visit to the wreck site almost 50 years later finds more railcars on the tracks and more trees.

Of this scene with B&O 3762, Marty Hager writes:

This shot is not very interesting but it shows the scene of the wreck after repairs were completed. One artifact in the shot is the siding on the east side of the tracks. As much time as I spent hanging around Riverdale I don't remember that siding being there. It's gone now.

Links: more of B&O 3762, still in use during 2018 as UP 1500

Much the same view about 50 years later finds a westbound riding Track 2 so it can access the Alexandria Branch. The switch from Track 1 to 2 usually happens immediately west of Jessup Station.

Link: trimming brush 2010

The same train switches from Track 2 onto the Alexandria Branch at the site of JD Tower. That tower will be seen later in this tour.

At photo time, a siding extended down to Queensbury Road where boxcars are being passed by a B&O Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC). The RDCs were self propelled and ideal for carrying small groups of commuters. The RDCs gave way to MARC that hauls multiple-cars-worth of commuters.

Link: RDC interior

Riverdale makes for a surprisingly pleasant and scenic stop on any tour of area railroads. This view looks south toward Queensbury Road, the last grade crossing encountered on the way to Washington. That may partially explain why a higher-than-normal number of drivers at this crossing make the mistake of turning onto the tracks and getting their car damaged or stuck.

Riverdale's MARC station has been rebuilt on the site of B&O's circa 1890 station. Inside are volunteer-maintained small displays of railroad history. The short row of shops seen behind give the area a quaint, small town feel. On the right, the overpass is that of East-West Highway, Route 410.

Reader David Hiles shared some history:

According to town legend, the Calvert family allowed the railroad to run through their plantation in Riverdale under the condition that the railroad will always offer passenger service somewhere on the original grounds. If passenger service was discontinued to Riverdale, then the railroad would forfeit the right of way back to the Calverts. Maybe that is why we still have the closest MARC station to DC.

Link: 1964

MD 410's overpass did not yet exist. Eastbound passengers used this waiting shack. A 1910 B&O station list indicates Riverdale had pens for live animals and a company siding with room for seven railcars. Only the siding remained present by 1960.

The foreground shadow is being cast by the building that is the subject of the next panel.

Link: 1964

At Riverdale, B&O and the Rhode Island Avenue trolley were separated by the width of the building seen here. Trolley tickets were sold within. CSX is on the left, while the trolley line survives only in the form of the series of utility poles stretching into the distance on the right. The trolley operated into the 1950s after which for a time the building was home to Griff's famous subs and house of pizza.

Marty Hager reports the building was demolished during January 2025 after a wayward Metro bus struck and severely damaged it.

Link: 1964