Photos of East Washington Railway Locomotives

Hi all,

I was wondering if anybody had any old photos or slides of the East Washington Railway Company out of Seat Pleasant, Maryland? Especially of the diesels that they owned, such as 45 Tonner #101, Whitcomb 65 Tonner #102, or RS-1 #103. I've never seen a photo of #103 so that would be very exiting to see. I'll share the one's in my collection in case you have absolutely no idea of what railroad I'm talking about. (Sorry about the scans, I have a really old scanner that only works with Microsoft 95)

All the Best,

Nick Jobe
Centreville, VA

A friend of mine recalled going down with some other railfans and actually helping out with the operations on a volunteer basis. Things like flagging for them etc. He shared these pics with me:

More Pics

More:

These images are absolutely fascinating, thanks for posting them! It appears some of the photos illustrate the coal traffic the East Washington received from the Baltimore & Ohio for the PEPco Benning Power Plant in Anacostia. The plant converted to Petroleum in 1976 thus sealing the fate of the East Washington as the power plant was it's only major customer. The photos of the shop area in Seat Pleasant are fascinating as well due to the fact that the passenger car (Either the San Juan or the Dolores) still resided on the property. Originally owned by the Chesapeake Beach (A predecessor) the San Juan was converted to a bunk car at the roundhouse while the Dolores was kept and used for what I believe to be company inspections of the route. My guess is that the unknown car is the Dolores due to the fact that the San Juan was converted to an immobile bunk car in the mid 1930s making it very unlikely that it was kept all the way into the 1970's when the photos were taken.

Fun Fact: Both #101 and #102 are still around today as of February 6, 2020, with #101 being used as a switcher at a power plant in Hopewell, Virginia, and #102 at the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway in Ohio painted in US Army livery.

All The Best,

Nick Jobe
Centreville, VA

102 was at maryland midland a long time.

I believe it was. If I remember right, it was the first locomotive that the company owned.

All The Best,

Nick Jobe
Centreville, VA

Why are the passenger cars named after counties in Southwestern Colorado?

riffian wrote: ↑Sat Feb 08, 2020 2:03 pm Why are the passenger cars named after counties in Southwestern Colorado?

The original founder (Otto Mears) of what was once the Chesapeake Beach Railway, the shortened version of what later was to become the East Washington Railway, got his start in railroading in Colorado. I forget the name of the road he had in Colorado, but he eventually came east to build the Chesapeake Beach Railway. There is a book on the Chesapeake Beach Railway, "Otto Mears Goes East - The Chesapeake Beach Railway" by Ames W. Williams. Out of print, you might be able to find a copy somewhere.

After some more research, I've discovered that Otto Mears directed and constructed the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, the Silverton Railroad, and the Silverton Northern Railroad along with multiple toll roads before moving eastward. When he arrived in the Washington D.C. area, that's when he began the construction the Chesapeake Beach Railway and with that, he bought a group of wood passenger cars including the Dolores and his private car, the San Juan. The San Juan appears to have been named after the San Juan Mountains in Colorado where Mears built many of his railroads, while the Dolores might have been named after the Dolores River or the town of Dolores in Colorado which the RGS served.

Another thing I've realized is that the Dolores apparently still exists at the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum located outside the old Chesapeake Beach Railway Station at Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. Once I get my license, I'll have to drive down to that area and see it for my own eyes. From the photos I've seen, it's looking in much better shape than the 1970's photograph above of the car at the East Washington Shops in Seat Pleasant.

All The Best,

Nick Jobe
Centreville, VA