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  • Old sidings along the Brunswick Line

  • Discussion related to DC area passenger rail services from Northern Virginia to Baltimore, MD. Includes Light Rail and Baltimore Subway.
Discussion related to DC area passenger rail services from Northern Virginia to Baltimore, MD. Includes Light Rail and Baltimore Subway.

Moderators: mtuandrew, therock, Robert Paniagua

 #1346505  by MCL1981
 
While mindlessly staring out the window, I'm noticing lots of old abandoned sidings. Most of them seem to go up along side a business or warehouse that's along side the tracks. I'm guessing this is from back in the day when these places used the railroad for bulk deliveries or shipments? Not surprising they don't use it anymore, and the switches are long gone. What surprises me is that the rails are still there. I would think someone would have scooped them up for scrap value at this point. That's a lot of free steel. Why do these tracks remain?

I see there's a siding going over to Washington Gas. With some elaborate towers and such for loading. Do they ship natural gas by train out of there? I've never seen it. Is the one at the fair grounds essentially the circus train siding?
 #1346545  by Backshophoss
 
The Rails on the other side of the RR property line are "owned" by the Real Estate Co,that owns the warehouse involved.
The track dept maintains from the switch to the property line(10-20 feet),after that,the property owner maintains or
gets a bill from the RR involved for repairs to privately owned track.
When the switch was removed,remaining rails and ties lie undisturbed untill removed by the property owner.
And the cost of Removal might exceed the scrap value of the rail.
 #1346674  by ExCon90
 
That might be too much like work. At +/- 100 lbs. to the yard it would involve some heavy lifting -- besides cutting with a torch if they don't like lifting a 39' length @ 1300 lbs. or so. The bolts in the joint bars might be rusty, too. I imagine it would be a very difficult stunt to pull off by anyone who's not supposed to be there in the first place.
 #1349349  by oknazevad
 
More like it would just be way too easy to get caught being a thief.
 #1360862  by strench707
 
The last time I checked, here is all of the local industry left on the Met east of Point of Rocks:

-Dickerson, MD: "PEPCO Branch"
Gen-On's coal-fired plant still receives loads of coal. Limestone and urea are also received for the scrubbing process and said process produces synthetic gypsum which is railed out.
Covanta's trash-fired plant receives trash loads and puts out ash loads as a by-product.

- Derwood, MD: "Sears Lead"
Covanta puts out trash loads for their Dickerson plant, runs via the unit train D765.

- Rockville, MD:
Subrban Propane seems to receive little to no traffic anymore but their spur does get used sporadically as a team track for the offloading of other shipments to trucks.
Washington Gas still gets tank cars switched in and out.

- Washington, DC:
Martin Wiegand gets a couple of inbound lumber loads per month, very sporadic.


....and unfortunately that is it. Its a wonder that the carload customers left are still clinging on.

Davis