The Georgetown Branch: Gallery: Tour: From Little Falls Rd. to Georgetown 09/24/2004 - On my commute to work I decided to snap some pics. I took quite a few. Some are of remaining infrastructure and others are of the right-of-way.
	2004_09_13-gb_tour161.jpg MP 10.7: End of Wisconsin Ave. The power plant was just to the left. Tracks served the plant at the back, pasing in front of the small tower and passing to the right, about where the pathway to the far right goes.
	2004_09_13-gb_tour162.jpg Facing due North, Wisconsin Ave. stretches towards Pennsylvania. Tracks serving the power plant passed left to right just in front of me. There was also a track at one point which served some industry which crossed the power plant track and went to the left. The main line is below Whitehurst Fwy., of course.
	2004_09_13-gb_tour163.jpg Someone wants to erase the Georgetown waterfront's industrial heritage and turn the whole thing into a park. It's only a matter of time. *sigh* Which is one reason I took these photos... they won't be here forever. The bastards don't even mention the fact that the area was the industrial heart of Washington DC for so long. They have their history blinders on. Freakin' tree-huggers. "The idea for the Georgetown Waterfront Park began with a group of dedicated citizens who wanted to transform the misused and abused site to a park that could be enjoyed by all." Misused and abused? This site was, in modern terms, always an industrial area! It's only in the last 30 yuppie years that it's been considered for anything else. Uuuhhhgghh... here visit their website: Ignorance is bliss.
	2004_09_13-gb_tour164.jpg Closeup of small concrete tower.
	2004_09_13-gb_tour165.jpg Other side of tower.
	2004_09_13-gb_tour166.jpg Looking into park where power plant was located. Building complex in the background was the location of several gravel/concrete dealers/manufacturers including Smoot Sand & Gravel.
	2004_09_13-gb_tour167.jpg At the corner of Wisconsin Ave. & Water St., some old buildings survive.
	2004_09_13-gb_tour168.jpg MP 11.0: This is the terminus of the Georgetown Branch. Here is the coal and ash transfer station for the power plant located about 2 blocks Northeast. Inside the building are grates where coal cars would dump their loads. The coal was transferred by conveyer belt, underground, up to the power plant. This was one, if not the, last customers on the GB. When the plant decided to truck in the coal, the branch breathed its final breath. Years before this structure was built there was a freight station located here. To the Right was a large team track yard which extended on to the waterfront. Stock yards were also located here, to the right of the building. This is one of the VERY few places in Georgetown where you can still see and examine tracks.
	2004_09_13-gb_tour169.jpg Standing in the same location, looking to the left, we see the site where W.M. King & Son was formerly located. One of the oldest fuel dealers in DC, there were 4 silos located here.
	2004_09_13-gb_tour170.jpg I believe that they also loaded ash from the power plant into empty hoppers here too.
	2004_09_13-gb_tour171.jpg Sign reads "GSA, COAL & ASH HOUSE, WEST WASHINGTON PLANT". Whole property is used for storage now. Behind the structure are tail tracks with wheel blocks at the end. There is enough room on each track for about 2 hoppers behind the building.
	2004_09_13-gb_tour172.jpg Closeup on the rail. OK, so here is where my camera's batteries died and I stopped shooting. One final note, after this, I took the heel of my shoe and dug out the dirt from rails to see what was below (again, the whole girder rail question). Indeed, there is no girder rail here - just concrete. The profile for the clearance matches, or is similar to, the plan I posted in the History section of my site. Check it out for yourself. This track would have been put in around 1948, most likely.
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