The branch had never been double tracked. Can anyone loan a weed-whacker and saw?

Though patinaed with rust, the bridge supports appear in suitable condition for train service to resume. Of course, engineer crews would need to verify.

From street level, the bridge does not appear to need as much groundskeeping.

Nearby neighborhood stores supply the essentials. If you ever need Harware-Toilet Tissue, Soap Locks, or key food groups, now you know where to find a Convenient Store that can help. Since photo time, this store has closed.

Utility lines parallel the Claremont Branch. Yes, rails are hiding in this overgrowth as seen looking back from Wellesley Street. A dense stand of trees have taken hold behind the photographer, suggesting the track between here and the Northeast Corridor was dismantled some time ago.

The vined Caton Avenue bridge would blend well within Sanctuary in the 1976 Logan's Run movie. We're close to the Northeast Corridor now (unseen on the right).

The Claremont Branch met the Pennsylvania RR / Amtrak in a wye formation near milepost 100 so trains could proceed both east and west along the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak and MARC now keep busy along this stretch where Wilkens Avenue spans overhead. Milleposts are measured from PRR's Broad Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,

In the photo above, note the boulder between the end of the train on the right and the equipment box. That boulder resides where the Catonsville Short Line had diverged from the Pennsy. Old aerial photos suggest sufficient track switches had never been installed to permit trains to roll from the Claremont Branch onto the Catonsville Short Line.

All but a few remnants of both legs of the wye were removed around 2010. The Penn-Camden Connector will restore them. In this zoom view, some surviving track segments -- plus beyond them ballast curves or shadows -- mark where the wye had split off.

Looking back from the boulder, note the short pole on the right with a corresponding concrete block for a pole on the left. These may have been associated with the Claremont Branch. The boulder is a former Baltimore City boundary stone.

MARC 33 passes the Loudon Park Substation on the left, another possible reason for the extra poles.

MARC Penn Line trains like this follow what had been the route of the Pennsylvania RR between Baltimore and Washington, DC. MARC Camden Line trains follow B&O's route between those cities, the only route that serves the home stadiums of the Orioles and Ravens. The proposed Penn-Camden Connector would revive the branch and permit Penn Line trains to bring fans to and from the stadiums.

Link: Substation HABS/HAER entry

MARC 20 speeds local passengers past tall catenary poles. Note how the poles near the train are located the usual distance from the rails while those ahead are further from the rails. The ones ahead had provided room for the Claremont Branch's now-dismantled westbound wye track.

Now we've moved a bit east, across from what had been the center of the wye; the eastbound leg had extended into the distance on the right. Note the white tank in that direction to the right of the quickly approaching engine. That's now a fixed-location tank, but into at least the 1970s tank cars were picked up and dropped off there by the railroad.

About two seconds later, Washington-bound Amtrak 643 model ACS-64 has obscured much of our view while dead insects similarly challenge the operator.

This aerial photo captured the western end of the Claremont Branch during its active days.