West of Little Falls Parkway, a whistle post has fallen and it can't get up.

A man, a plan, a canal... camera!

Water from this Little Falls tributary will eventually find itself in Dalecarlia Reservoir and then the Potomac River.

Who knew Bethesda had so many railfans? The fence means something interesting lies ahead. I assume the bell tower on the left is a church... anyone know?

Arch enemies have been here.

This spot is 4.6 railroad miles into the branch (the trail starts 0.1 miles west of B&O's Georgetown Junction). On the right was the broadcast tower of WDCA television Channel 20 prior to its merging facilities with those of WTTG Channel 5 in 2001.

Link to older pic: 1956, opposite view?

In railroading days, busy River Road had gotten by with a grade crossing. Since the trail sees more traffic than the tracks did, it was given its own bridge... one that would have been prohibitively steep for trains.

Link to older pic: 1973

After passing another arched concrete bridge, we arrive at a Darwin Award practice area.

More rails of the disused siding lie further ahead.

Nearby, a different sign from the Maryland Park and Planning Commission reads:

"In the early 1800s, Nathan Loughborough moved from Philadelphia to Washington and purchased the 250 acre estate, Milton c.1820. Believed to be the oldest standing house in the area, the original wing was built in the eighteenth century of granite, a non-indigenous stone. The Loughboroughs built a mill on the property, also of stone c.1830. Originally from Virginia, the family supported the Confederacy, joining their ranks during the War. Union soliders camping at Milton reportedly destroyed the mill, perhaps in retaliation, and runoff from the Johnstown flood of 1899 nearly obliterated the mill race. Nothing remains today except the mill excavation and traces of the race."

Got to keep the bikers on the path.

Winner of the prettiest Georgetown Branch Bridge Contest is this example spanning Massachusetts Avenue. The stonework is just facade added in 1973 to cover a standard steel deck girder bridge. Pedestrian tunnels extend under each side.

Link to older pic: 1977

Typical of several culverts along this stretch west of Massachusetts Avenue is this "bridge" with the always-helpful painted-on number 11.

Sure, but which way to DC?

The ex-B&O route takes the high road while the Little Falls Valley Stream Trail takes the low road. A modern sign on the bridge labels it H06-07, whatever that means.

A zoom view down the trail shows something big lies ahead.

Bridge 14 spans an aqueduct that delivers Potomac River water into Dalecarlia Reservoir.

A similar view of Bridge 14 after the Georgetown Branch was abandoned but before the tracks had been pulled up.

Little Falls spills into Dalecarlia Reservoir here, but the mid-19th century reservoir gets most of its water from the Potomac River.

Dalecarlia Tunnel pierces a natural ridge that separates Dalecarlia Reservoir from the Potomac River, while MacArthur Boulevard carries auto traffic overhead.