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B&O Washington Branch Photo Tour


B&O Washington Branch
Modern day photo tour

Accompanying each photo below are:

Click a photo to see a larger view. Please send your comments and corrections to Steve.


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Dorsey Station

Dorsey Station
Mile: 12.9 Date: May 2002
Ease: B+ View: SW
Area: B IC2:
Map: Ho 17 E 12, AA 1 B 12 Topographic Maps

Looking SW beyond the tall signals finds MARC's Dorsey Station, the newest on the mainline. A B&O list from 1889 puts Sand Switch Station here.

That's MD 100 traversing overhead.


MARC 13

MARC 13
Mile: 13.0 Date: Feb 2011
Ease: A- View: SW
Area: B IC2:
Map: Ho 17 E 12, AA 1 B 12 Topographic Maps

The MARC locomotive fleet includes 26 Motive Power MP36PH-3C units, a design popular in commuter rail. The Motive Power brand is built by Wabtec Corporation, an American company formed by the 1999 merger of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO) and MotivePower Industries Corporation. In a Dirty Jobs episode, Mike Rowe visits Motive Power to assist building one of these MARC locomotives.

CSX operated MARC from inception in 1984 until October 2012; since then Bombardier has taken on the job.

CSX removed Dorsey's CPL signals November 5, 2011.

Link: CPL removal photo


Dorsey Station Bridge

Dorsey Station Bridge
Mile: 13.1 Date: Feb 2000
Ease: A View: NW
Area: B IC2:
Map: Ho 17 D 12 Topographic Maps

Tucked away beneath Dorsey Station is this small masonry arched bridge. The other side shows 19th-century stonework.


Dorsey Station

Dorsey Station
Mile: 13.1 Date: Dec 2000
Ease: A View: SE
Area: A IC2:
Map: Ho 17 D 12 Topographic Maps

CSX shares the "Camden Line" with commuter trains between Baltimore and Washington. Dorsey Station is one of the busier.


Station Interior

Station Interior
Mile: 13.1 Date: Sep 2003
Ease: A- View: SW
Area: A IC2:
Map: Ho 17 D 12, AA 1 B 12 Topographic Maps

A few plants decorate the station interior, which will soon reopen to greet afternoon commuters.


Dorsey Station Platform

Dorsey Station Platform
Mile: 13.1 Date: Dec 2000
Ease: A- View: NE
Area: A IC2:
Map: Ho 17 D 12 Topographic Maps

Here's the view from the platform as CSX 605 scoots under Route 100.

Modern milepost 13 is at the far end of the platform (in fact, before 2011 it was affixed to the platform's railing), but the original stone mile marker is nowhere to be found. I suspect it was removed as part of the construction of either the station or Route 100.


Deep Run Bridge

Deep Run Bridge
Mile: 13.2 Date: Feb 2000
Ease: B+ View: W
Area: B IC2:
Map: Ho 17 D 12, AA 1 B 12 Topographic Maps

A Conrail engine inherited by CSX speeds by atop this attractive stone and brick bridge just south of the Dorsey Station. You can even see it without getting out of your car. Simply drive north on OConnor Drive from Route 103. According to Harwood, this bridge dates to 1870.

This bridge also marks a corner of Howard County. From here south to Laurel, the railroad determines the Howard-Anne Arundel county line. As you might have guessed, the railroad pre-dates Howard County, which split off from Anne Arundel in 1850. I am not sure if the pair of tracks is officially located entirely in one of the two counties, or if the county line runs in between them. The ADC maps indicate the railroad is in Anne Arundel county, but a B&O schedule lists the tracks and stations as being in Howard.

Except for a less-than-one-mile stretch near Mt. Airy, all of Howard County's borders are defined by either railroads or rivers.


Brick Arch
NEW! mid-Jun 2021

Brick Arch
Mile: 13.2 Date: Dec 2020
Ease: B View: SE
Area: B IC2:
Map: Ho 17 D 12, AA 1 B 12 Topographic Maps

The Deep Run Bridge is second only to the Thomas Viaduct as the brick arch line's largest surviving stone/brick arch bridge.

Some sort of bridge has been here since the line's 1835 opening, and though the varied coloring on the bricks suggests a later expansion, closer examination reveals that to not be the case. Instead, this bridge was rebuilt in whole circa 1870 when brick arches were popular with B&O. The rebuild may have been concomitant a then-new B&O Dorsey Station which needed a siding track.


CSX 8777

CSX 8777
Mile: 13.2 Date: Feb 2000
Ease: C View: NE
Area: B+ IC2:
Map: AA 1 B 12, Ho 17 D 12 Topographic Maps

Train watching along the Washington Branch is far more productive than along the quieter Old Main Line. Here CSX 8777 roars south (west) past MARC's Dorsey Station with a long line of containers in tow. That's the Maryland 100 overpass in the distance.


B+O Dorsey Station

B&O Dorsey Station
Mile: 13.3 Date: Apr 1938
Ease: A View: N (up)
Area: B IC2:
Map: AA 1 B 12, Ho 17 D 13 Topographic Maps

Before MARC had a Dorsey Station, B&O had one. In this aerial it is the building left of center. This photo dates to shortly after grade separation of Dorsey Road (now Maryland 103). The exact date the station closed is uncertain. Houses were built at the site during 2010.


MD 103

MD 103
Mile: 13.3 Date: May 2002
Ease: A View: NW
Area: B IC2:
Map: AA 1 B 12, Ho 17 D 13 Topographic Maps

Built in 1937, this utilitarian bridge carries the tracks over Dorsey Road, Maryland 103 (formerly 176). Disused stairways on both sides of the road led up to the platforms at Dorsey Station. The bridge has room for three tracks, but has never carried more than two.


Straightaway

Straightaway
Mile: 13.4 Date: Nov 2018
Ease: A View: NE
Area: B IC2:
Map: AA 1 B 13, Ho 17 D 13 Topographic Maps

Four-signal sets like this are commonly found at crossovers between tracks.

Prior to grade separation, a third track had existed on the left to serve B&O's Dorsey Station.

This straight run is one reason the stretch has been signposted for locomotive speed calibration, as will be seen a few panels below.


CSX 577
Photo courtesy Kirk Nabors

CSX 577
Mile: 13.5 Date: Oct 2017
Ease: A View: NE
Area: B+ IC2:
Map: AA 1 B 13, Ho 17 D 13 Topographic Maps

Next stop Jessup Auto Terminal as seen later in this tour...


CREX 1338
Photo courtesy Kirk Nabors

CREX 1338
Mile: 13.5 Date: Mar 2018
Ease: A View: W
Area: B+ IC2:
Map: AA 1 B 13, Ho 17 D 13 Topographic Maps

Yes, Citibank is into locomotives too. Most units were leased to BNSF to haul oil, but on this day one found its way east to assist its ES44AC cousin CSX 3010 with autoracks.

Link: CREX 1338 pics


KCS 4604
Photo courtesy Kirk Nabors

KCS 4604
Mile: 13.5 Date: Jul 2018
Ease: A View: W
Area: B+ IC2:
Map: AA 1 B 13, Ho 17 D 13 Topographic Maps

As the smallest Class 1 railroad, Kansas City Southern (KCS) is an infrequent visitor this far east. On this day, KCS 4604 and KCS 4689 were toting autoracks. During 2021, KCS entered an agreement to merge with Canadian Pacific Railroad.

Link: KCS at Wikipedia


Rail Train
Photo courtesy Kirk Nabors

Rail Train
Mile: 13.5 Date: May 2018
Ease: A View: W
Area: B+ IC2:
Map: AA 1 B 13, Ho 17 D 13 Topographic Maps

Rails are hauled in long segments by specially-customized, articulated cars. There's enough rail being carried to redo a few miles of track. Caboose 904094 was on the end to serve as a shoving platform.

Surprisingly, ribbon rail segments are flexible enough to bend as the train negotiates curves. While being carried the rails are mounted on rollers so they can slide as the bending relatively lengthens or shortens them.

Links: rail train, dealing with curves


CSX 935
Photo courtesy Kirk Nabors

CSX 935
Mile: 13.5 Date: Nov 2018
Ease: A View: W
Area: B+ IC2:
Map: AA 1 B 13, Ho 17 D 13 Topographic Maps

Starting in the 2010s, CSX extended many of its trains, with some nearing 3 miles in length. To reduce the stress on couplers, CSX has been placing a locomotive in the middle of these longer trains. They are called Distributed Power Units (DPUs).

Maps show a stream at mp 13.7, but after you slog through the lowlands near it, you'll find a small piped culvert that's so overgrown with brush and vines, it can't be captured by a photo. A visit is not worth the effort.


MARC 33
NEW! mid-Jun 2021

MARC 33
Mile: 13.5 Date: Nov 2018
Ease: A View: W
Area: B+ IC2:
Map: AA 1 B 13, Ho 17 D 13 Topographic Maps

Sunsets arrive sooner in autumn, but commuters follow the same schedule.


Mile 14

Mile 14
Mile: 14.0 Date: May 2002
Ease: B+ View: SW
Area: B IC2:
Map: Ho 20 F 11, AA 6 A 1 Topographic Maps

Several artifacts are to be found at mile marker 14. This turns out to be a very easy spot to access: drive to the end of Ohio/Oak Avenues. The pavement ends right across the tracks from where I'm standing.

The concrete slab in the foreground was probably a signal stand in a former life. In the distance is an S signpost.


S Signpost

S Signpost
Mile: 14.0 Date: May 2002
Ease: B+ View: E
Area: B IC2:
Map: Ho 20 F 11, AA 6 A 1 Topographic Maps

Here's a rear view closeup of the S signpost. It looks to be a custom job: it's welded to an old piece of rail. At upper left is where the pavement of Ohio/Oak Avenues ends.

Fran Giacoma responded with a description:

    "Per the B&O RR Roadway and Track Standards this is a 'Speed Test Sign' to be used at points where the engine speeds are to be checked. They would be placed a mile apart so an engineer could check the accurancy of the locomotive speedometer (if it had one and worked). Sort of like a 'begin measured mile' and 'end measured mile' signs seen on highways and other railroads."


Dirty Ballast

Dirty Ballast
Mile: 14.0 Date: Sep 2017
Ease: A- View: NW
Area: B IC2:
Map: AA 6 A 1, Ho 20 F 11 Topographic Maps

With dusty development along parallelling Dorsey Run Road CSX may be delaying ballast cleaning. Note the rusty appearance of the stone of the near track. Yes, that needs to be cleaned off periodically.

Wikipedia describes why:

    "Over time, ballast becomes worn, and loses its angularity, becoming rounded. This hinders the tessellation of pieces of ballast with one another, and thus reduces its effectiveness. Fine pieces of granite, like sand, are also created by attrition, known simply as 'fines'. Combined with water in the ballast, these fines stick together, making the ballast like a lump of concrete. This hinders both track drainage and the flexibility of the ballast to constrain the track as it moves under traffic."


Original Marker

Original Marker
Mile: 14.0 Date: May 2002
Ease: A- View: SE
Area: B IC2:
Map: AA 6 A 1, Ho 20 F 11 Topographic Maps

Directly across the tracks from the S signpost was a nice surprise: a mile marker which likely dates from the branch's original construction in 1835. It says this spot is 14 miles from Baltimore and 26 from Washington, DC. This marker is no longer extant.



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