In many places, electric interurban railways were the first to string power-carrying wires outside the big cities. With electricity so close, it was inevitable that towns along the line would request, and purchase, power from the railways.

As this electricity distribution map from 1937 shows, the service grid is perhaps the primary legacy of the interurbans. Power lines follow many of the long-disused railways even today, then branch off along spurs or state roads.

The blue green line highlights the route of WB&A's main line that this tour follows from bottom left to upper right.

WB&A's eastward (right) route out of DC that it shared with streetcars is shaded in blue-green. Note that this topo map background dates to 1945, a decade after WB&A ceased service, by which time service was exclusively provided by Capital Transit Company streetcar Route 12.

The location of each of WB&A's three DC terminals is indicated. Even though chronologically it was not the first terminal, for tour purposes it is logical to begin at the westernmost of those three.

Siting of a rail terminal was anything but simple in Washington, DC. By the time WB&A arrived in town, Washington already had its own streetcar lines, political interests at many levels, lingering fear of the uncertain powers of electricity, and other concerns.

To reach deep into downtown, WB&A shared rails with the Washington Railway & Electric's Columbia line streetcars. WB&A trains rode west along New York Avenue to between 14th & 15th Streets NW, about 1000 feet east of the White House. WB&A had no actual terminal building in the vicinity until 1921, so passengers simply boarded from the street as in this photo. When service began, the round trip fare between Washington and Baltimore cost $1.25, rising to $2.37 in 1926.

Growth in DC associated with World War I made the 15th Street location a busy and passenger-unfriendly one, consequently during 1921 WB&A opened a terminal a few blocks northeast at New York Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets, NW. Finally passengers could board trains from a station designed for that purpose rather than from a busy street.

This terminal would be converted for Greyhound Buses after WB&A shuttered during 1935. Somewhat similarly, Claiborne Ferry, that crossed the Chesapeake Bay, was put out of business when the Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened in 1952. Hotel Annapolis, adjacent on the north (left, in main photo), was torn down during 1988 to make room for an office building. Additional photo credits: left, unknown, circa 1935; right Howard E. Johnston, August 1932.

Link: Evans' Auto-Railer 1935

You might notice the lack of catenary at Massachusetts Avenue and 5th Street, NW. DC law required the power source to be underground, hence WB&A cars such as 204 were equipped for electric supply from both overhead or below-ground conduit, one at any given time. Trains made the awkward, manual switch of power source at 15th and H Streets, NE, a site, in a bit of puffery, WB&A had called White House Station.

Before reaching White House Station, there was another station of some importance along the way...

Washington, DC's Union Station opened one year before the arrival of the WB&A. While WB&A's larger cousins, B&O, Pennsylvania, and Southern railroads, served the station directly, WB&A stopped behind (northeast of) it along H Street, a route now plied by buses such as the eastbound one seen here. During the WB&A era, H Street traversed Union Station's yard via an underpass rather than a bridge.

Links: H Street underpass photos circa 1960

Yes, there was a physical WB&A station at 15th and H Streets (where they are now joined by Benning Road, Maryland Avenue, Florida Avenue, and Bladensburg Road), but it was almost 3 miles from the White House occupied by U.S. Presidents. It served as terminal from 1908 to 1910.

The rooftop sign reads:

At the time of this photo, WB&A's original rolling stock was too heavy to continue west along the conduit (underground) power stretch of track, hence passengers had to change trains to continue their journey. With car modifications plus standardization of the electricity to 1200 volts direct current, WB&A cars were able to continue west starting during 1910.

This aerial captures H Street's streetcars during their final years. That's Maryland Avenue running from photo bottom to top. White House Station had been located between those two roads; in this view that's the upper right pie slice.

After a long hiatus, during 2016 streetcars returned to the White House Station area as "DC Streetcar". White House Station had been near the tree left of photo center. As of this writing, 2.2 miles of track, out of a planned 37, are in operation along H Street and Benning Road, the same route WB&A served. The cost of bringing back the streetcars was so high (so far roughly $100 million per mile) many have questioned if it is a wise use of taxpayer money.

Link: 21st Century DC Streetcar

WB&A was, after car redesign, able to ride farther into DC, but still needed to change from overhead to conduit (underground) power. Articulated WB&A car 21 awaits its current source changeover by a plowman who either lowered/raised the trolley pole and attached/stowed the plow at the "plow pit" depending on the car's direction of travel. Unlike the trolley pole, typically the plow did not remain with the car but was rather attached to the next incoming car that arrived via overhead wire power.

At the rear is a carhouse that belonged to the Columbia Railway, builder of the first streetcar line in this area. The structure survived into the 1970s.

Special service to the Bowie, Maryland Race Track was provided by 4-car trains like this. HH Harwood speculates that two cars were the maximum permitted on city streets, so the full train was put together where private (center-road) track began near White House Station.

Familiar overhead power was available at the Benning Road bridge spanning the Anacostia River. Under strict definitions, a difference between a streetcar and a trolley is that the latter draws power from an overhead line.

Washington Metro's Orange, Blue, and Silver Lines retrace the WB&A route across the Anacostia River, albeit via their own, newer bridges and rights-of-way. The automobile below this 8-car Orange Line train is driving west along Benning Road. The three tall structures in the distance are, from left to right, the Library of Congress, Capitol, and Washington Monument.

The closest tracks in this photo belong to Metro and those beyond to CSX. The partially hidden bridge beyond originally facilitated coal deliveries to Pepco's Benning Road power plant at distant left. The plant was shuttered during 2012. During various eras, coal had been hauled to this vicinity by one or both B&O/CSX and Pennsylvania, with the final distance to the plant handled by short line railroad and/or Capital Transit as needed.

The curve of the bridge mimics the curve WB&A executed at grade as it turned northeast to parallel the Pennsylvania RR's line. CSX subsequently acquired that Pennsy line, hence the CSX coal hoppers below. WB&A's tracks were at a lower elevation that all those seen here, and ran along a private right-of-way parallel to Kenilworth Avenue on its west side. Kenilworth Avenue has since been widened.

Links: 1925, power station photo 2010

Potomac Electric Power Company purchased this fireless Heisler locomotive in 1938. It moved coal at the Buzzard Point Power Station a few miles downstream of Benning.

"Thermos-bottle" engines like this relied on steam charged into them from an external source, such as the power plant where they operated. This engine's initial 250 psi of steam powered it for about two hours before a recharge was needed.

Link: Railroad Museum in Baltimore

Where Kenilworth meets Deane Avenue, WB&A turned east to cross Kenilworth at grade then proceed under the Pennsy and B&O tracks along a dedicated right-of-way, one it did not need to share with horse carts and automobiles. Train operation here was complicated by the adjacent Watts Creek that picked inopportune times to rise out of its banks and flood this area.

Behind the photographer, WB&A served a Benning Race Track that was never quite the same after DC's temperance movement in 1908 banned horse racing within city limits. The race course site was converted into the Mayfair Mansions housing development immediately following World War II.

Note the CSX hopper retains its original NYC reporting mark.

Links: LoC race track photos, motorcycle racing 1912
Change for: Landover Sub tour at this site

Deane Avenue becomes Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue east of the railroads. Along this stretch, WB&A and Chesapeake Beach Railway (CBR) crossed trackage. This spot away from the crowded downtown streets also became a good place for car storage, that a century later is reflected by significant road width seen at 49th Street. WB&A continued east-southeast from here, reaching the DC / Maryland border where Eastern Avenue meets Dix and 63rd Streets NE in Seat Pleasant, Maryland. WB&A and CBR exchanged passengers at the District Line stop.

When both WB&A and CBR went under (1935), about one mile of the latter's trackage in this vicinity became the East Washington Railroad, a short line that largely owed its existence to being in the right place to accept coal from B&O at Chesapeake Junction (behind the photographer) then roll it downhill to the Benning power plant. This cozy arrangement endured until the 1970s when the plant shifted to oil.

Links: CBR, 1926, East Washington Railway