Dalecarlia Tunnel B&O Railroad
Posted by: 
whitechalk
N 38° 56.540 W 077° 06.936
18S E 316649 N 4312505
The Dalecarlia Tunnel, built in 1910 as part of the Georgetown Branch of the B&O Railroad, was closed to trains in 1985 and is now part of the Capital Crescent bike/hike trail that extends 7 miles from Georgetown to Silver Spring, Maryland.
Waymark Code: WMCVK8
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 10/15/2011
Views: 22
The Dalecarlia Tunnel is an abandoned railroad tunnel in Brookmont, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., that carries the Capital Crescent Trail underneath MacArthur Boulevard and the Washington Aqueduct.
The tunnel was built in 1910 as part of the Georgetown Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. This single-track B&O branch line was used to bring coal to the White House power plant in Georgetown. CSX Transportation, the successor to the B&O Railroad, ceased train operations through the tunnel in 1985 and officially abandoned the rail line in 1986.
This is a Roman arch tunnel, measuring 18 feet (5.5 m) wide by 340 feet (100 m) long. It features decorative brick facings on both ends and is lined with brick throughout its length.
A sign posted inside the north portal of the tunnel shows a 1948 photo of the tunnel with train emerging, and states:
In the nineteenth century, boats along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal transported coal from Cumberland, Maryland to Georgetown in the District of Columbia. By the early twentieth century, trains had replaced boats as a means of transportation and western Pennsylvania had replaced Cumberland as the source of coal. This spur route used by the Baltimore and Ohion, America's first railroad, later to become part of the CSX Corporation, followed the river downstream to Georgetown passing under MacArthur Boulevard by means of the Dalecarlia Tunnel. The Roman arch brick tunnel is 18 feet wide by 341 feet long. Architectural features of note are the four "step backs" or "duck ins" in the tunnel providing protection to track walkers caught in the tunnel at train time. The construction date, 1910, is prominent in the brick at both entrances to the tunnel.
Construction: Brick or concrete block
Condition: Good
Rail Status: No
Current status: Recreation Path
Original Use: Freight
Tunnel Length: 340.00
Suggested Parking Area: N 38° 56.936 W 077° 07.157
Terrain: 
Website: [Web Link]
Date Built: 1910
Date Abandoned: 1986
The "Other End": Not Listed
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