Washington and Georgetown Railroad

The Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company was the first streetcar company to operate in Washington, D.C. It was incorporated and started operations in 1862, running from Georgetown to the Navy Yard. Two additional lines ran on 7th Street NW/SW and 14th Street NW. In 1890 it switched from horse-drawn streetcars to cable cars. On September 21, 1895 the company was purchased by the Rock Creek Railway and the two formed the Capital Traction Company.

Origins

Prior to the development of side-bearing rail streetcar tracks in New York City in 1852, transit in Washington D.C. consisted of horse-drawn wagons, or omnibuses, that ran on several established lines. As early as 1858 an effort was made by New York City businessmen to open a streetcar in Washington, D.C., but, it was not until May 17, 1862 that the first streetcar company, the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company was incorporated.cite book
last = Tindall
first = Dr. William
title = Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C.: Beginning of Street Railways in the National Capital
publisher = Columbia Historical Society
date = 1918
location = Charlottesville, VA
pages = 24-118
url = http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC01564221&id=ZUHrL7tQVS8C&pg=PA24&l ] It was authorized to build three street horsecar lines using the standard track gauge of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.cite book
title = Laws Relating to Street-railway Franchises in the District of Columbia
publisher = United States, District of Columbia Board of Commissioners
date = 1896
location = Washington, D.C.
url = http://books.google.com/books?id=lrPplIV1LZEC&pg=RA2-PA200 ]

The first streetcar started running on Pennsylvania Avenue NW from the Capitol to the State Department on July 29, 1862. Full operations, from the Navy Yard to Georgetown on Pennsylvania Avenue NW/SE, began on October 2, 1862.cite web
last = Cohen
first = Bob
title = Washington, D.C. Railroad History
publisher = Washington, D.C. Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society
url = http://www.dcnrhs.org/dc_rail_history.htm
accessdate = 2007-01-15 ] It ran from the intersection of High Street and Bridge Street (Now Wisconsin Ave NW and M St NW) in Georgetown along Bridge Street to Pennsylvania Avenue. Then along Pennsylvania Avenue, past the White House to the foot of the Capitol Building. From there it went north on 1st St NW one block, then east on B St NW/NE for two blocks, then south across the Capitol Grounds on the east side of the Capitol and back onto Pennsylvania Avenue. It traveled southeast on Pennsylvania to 8th St SE where it turned south to the Navy Yard stopping at M St SE and 8th St SE.cite map
publisher= Johnson's Alvin J.
title= Johnson's Washington and Georgetown
url= http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/us_states/washingtondc/index.html
edition= 1870
accessdate=2007-09-13]

Expansion

A second line opened on November 15, 1862. It was built along 7th Street NW from N Street NW to the Potomac River. In 1863 the 7th Street line was extended north to Boundary Street NW.cite news
last = Lee
first = Virginia C.
coauthors = Cary Silverman
title = Shaw on the Move Part II: Milestones in Shaw Transportation
work = Shaw Main Street News
pages = 10-14
language = English
publisher = Shaw Main Streets
date = Winter 2005-2006
url = http://www.shawmainstreets.com/winter_2006.pdf
accessdate = 2007-01-11 ] It expanded south to the Arsenal (now Fort McNair) in 1875. [cite paper
author = Paul Kelsey Williams
title = Historic Survey of Shaw East Washington, D.C.
publisher = D.C. Department of Planning
date = 2001-2002
url = http://www.washingtonhistory.com/Surveys/shawreportfinal.pdf
format = [PDF]
accessdate = 2007-01-16 ]

A third line, built by 1870, ran down 14th Street NW from Boundary Street NW (now Florida Avenue) to the Treasury Building.

In 1877, the company built a car barn at 13th and Boundary Streets NW. From 1877-92, the company expanded the facility several times, adding a blacksmith shop in 1878.cite news
last = Livingston
first = Mike
coauthors =
title = D.C.'s first 'flex building' built in 19th century
work = Washington Business Journal
date = 2000-12-08
url = http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2000/12/11/focus16.html
accessdate = 2007-04-05 ]

The omnibus company that existed prior to the introduction of streetcars was run out of business. Its Georgetown stables were eventually purchased by the Washington and Georgetown line to be used as a car barn and, much later, as machine shops.

witch to Cable Cars

On March 2, 1889 the District authorized every streetcar company in Washington to switch from horse power to underground cable or to electricity provided by battery or underground wire and in 1890 companies were authorized to sell stock to pay for the upgrades - provided they did not involve overhead wires. In 1892, one-horse cars were banned within the city, and by 1894 Congress began requiring companies to switch to something other than horse power while continuing to disallow overhead lines within the city.

Immediately after the 1889 law was passed, the Washington and Georgetown began installing an underground cable system. Their 7th Street line was switched to a cable car system on April 12, 1890. Sixteen cars traveled on the route at 6 mph at three minute intervals, from 5:00 AM to 1:00 AM daily. The rest of the system was in operation by August 18, 1892. Two cables pulled the cars up and down Pennsylvania Avenue NW/SE between the Navy Yard and Georgetown. The company built five new facilities to handle the cable car operations. In 1892, they extended their track along 14th to Mount Pleasant Street NW (now Park Road NW) and built a new barn there. They moved the cars from the barn at 13th Street and Florida Avenue NW to the new one and sold the older facility which was converted into a printing plant.cite news
last = Livingston
first = Mike
coauthors =
title = D.C.'s first 'flex building' built in 19th century
work = Washington Business Journal
date = 2000-12-08
url = http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2000/12/11/focus16.html
accessdate = 2007-04-05 ] In 1893 the company built the Navy Yard Car Barn across from the Navy Yard to service the new cars.cite paper
author = Kimberly Protho Williams
title = Capitol Hill Historic District
publisher = The Capitol Hill Historic District
date = 2003
url = http://planning.dc.gov/planning/lib/planning/preservation/brochures/capitolhillbroch.hi.pdf
format = pdf
accessdate = 2007-02-06 ] The company built two powerhouses to provide energy for the system, one at 14th Street NW and E Street NW and the other at 7th Street SW and P Street SW. In the middle of the intersection of 14th Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW a large wheel pit was constructed. In addition the company was authorized, on August 23, 1894, to extend its line on M Street NW to the Aqueduct Bridge, and build a "Union Station" - now the Georgetown Car Barn.

The End of the Line

By the mid-1890s there were numerous streetcar companies operating in the District. Congress tried to deal with this fractured transit system by requiring them to accept transfers, set standard pricing and by allowing them to use one another's track. But eventually it became clear that consolidation was the best solution.

On March 1, 1895, Congress authorized the Rock Creek Railway to purchase the Washington and Georgetown. It did so on September 21, 1895 forming the Capital Traction Company, the first company created during "the great streetcar consolidation" and spelling the end of the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company as a unique entity.cite book
last = Tindall
first = William
title = Standard History of the City of Washington from a Study of the Original Sources
publisher = H. W. Crew & Co.
date = 1914
location = Knoxville, TN
pages = 414-429 | url = http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC23087964&id=D_ZJBxoCYeAC&pg=RA6-PA427&lpg=RA6-PA427&dq=%22Brightwood+Railway+Company%22#PRA2-PA1,M1 ]

Notes