Progress continues on construction at National Capital Trolley Museum. Two photos below show our section of conduit track that was removed from the street in the 1990s. Because of its size and weight, this artifact was placed inside the building before the space was enclosed. The third photo shows progress on the west end of the new maintenance and storage barn. This barn will have the same brick facade as the completed display building on the right. The space between the two buildings will contain the storage track for our RMC tamper and Plaser crane.

Wesley

Did Georgetown decide to pave over its remaining trackage recently, or does it remain?

Those segments predate the installation of conduit. The large yokes and the teardrop shaped conduit way indicate the track was originally laid for cable cars. Like New York City, the conduit system largely replaced a cable driven system.

The section of conduit shown here was from a section of the original Eckington and Soldiers Home Railway located on R Street near Third Street in the northeast quadrant of the City. That company was not part of the cable system in Washington, DC. The design may be based on the cable yokes, but it was consistently applied to later construction for conduit track in the city.

Wesley

Here is a link to the status of the remaining exposed conduit track in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC. Scroll down to page three.

http://www.dcpreservation.org/endangered/2008/MEPProgramLowRez.pdf




Wesley

Thanks for posting the picture of the "conduit artifact." Ever since reading George Hilton's book on cable cars, I've been fascinated by his comment on road contractors who bid on projects to reconstruct streets that once had cable cars. These firms have occasionally been unaware of the cable railways, and encountered structures of cast iron embedded in concrete that must be removed at their expense. Now I can see exactly what that looks like.

I keep scanning news from Grand Rapids, Michigan, expecting to see such a story from that city, but it hasn't happened, yet. I wonder in how many other cities the conduit still exists, hidden by pavement?

Aarne Frobom
South of the Slot
Dutch Jerusalem, Michigan

A large wheel from the cable era still sits in a vault under the intersection of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Ave, just east of the White House in Washington, DC.

Wesley