The branch left the CSX (B&O) main at Georgetown Jct, near Silver Spring
MD. Some maps show a short segment of branch in operation near the main
line; it might have lasted a few years there as there are warehouses and
light industry near the old main line connection.
An Auto Club map shows the line extending all the way to the Maryland-DC
border; this might have been for service to "Filter Plant Siding" indicated
on the SPV atlas. In the atlas, the line is shown going from Georgetown Jct in MD to Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Dalecarlia Reservoir, into DC to "Filter Plant Siding", and into Georgetown.
The furthest end of the line paralled the Chesapeake & Ohio canal into
Georgetown. The years of construction and abandonment are not known, but the line was in service as recently as 1981, as it was used when the Smithsonian ran the
"150th year anniversary" of the John Bull locomotive, the oldest operating
steam locomotive still in existence.
The northern section of the line is now a paved trail called the
"Georgetown Branch Trail". Further south, in the Bethesda area, the paved
trail is known as the "Capital Crescent Trail". The line passes through deep
cuts and has not been built on, but it is in a heavily built up area so there
is a lot of car traffic.
The rails are still in place at the location of the Connecticut Ave (MD
Route 185) crossing, as this street is probably too congested to close off
for rail removal.
