As the 20th Century rapidly approached the citizens of Washington D.C., both white collar and blue collar workers desired for a place of relaxation away from the continually industrializing D.C. Metropolis. This led Colorado railroad builder Otto Mears, the brainchild of the Chesapeake Beach, eastward with a promise of constructing a rail line linking Washington with a proposed Monte Carlo like resort town named Chesapeake Beach located along the Chesapeake Bay's eastern shore of Southern Maryland. This resort town would offer a variety of restaurants, a roller coaster, and plenty of areas dedicated for fun and relaxation such as fields for picnics and docks for fishing.

The company's story starts on September 1, 1891, when the Washington & Chesapeake Beach Railway Company was incorporated under the laws of the state of Maryland to construct a line from a connection with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad near the Washington neighborhood of Deanwood, later known as Chesapeake Junction, to a proposed resort town on the Chesapeake Bay in Southern Maryland called Chesapeake Beach. The company defaulted on loan payments before any actual track work was done and so went bankrupt without running a single train. This was not the end though for a new company would arise called the Chesapeake Beach Railway. Officially incorporated on March 7, 1896, the railroad was built in a southeastern direction starting at Chesapeake Junction, D.C., with a connection with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's Alexandria Extension, and eventually terminating at Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, hence the name of the rail line. Near the town of Marlboro in Southern Maryland, at a place the railroad labeled as Pennsylvania Junction, the rail line crossed over the PRR's Popes Creek Branch and continued southeastward eventually crossing over the Patuxent River over a swing bridge. Looking at a map of the railroad (As provided on this page) one can observe how straight the railroad was. This simple design made it possible to get from one end of the line to the other in only one hour!

The story of the supervisor of the railroad, Otto Mears, is almost as interesting as the railroad itself. Originally from the Western United States, Mears found fame in overseeing the construction of several prominent narrow gauge railroads in Colorado and points beyond. Some of these railways included the Silverton Northern Railroad, the Silverton Railroad, and parts of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad. Mears being a resident of Southern Colorado for a number of years was evident with his time working for the Chesapeake Beach due to the names he chose for each parlor car that the railroad owned. In fact, the only surviving piece of rolling stock owned by the Chesapeake Beach Railway is the parlor car the Dolores possibly named after either the Dolores River in Colorado or the town of Dolores which was a stop on the Rio Grande Southern Railroad.

Now I'm not 100% sure why Otto Mears was chosen for the job to oversee construction of the Chesapeake Beach, but I have a theory. I believe he was chosen for the job because after the Washington & Chesapeake Beach Railway defaulted on property payments and was sold under foreclosure proceedings on December 10, 1895. The purchaser, Robert E. Tod, of New York, transferred all the property to the new franchise now called the Chesapeake Beach Railway Company. This property later came under the control of the David H. Moffat (David H. Moffat was most notably remembered for his influence on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad and the construction of the 6.2 Mile Moffat Tunnel) Moffat and Mears had similar careers both being industrialists who were most well known for their part in supervising the construction of railroads located mainly in the state of Colorado. Being familiar with Mears work, the new owners of the yet to be constructed railroad probably decided that Mears would do an efficient and quick job at supervising the construction of the railway.

With construction of the railroad finally able to commence, the owners of the line directed that construction begin at Chesapeake Junction, D.C., and head in a southeast direction towards Chesapeake Beach. This decision would have unforeseen financial consequences when it came to light that the land the company thought they owned inside of the Capitol's border, was actually taken over illegally due to the fact that a railroad that declared bankruptcy over ten years ago, (Without running a single train), known as the Southern Maryland Railroad, still owned the right of way that the Chesapeake Beach claimed they owned. This led to the owners of the remnants of the Southern Maryland Railroad (Which had reorganized by now as the Washington Potomac & Chesapeake Railway) to sue the owners of the Chesapeake Beach and eventually win the case. The consequence as decreed by the judge stated that the Chesapeake Beach Railway Company must pay an annual rent of $50.00 plus tax to the owners of the land originally purchased by the defunct Southern Maryland Railroad. This process continued until 1918 when the Chesapeake Beach outright bought the land.

Even with so many prominent political figures supporting and financing the idea of the railroad, the company never fully paid off it's $1,000,000 dollar debt supporting the fact that success was just not to be. Maybe if the railroad had been built thirty years earlier some success could have been achieved. Alas, with the rising popularity of the personal automobile, people were figuring out how much more efficient it was to take a simple day trip out to Chesapeake Beach and only pay five cents for gas instead of the price of a round trip ticket for the slower and dirtier form of transportation. Rail traffic declined even more when the luxurious Belvedere Hotel burned on March 30, 1923, due to the spread of a fire that started at the nearby Klein's Bakery. The destruction of the hotel was truly the beginning of the end for the railroad as the company would never have another year of economical success. After struggling to pay dues and sinking even further into debt, the owners finally decided to convert the railroad into a bus line, and so, the solemn final run commenced on April 15, 1935, with a passenger train originating at Chesapeake Beach, probably hauled by #11 or #12, and terminating at Chesapeake Junction in Washington D.C.

As disastrous and depressing the end seemed to be for the Chesapeake Beach, like a phoenix, a new company would arise from the ashes as a freight only, two mile long, short line railway known as the East Washington Railway. This railroad would persevere in the ever changing and expanding environment of the U.S. Capitol, until finally dissolving for the last time in 1976 with the loss of the last and largest costumer on the line.

Corporate History

Created: Railroad incorporated on March 7, 1896.

Dissolved: Last train ran on April 15, 1935.

Start Point: Chesapeake Junction, Washington D.C.

End Point: Chesapeake Beach, MD

Other Lines:

• Obtained trackage rights over the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's Alexandria Extension between Chesapeake Junction, VA and Hyattsville, MD. This arrangement lasted until a wreck occurred between a Chesapeake Beach train and a B&O train which prompted the B&O's management to back out of the deal.

Interchanges:

• Pennsylvania Railroad at Chesapeake Junction, D.C.

• Pennsylvania Railroad at Pennsylvania Junction, MD

• Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at Chesapeake Junction, D.C.

• Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis Electric Railway at District Line, MD (Seat Pleasant, MD).

• Washington Railway & Electric Company (Later Capitol Transit Company) at District Line, MD (Seat Pleasant, MD).

Gauge: Standard

Total Length: 34.363 Miles (June 30, 1916, ICC Valuation)

Headquarters: Seat Pleasant, MD

Owners:

• Robert E. Tod (1896) (Receiver for the Washington & Chesapeake Beach Railway.)

• David. H. Moffat Estate (1896-1935)

Predecessors:

• Washington & Chesapeake Beach Railway (On March 7, 1896.)

• Washington, Brandywine & Point Lookout Railway (Leased track in Washington D.C. was officially purchased in 1911.)

Successors:

• East Washington Railway (Officially on May 1, 1936.) (Chesapeake Junction, MD to Seat Pleasant, MD)

• Abandoned (1935) (Seat Pleasant, MD - Chesapeake Beach, MD)

• NOTE: Locomotive Specifics such as Driver Diameter, Cylinder Dimensions, and Engine Weight are to be taken with a grain as salt and NOT be taken for fact. I do the best I can in compiling rosters, but sometimes information just can't be confirmed without original primary source documents from the locomotive manufacturers. - Nick Jobe

Altoona built 4-4-0 #1 idles with a passenger train at the District Line Station in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, on May 23th, 1913. Still sporting it's Pennsylvania Railroad era smoke stack, #1 (Formerly the Teddy) survived on the railroad into the 1920's pulling passenger trains from the B&O's Hyattsville, Maryland, station over the B&O's Washington Branch, which the Chesapeake Beach had trackage rights over, through Chesapeake Junction, and finally terminating at the Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, passenger station which still exists.

Pittsburgh 4-4-0 #2 idles at the Seat Pleasant, Maryland, shops on May 11th, 1924. #2 was the first Pittsburgh product purchased by the Chesapeake Beach being shipped from the factory on August 25th, 1898. Surprisingly, #2 was also one of the last Pittsburgh locomotives to be used by the Chesapeake Beach only beaten by fellow 4-4-0 #5. That strange wooden storage contraption to the right held the coal for the Chesapeake Beach's locomotives.

Altoona 4-4-0 2nd #3 is seen sitting in the dead line at the Chesapeake Beach Railway's Seat Pleasant, Maryland, shops on June 14th, 1925. Interestingly, the information on the back of the postcard referring to the history of the locomotive is actually incorrect. The writing on the back of the photo describes the locomotive as the one sold to the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific Railway and later, the Denver & Salt Lake Railway. The locomotive in question that was actually sold was 1st #3 and was sold to the DNW&P along with #4 in 1904.

Pittsburgh 4-4-0 #5 idling on the Seat Pleasant, Maryland, shops turntable on August 9th, 1930. #5 was actually considered to be the fastest locomotive that the Chesapeake Beach Railway owned; just check out the size of that boiler! #5 lived it's entire life on the CB shuttling passengers to and from Chesapeake Beach and was scrapped in October of 1934 before the East Washington Railway takeover in 1936.

Pittsburgh 4-4-0 #6 is seen in the deadline at the Seat Pleasant, Maryland, shops on May 11th, 1924. Originally built for the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad as their #98, #6 served the remainder of its life hauling passengers on the Chesapeake Beach Railway until being retired in the 1920's.

Burnham, Williams, & Company 4-6-0 #7 idles at the Chesapeake Beach Railway's Seat Pleasant yard and maintenance facility in preparation for some unknown duty on Sunday, August 9th, 1931. Originally built for another railroad that had trackage in Maryland, the New York, Philadelphia, & Norfolk Railway, old #7 would end up being one of the last locomotives utilized by the Chesapeake Beach and would continue pulling trains on the line until the abandonment of the railway in 1935. Surprisingly, as can be seen in the photograph below, #7 remained on the property parked in the Seat Pleasant deadline until at least 1942 when it was ultimately scrapped by employees of the East Washington Railway. The cab of this locomotive could be seen for many years sitting next to the roundhouse.

Burnham, Williams & Company 4-6-0 #7 sits in the deadline, never to run again, at the Seat Pleasant, Maryland, shops on June 3rd, 1935. Notice how the photograph date states that this photo was taken after the Chesapeake Beach Railway had run their final train on April 14th, 1935. I believe that the passenger car in front of the locomotive is either a work car or the retired parlor car the Dolores which, if true, is the only surviving object displayed in this photograph as #7 was scrapped in 1942.

Burnham, Williams & Company 2-8-0 #9 awaits its next assignment on the paint shed lead at Chesapeake Beach's Seat Pleasant, Maryland, shops shortly before being returned to the Western Maryland Railway in June of 1930. #9 and its sister #10 were both on the roster for only a short few years to haul construction materials for roads throughout Southern Maryland during the early to mid 1930's. With these roads being finished, both locomotives no longer had a purpose as they were not sufficient for passenger operations so #9 was returned and #10 was sidelined, presumably with the idea that it too would be returned. Before #10 was returned however, the Chesapeake Beach went bankrupt and #10 would end up being scrapped on the grounds of the Seat Pleasant shops in August of 1936. #9 would end up serving on the Western Maryland for another seven years after being resold and was scrapped in October of 1941.

Burnham, Williams & Company 2-8-0 #10, one of only two consolidations on the roster, sits in the deadline at the Seat Pleasant, Maryland, shops in the mid 1930's. #10, originally a Western Maryland Railway locomotive, was purchased with the intent to haul materials for the construction of roads to and from Chesapeake Beach. As you might have guessed, the installation of these roadways caused a severe decrease in ridership for the railroad and directly contributed to the company's demise in 1935. In 1934, after the company continually posted losses, the management of the railroad decided to return #10 and a sister engine numbered #9 (Purchased for the same purpose as #10) to the Western Maryland Railway in order to save what little money they had left on priority locomotives like #11 and #12. However, only #9 was ever returned to the Western Maryland as #10 would end up being scrapped at Seat Pleasant in the late 30's.