End of service on the Chesapeake Beach Railway

Collection of Chesapeake Beach Railway memorabilia. Item descriptions included below.

In the late 1800s, Colorado railroad and transportation tycoon Otto Mears began construction of a railway to the small resort community of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland - they believed their railroad could transform the community into a "world class" luxury resort that attracted visitors looking to escape the hot, humid climate of Washington, D.C. The railroad, which was less than 30 miles in length, stretched from Seat Pleasant to Chesapeake Beach and officially began service in June of 1900. 

The railroad never turned out to be as successful as Mears had hoped, and a series of disasters, including fires, hurricanes and the inevitable coming of the automobile, ultimately lead to the railroad's demise. The last train left the Chesapeake Beach depot 86 years ago today on April 15, 1935. Most of the track was torn up, and the equipment sold for scrap or to other railroads. A short section of the Chesapeake Beach Railway's track in Seat Pleasant was left intact and soon purchased by the East Washington Railway Company to service a few businesses in the area, including the PEPCO Benning power plant, of which the remains can be seen from the Anacostia Freeway. The East Washington itself closed in 1978. 

There are several remnants of the Chesapeake Beach Railway in the area - most notably the Chesapeake Beach depot, which survives intact as a museum. One half of a passenger car survives, along with the shell of a cab from a steam engine - both are displayed at the depot and are the only known (literal) pieces of Chesapeake Beach Railway equipment left in existence. As of recent, one or two of the diesel engines once owned by the East Washington Railway survive in various locations around the country. 

For more information on the Chesapeake Beach Railway, you can visit the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum in Chesapeake Beach (currently closed for renovations.) We recommend reading Otto Mears Goes East: The Chesapeake Beach Railway by Ames Williams - copies are readily available on eBay and Amazon.

Sources: Otto Mears Goes East: The Chesapeake Beach Railway by Ames Williams, 1st edition: 1975.  

Clockwise from left: Chesapeake Beach Railway lantern - used by train crews for signaling; 1916 Chesapeake Beach Railway pass signed by WF Jones, one time President of the Chesapeake Beach Railway; 1929 single sided timetable card; Chesapeake Beach Railway boxcar seal. Private collection.

1917 schedule of tariffs of the Chesapeake Beach Railway and the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railroad - the two railroads met in Chesapeake Junction at the District Line station. Private collection.