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121-883: At its southeast end, north of Washington Union Station , the Metropolitan Subdivision meets the Capital Subdivision (formerly called the B&;O Washington Branch) and Amtrak 's Northeast Corridor . It meets the Old Main Line Subdivision at Point of Rocks, Maryland . At its northwest end in Weverton, the line joins the Cumberland Subdivision . MARC Train 's Brunswick Line uses the entire subdivision, as does Amtrak 's Capitol Limited . The Red Line of

242-557: A Walgreens store. The food court still retains the original arches under which the trains were parked as well as the track numbers on those arches. A variety of shops opened along the Concourse and Main Hall, and a new Amtrak terminal at the back behind the original Concourse. Trains no longer enter the original Concourse, but the original, decorative gates were relocated to the new passenger concourse. In 1994, this new passenger concourse

363-587: A triumphal arch . He linked the monumental end pavilions with long arcades enclosing loggias in a long series of bays that were vaulted with the lightweight fireproof Guastavino tiles favored by American Beaux-Arts architects. The final aspect owed much to the Court of Heroes at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, where Burnham had been coordinating architect. The setting of Union Station's façade at

484-689: A European spelling of Patawomeck , the Algonquian name of a Native American village on its southern bank. Native Americans had different names for different parts of the river, calling the river above Great Falls Cohongarooton , meaning "honking geese" and "Patawomke" below the Falls, meaning "river of swans". In 1608, Captain John Smith explored the river now known as the Potomac and made drawings of his observations which were later compiled into

605-820: A Train (1951), Don't Give Up the Ship (1959), Hannibal (2001), Collateral Damage (2002), and Head of State (2003). Potomac River The Potomac River ( / p ə ˈ t oʊ m ə k / ) is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States that flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland . It

726-740: A combination of the original B&O Met Branch plus a section of the B&O original main line northwest of Point of Rocks, which had opened in 1834. The entire subdivision is signaled for bi-directional running. There is a spur in Maryland that serves the Dickerson Generating Station (formerly owned by the Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO)) (BA 37) at Dickerson and a trash-transfer facility spur in Derwood (BA 19.6). The interlockings on

847-549: A corporate charter from the Maryland General Assembly to form the Metropolitan Railroad . The proposed line would run from Washington to the vicinity of Frederick, Maryland , where it would connect with the B&O main line, and continue to Hagerstown, Maryland . The company conducted some initial land surveys, but had difficulty raising funds and went bankrupt in 1863. Two years later,

968-495: A ground level and a lower level. The ground level contains tracks 7–20 (tracks 1–6 no longer exist), which are served by high-level bay platforms at the door level of most trains. These tracks are used by all MARC commuter rail services, all Amtrak Acela Express trains, the Amtrak Capitol Limited, and Amtrak Northeast Regional trains that terminate at the station. All of the tracks on this level terminate at

1089-612: A horseshoe bend at Wappocomo 's Hanging Rocks around the George W. Washington plantation, Ridgedale . To the west of Three Churches on the western side of South Branch Mountain , 3,028 feet (923 m), the South Branch creates a series of bends and flows to the northeast by Springfield through Blue's Ford. After two additional horseshoe bends (meanders), the South Branch flows under the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad mainline between Green Spring and South Branch Depot , and joins

1210-489: A map and published in London in 1612. This detail from that map shows his rendition of the river that the local tribes had told him was called the "Patawomeck". The spelling of the name has taken many forms over the years from " Patawomeck " (as on Captain John Smith 's map) to "Patomake", "Patowmack", and numerous other variations in the 18th century and now "Potomac". The river's name was officially decided upon as "Potomac" by

1331-469: A member of the Association threatened to take the matter to court. The Association declared unacceptable the loss of a major access road to downtown for the residents of Northeast; the loss of millions of dollars of business properties and of the business it represented; the closure of a vital streetcar line used by commuters, considering the alternative cost of building an access across the tracks. At

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1452-457: A new bus facility in the station's parking garage. By November 15, 2011, BoltBus, Megabus, Tripper Bus, and Washington Deluxe were operating from the new facility. On September 26, 2012, Greyhound and Peter Pan Bus Lines moved all of their Washington, D.C., operations to the facility. In 2017, OurBus began offering service from Union Station to Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. On August 16, 2024, Megabus discontinued service nationwide after

1573-685: A new extension of Connecticut Avenue in the nascent development of Chevy Chase . The second, completed in 1910, completed the crescent to Georgetown. The line was originally intended to be a B&O extension that would cross the Potomac River near the Chain Bridge , but in 1904, the B&O reached an agreement with the Pennsylvania Railroad to use the Long Bridge over the Potomac, nearly six miles downstream. So

1694-672: A northeastern course along the western side of Jack Mountain (4,045 ft), followed by Sandy Ridge (2,297 ft) along U.S. Route 220 . North of the confluence of the South Branch with Smith Creek, the river flows along Town Mountain (2,848 ft) around Franklin at the junction of U.S. Route 220 and U.S. Route 33 . After Franklin, the South Branch continues north through the Monongahela National Forest to Upper Tract where it joins with three sizeable streams: Reeds Creek, Mill Run, and Deer Run. Between Big Mountain (2,582 ft) and Cave Mountain (2,821 ft),

1815-512: A number of historic plantation farms adjoining it. En route to Romney, the river is fed by Buffalo Run, Mill Run , McDowell Run, and Mill Creek at Vanderlip . The South Branch is traversed by the Northwestern Turnpike ( U.S. Route 50 ) and joined by Sulphur Spring Run where it forms Valley View Island to the west of town. Flowing north of Romney, the river still follows the eastern side of Mill Creek Mountain until it creates

1936-467: A replacement station for Amtrak had been built behind the Union Station concourse and under a parking garage. Two traffic lanes were planned but were actually only wide enough for 1-1/2 lanes. On observing its low ceiling and plastic chairs New Yorker magazine editor E. M. Frimbo described it as "...a bad small town bus terminal." Train passengers had to walk 1,900 feet from the front door to

2057-461: A retail complex. The Department of Transportation (DOT) was authorized to sign contracts with any willing corporation to construct a retail complex in and around Union Station. DOT was also authorized to spend up to $ 29 million (equivalent to $ 82.3 million in 2023 ) in already-appropriated money from its Northeast Corridor rail capital building program on Union Station repairs. The revised bill also required DOT to take control of Union Station from

2178-762: A small portion of its headwaters in West Virginia, the North Branch Potomac River is considered part of Maryland to the low-water mark on the opposite bank. The South Branch Potomac River lies completely within the state of West Virginia except for its headwaters , which lie in Virginia. All navigable parts of the river were designated as a National Recreation Trail in 2006, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration designated an 18-square-mile (47 km ) portion of

2299-660: A tunnel was to be built for H Street NE, the cost would be an extra $ 10,000 (equivalent to $ 285,000 in 2023 ). Three days later, officers and members of the Northeast Washington Citizens' Association expressed their outrage to representatives of Congress and the railroads at an Association meeting at the Northeast Temple on H Street NE. The president of the Association claimed that the Pennsylvania Railroad controlled Congress;

2420-949: A union railroad station in the District of Columbia" which was signed into law by 26th President Theodore Roosevelt on February 28, 1903. The Act authorized the Washington Terminal Company (which was to be jointly owned by the B&O and the PRR-controlled Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad ) to construct a station "monumental in character" that would cost at least $ 4 million (equivalent to $ 114 million in 2023 ). (The main station building's actual cost eventually exceeded $ 5.9 million [equivalent to $ 168 million in 2023 ].) Including additional outlays for new terminal grades, approaches, bridges, viaducts, coach and freight yards, tunnels, shops, support buildings and other infrastructure,

2541-563: A visitor center during the upcoming Bicentennial celebrations. Funding for this was collected over the next six years, and the reconstruction of the station included outfitting the Main Hall with a recessed pit to display a slide show presentation. This was officially the PAVE (Primary Audio-Visual Experience), but was sarcastically referred to as "the Pit". The entire project was completed, save for

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2662-605: A water intake 725 feet (220 m) offshore, citing potential harm to Maryland's interests by an increase in Virginia sprawl caused by the project. After years of failed appeals within the Maryland government's appeal processes, in 2000 Virginia took the case to the Supreme Court of the United States , which exercises original jurisdiction in cases between two states. Maryland claimed Virginia lost its riparian rights by acquiescing to MDE's permit process for 63 years (MDE began its permit process in 1933). A Special Master appointed by

2783-600: Is 302 mi (486 km). The river has two sources. The source of the North Branch is at the Fairfax Stone located at the junction of Grant , Tucker , and Preston counties in West Virginia . The source of the South Branch is located near Hightown in northern Highland County , Virginia. The river's two branches converge just east of Green Spring in Hampshire County , West Virginia, to form

2904-476: Is 405 miles (652 km) long, with a drainage area of 14,700 square miles (38,000 km ), and is the fourth-largest river along the East Coast of the United States . More than 6 million people live within its watershed . The river forms part of the borders between Maryland and Washington, D.C. , on the left descending bank, and West Virginia and Virginia on the right descending bank. Except for

3025-595: Is a major train station , transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak 's headquarters, the railroad's second-busiest station, and North America's 10th-busiest railroad station. The station is the southern terminus of the Northeast Corridor , an electrified rail line extending north through major cities including Baltimore , Philadelphia , New York City , and Boston , and

3146-613: Is also in the southwest corner of the Ivy City Yard. Riders on the Metro Red Line between Union Station and Rhode Island Avenue Station get an aerial view of the south end of the Ivy City Yard. Union Station is owned by Amtrak and the United States Department of Transportation . The DOT owns the station building itself and the surrounding parking lots, while Amtrak owns the platforms and tracks through

3267-464: Is also the busiest station that can handle the railroad's Superliner railcars; inadequate tunnel clearances in Baltimore and New York preclude the use of Superliners on most Eastern routes. The station is the terminus for commuter railways that link Washington to Maryland and West Virginia ( MARC ) and Northern Virginia ( Virginia Railway Express ). The station's tracks are split between

3388-463: Is at least 3.5 million years old, likely extending back ten to twenty million years before the present when the Atlantic Ocean lowered and exposed coastal sediments along the fall line. This included the area at Great Falls, which eroded into its present form during recent glaciation periods. The stream gradient of the entire river is 0.14%, a drop of 930 m over 652 km. "Potomac" is

3509-541: Is fed by Anderson Run and Stony Run. At McNeill , the South Branch flows into the Trough where it is bound to its west by Mill Creek Mountain (2,119 ft) and to its east by Sawmill Ridge (1,644 ft). This area is the habitat to bald eagles . The Trough passes into Hampshire County and ends at its confluence with Sawmill Run south of Glebe and Sector . The South Branch continues north parallel to South Branch River Road ( County Route 8) toward Romney with

3630-418: Is removed and set aside. A GE Genesis diesel engine that was earlier removed from a northbound train is coupled to the front of the southbound, and it continues through the tunnel toward Virginia. The ACS-64 is readied for a Northeast Regional arriving from Alexandria , and once coupled pulls the train toward Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York or Boston. A nearby Washington Metro station connects to

3751-402: Is said that President Abraham Lincoln used to escape to the highlands on summer nights to escape the river's stench. In the 1960s, with dense green algal blooms covering the river's surface, President Lyndon Johnson declared the river "a national disgrace" and set in motion a long-term effort to reduce pollution from sewage and restore the beauty and ecology of this historic river. One of

Metropolitan Subdivision - Misplaced Pages Continue

3872-667: Is to be rebuilt alongside the new tracks, which is projected for completion sometime in 2027. Besides the right-of-way and bridges, remnants include the Dalecarlia Tunnel, the Air Rights Tunnel, rail sidings along the right-of-way near River Road and the enlarged arch of the Aqueduct Bridge abutment. Through mergers, the line became part of the CSX system in 1987. CSX organized its Metropolitan Subdivision as

3993-586: Is today West Virginia Avenue running next to the Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb (now Gallaudet University ). When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad announced in 1901 that they had agreed to build a new union station together, the city had two reasons to celebrate. The decision meant that both railroads would soon remove their trackwork and terminals from

4114-522: The Board on Geographic Names in 1931. The similarity of the name to the Ancient Greek word for river, potamos , has been noted for more than two centuries but it appears to be due to chance. The Potomac River brings together a variety of cultures throughout the watershed from the coal miners of upstream West Virginia to the urban residents of the nation's capital and, along the lower Potomac,

4235-654: The Confederacy , and the Union's largest army, the Army of the Potomac , was named after the river. The Potomac River runs 405 mi (652 km) from Fairfax Stone Historical Monument State Park in West Virginia on the Allegheny Plateau to Point Lookout , Maryland, and drains 14,679 sq mi (38,020 km ). The length of the river from the junction of its North and South Branches to Point Lookout

4356-1487: The Fall Line . This 108-mile (174-km) stretch encompasses the Potomac from a short distance below the Washington, DC - Montgomery County line, just downstream of the Little Falls of the Potomac River , to the Chesapeake Bay . Along the way the following tributaries drain into the Potomac: Pimmit Run , Gulf Branch , Donaldson Run , Windy Run , Spout Run , Maddox Branch , Foundry Branch , Rock Creek , Rocky Run, Tiber Creek , Roaches Run, Washington Channel , Anacostia River , Four Mile Run , Oxon Creek , Hunting Creek , Broad Creek , Henson Creek, Swan Creek, Piscataway Creek , Little Hunting Creek , Dogue Creek , Accotink Creek , Pohick Creek , Pomonkey Creek , Occoquan River , Neabsco Creek , Powell's Creek , Mattawoman Creek , Chicamuxen Creek , Quantico Creek , Little Creek , Chopawamsic Creek , Tank Creek , Aquia Creek , Potomac Creek , Nanjemoy Creek , Chotank Creek , Port Tobacco River , Popes Creek , Gambo Creek , Clifton Creek , Piccowaxen Creek , Upper Machodoc Creek , Wicomico River , Cobb Island , Monroe Creek , Mattox Creek , Popes Creek , Breton Bay, Leonardtown , St. Marys River , Yeocomico River , Coan River , and Hull Creek . The river itself

4477-563: The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin . The compact was amended in 1970 to include coordination of water supply issues and land use issues related to water quality. Beginning in the 19th century, with increasing mining and agriculture upstream and urban sewage and runoff downstream, the water quality of the Potomac River deteriorated. This created conditions of severe eutrophication . It

4598-536: The National Mall . Though changes there appeared only gradually, the consolidation of the depots allowed the creation of the Mall as it appears today. Secondly, the plan to bring all the city's railroads under one roof promised that Washington would finally have a station both large enough to handle large crowds and impressive enough to befit the city's role as the federal capital. The station was to be designed under

4719-601: The Red Line . The Metrorail station is underground beneath the western side of the building. Entrances are inside Union Station with direct access from the high-level MARC and Amtrak platforms, from the east side of First Street NE, or from just outside the station at Massachusetts Avenue NE, providing access to the main concourse. Buses of the Georgetown -Union Station route of the DC Circulator system stop within

4840-619: The US Geological Survey and the Fish and Wildlife Service , began to identify fish in the Potomac and tributaries that exhibited "intersex" characteristics, as a result of endocrine disruption caused by some form of pollution. On November 13, 2007, the Potomac Conservancy, an environmental group, issued the river a grade of "D-plus", citing high levels of pollution and the reports of " intersex " fish. Since then,

4961-599: The United States Capitol just five blocks away; a massive scale, including a façade stretching more than 600 feet (180 m) and a waiting room ceiling 96 feet (29 m) above the floor; stone inscriptions and allegorical sculpture in the Beaux-Arts style ; expensive materials such as marble, gold leaf and white granite from a previously unused quarry. In the Attic block, above the main cornice of

Metropolitan Subdivision - Misplaced Pages Continue

5082-692: The Washington Metro shares right-of-way with the subdivision along two separate stretches in Maryland and D.C.: from the junction with the Capital Subdivision to north of Silver Spring , and from south of Twinbrook to the end of the Red Line at Shady Grove . Interest in building a rail line from Washington to points west was initially spurred by businessmen in Washington and Montgomery County, Maryland . In 1853, they obtained

5203-503: The Washington Terminal Company : a nearly wholly-owned subsidiary (99.9% controlling interest). The non-profit Union Station Redevelopment Corporation managed the station on behalf of the owners, but an 84-year lease of the property is held by New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation and managed by Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle . Washington Union Station has appeared in several movies and television shows. Among them are Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Strangers on

5324-423: The collision of two trains in Silver Spring killed three crew members and eight passengers and injured a total of 26 people. The Met Branch's Georgetown Branch ran from a junction north of the Silver Spring station in a broad 11-mile arc to the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C. The branch was built in two phases. The first, completed in 1892, ran from the junction along the northern bank of Coquelin Run to

5445-547: The 1980s, through sewage plant upgrades and restrictions on phosphorus in detergents. By the end of the 20th century, notable success had been achieved, as massive algal blooms vanished and recreational fishing and boating rebounded. Still, the aquatic habitat of the Potomac River and its tributaries remain vulnerable to eutrophication, heavy metals , pesticides and other toxic chemicals, over-fishing, alien species , and pathogens associated with fecal coliform bacteria and shellfish diseases. In 2005 two federal agencies,

5566-410: The 26 centurions for the station's main hall. The massive plaster statues which were modelled after ancient Roman soldiers, are also called Legionnaires and symbolically, they are a protective force, guarding over all who travel through the halls of Union Station. Burnham drew upon a tradition, launched with the 1837 Euston railway station in London, of treating the entrance to a major terminal as

5687-418: The B&O used the Georgetown Branch as a spur to serve local industries in Silver Spring, Chevy Chase , and Bethesda in Maryland; and Georgetown. Engineering features of the branch included the Rock Creek Trestle in Chevy Chase, the Dalecarlia Tunnel , and a through-truss bridge over the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal . CSX ran its last train on the Georgetown Branch in 1985 after a bridge in Montgomery County

5808-422: The Department of the Interior, and for DOT to buy out its lease with the station's private-sector owners. The buy-out would be spread over six years, for which $ 275,000 a year (equivalent to $ 7.8 million in 2023 ) was authorized and appropriated. The bill required DOT to operate Union Station as a train station once more, complete with ticketing, waiting areas, baggage areas, and boarding. Although no statement

5929-399: The Georgetown Branch Trail, and the two trails were connected in 1998. The railyard in Georgetown was developed into the Washington Harbour buildings and the Georgetown Waterfront Park. In 2017, construction began on the Purple Line , which will use the Bethesda-to-Silver Spring portion of the spur as part of a route that continues on to New Carrollton , Maryland. The Georgetown Branch Trail

6050-456: The Great Hall. Just then, the floor of the terminal, having never been designed to carry the 475,000-pound weight of this locomotive, gave way, dropping the engine into the basement. The 447,000-pound (202,800 kg) electric locomotive fell into about the center of what is now the food court . Remarkably, no one was killed, and passengers in the rear cars thought that they had only had a rough stop. An investigation revealed that an anglecock on

6171-420: The Main Hall floor was refitted with marble. While installing new HVAC systems, crews discovered antique items in shafts that had not been opened since the building's creation. The station reopened in its present form on September 29, 1988. The former "Pit" area was replaced with an AMC movie theater (later Phoenix Theatres), which closed on October 12, 2009, and was replaced with an expanded food court and

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6292-482: The Met Branch. Double-tracking was completed on the remainder of the branch in 1928. Several distinctive passenger stations , designed by architect Ephraim Francis Baldwin , were constructed along the line. Original stations still stand in the Maryland communities of Rockville (moved away from the tracks in 1981), Kensington , Gaithersburg , Dickerson , and Point of Rocks . In 1906, a rear collision at Terra Cotta station killed 53 people. On February 16, 1996,

6413-601: The North Branch to form the Potomac. This stretch encompasses the section of the Potomac River from the confluence of its North and South Branches through Opequon Creek near Shepherdstown, West Virginia . Along the way the following tributaries drain into the Potomac: North Branch Potomac River , South Branch Potomac River , Town Creek , Little Cacapon River , Sideling Hill Creek , Cacapon River , Sir Johns Run , Warm Spring Run , Tonoloway Creek , Fifteenmile Creek , Sleepy Creek , Cherry Run , Back Creek , Conococheague Creek , and Opequon Creek . This section covers

6534-439: The Old Main Line, from Point of Rocks to Relay, reduced to secondary status. Some through freight trains were also rerouted to the new line. Increasing congestion led the B&O to start adding double track portions to the line in 1886. The Washington-to- Gaithersburg section was double-tracked by 1893. During the peak years of passenger operation—1893 to the 1920s—the line saw 18 trains per day, with as many as 28 stops along

6655-437: The Potomac and its North Branch since both states' original colonial charters grant the entire river rather than half of it as is normally the case with boundary rivers. In its first state constitution adopted in 1776, Virginia ceded its claim to the entire river but reserved free use of it, an act disputed by Maryland. Both states acceded to the 1785 Mount Vernon Compact and the 1877 Black-Jenkins Award which granted Maryland

6776-442: The Potomac as its principal source of drinking water with the opening of the Washington Aqueduct in 1864, using a water intake constructed at Great Falls. An average of approximately 486 million US gallons (1,840,000 m ) of water is withdrawn daily from the Potomac in the Washington area for water supply , providing about 78 percent of the region's total water usage, this amount includes approximately 80 percent of

6897-799: The Potomac from just above Harpers Ferry in West Virginia down to Little Falls, Maryland on the border between Maryland and Washington, DC. Along the way the following tributaries drain into the Potomac: Antietam Creek , Shenandoah River , Catoctin Creek (Virginia) , Catoctin Creek (Maryland) , Tuscarora Creek , Monocacy River , Little Monocacy River , Broad Run , Goose Creek , Broad Run , Horsepen Branch, Little Seneca Creek , Tenmile Creek , Great Seneca Creek , Old Sugarland Run, Muddy Branch , Nichols Run, Watts Branch , Limekiln Branch, Carroll Branch, Pond Run, Clarks Branch, Mine Run Branch, Difficult Run , Bullneck Run, Rock Run , Scott Run, Dead Run, Turkey Run, Cabin John Creek , Minnehaha Branch, and Little Falls Branch . The Tidal Potomac River lies below

7018-411: The Potomac, including bass , muskellunge , pike , walleye . The northern snakehead , an invasive species resembling the native bowfin , lamprey , and American eel , was first seen in 2004. Many species of sunfish are also present in the Potomac and its headwaters. Although rare, bull sharks can be found. After having been depressed for many decades, the river's population of American shad

7139-400: The Potomac. As it flows from its headwaters down to the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac traverses five geological provinces: the Appalachian Plateau , the Ridge and Valley , the Blue Ridge , the Piedmont Plateau , and the Atlantic coastal plain . Once the Potomac drops from the Piedmont to the Coastal Plain at the Atlantic Seaboard fall line at Little Falls , tides further influence

7260-419: The South Branch bends around the Eagle Rock (1,483 ft) outcrop and continues its flow northward into Grant County . Into Grant, the South Branch follows the western side of Cave Mountain through the 20-mile (32 km) long Smoke Hole Canyon , until its confluence with the North Fork at Cabins , where it flows east to Petersburg . At Petersburg, the South Branch Valley Railroad begins, which parallels

7381-399: The Supreme Court to investigate recommended the case be settled in favor of Virginia, citing the language in the 1785 Compact and the 1877 Award. On December 9, 2003, the Court agreed in a 7–2 decision. The original charters are silent as to which branch from the upper Potomac serves as the boundary, but this was settled by the 1785 Compact. When West Virginia seceded from Virginia in 1863,

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7502-459: The Virginia side of the river, it was not completed until 1802. Financial troubles led to the closure of the canal in 1830. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal operated along the banks of the Potomac in Maryland from 1831 to 1924 and also connected Cumberland to Washington, D.C. This allowed freight to be transported around the rapids known as the Great Falls of the Potomac River , as well as many other, smaller rapids. Washington, D.C. began using

7623-409: The approach to the station noticed the runaway train and telephoned a warning to the station, as the train coasted downhill into track 16. The GG1 electric locomotive, No. 4876, hit the bumper block at about 35 miles per hour (56 km/h), jumped onto the platform, destroyed the stationmaster's office at the end of the track, took out a newsstand, and was on its way to crashing through the wall into

7744-414: The association's March 10, 1902, meeting, its president told the audience that the District Commissioners had heard their complaints, and that H Street would remain open with a 750-foot (230 m) tunnel running under the tracks. More than 100 houses were demolished to make way for the station and its tracks. The demolition erased the heart of an impoverished neighborhood called " Swampoodle " where crime

7865-484: The battles of Antietam (September 17, 1862) and Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863). Confederate General Jubal Early crossed the river in July 1864 on his attempted raid on the nation's capital. The river not only divided the Union from the Confederacy, but also gave name to the Union's largest army, the Army of the Potomac . The Patowmack Canal was intended by George Washington to connect the Tidewater region near Georgetown with Cumberland , Maryland. Started in 1785 on

7986-472: The brakeline had been closed, probably by an icicle knocked from an overhead bridge. The accident inspired the finale of the 1976 film Silver Streak . The durable design of the GG1 made its damage repairable, and it was soon back in service after being hauled away in pieces to the PRR's main shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania . Before the latter action was undertaken, however, the GG1 and the hole it made were temporarily planked over and hidden from view due to

8107-438: The busiest passenger rail line in the nation. In 2015, it served just under five million passengers. An intermodal facility , Union Station also serves MARC and VRE commuter rail services, the Washington Metro , the DC Streetcar , intercity bus lines , and local Metrobus buses. It carries the IATA airport code of ZWU. At the height of its traffic, during World War II , as many as 200,000 passengers passed through

8228-416: The catching near Fletcher's Boat House of a Striped Bass estimated to weigh 35 lb (16 kg) was seen as a further indicator of the continuing improvement in the health of the river. The average daily flow during the water years 1931–2018 was 11,498 cubic feet (325.6 m ) /s. The highest average daily flow ever recorded on the Potomac at Little Falls, Maryland (near Washington, D.C.),

8349-466: The central block, stand six colossal statues (modeled on the Dacian prisoners of the Arch of Constantine) created by Louis St. Gaudens . These are entitled " The Progress of Railroading " and their iconography expresses the confident enthusiasm of the American Renaissance movement: The substitution of Agriculture for Commerce in a railroad station iconography vividly conveys the power of a specifically American lobbying bloc. St. Gaudens also created

8470-452: The costs of eliminating grade crossings in the city. The only railroad station in the nation specifically authorized by the U.S. Congress , the building was primarily designed by William Pierce Anderson of the Chicago architectural firm of D.H. Burnham & Company . Though the project was supported by the federal government, there was opposition at the local level. The new depot would displace residents and cleave new neighborhoods east of

8591-445: The drinking water consumed by the region's estimated 6.1 million residents. As a result of damaging floods in 1936 and 1937, the Army Corps of Engineers proposed the Potomac River basin reservoir projects , a series of dams that were intended to regulate the river and to provide a more reliable water supply. One dam was to be built at Little Falls, just north of Washington, backing its pool up to Great Falls. Just above Great Falls,

8712-616: The early 2020s, the station saw a further decline in the number of restaurants and stores as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic . "A once-thriving terminal is now filled with vacant storefronts," the Washington Post reported in 2022. "Union Station had as many as 100 stores more than two decades ago. It’s down to about 40 retailers and eateries while more than half its commercial space sits vacant." The station continued to wrestle with issues stemming from homeless people camped around

8833-555: The eastern side of Lantz Mountain (3,934 ft) in Highland County. From Hightown, the South Branch is a small meandering stream that flows northeast along Blue Grass Valley Road through the communities of New Hampden and Blue Grass . At Forks of Waters , the South Branch joins with Strait Creek and flows north across the Virginia/West Virginia border into Pendleton County . The river then travels on

8954-408: The expired charter was taken over by the B&O, which had not previously been interested in building a new route out of Washington. Construction began in 1866 along a slightly different route, connecting with the main line at Point of Rocks, Maryland . The line opened on April 30, 1873, as the B&O's Metropolitan Branch. The new line became the B&O's main passenger route to Washington, with

9075-597: The facility every ten minutes during operating hours. The DC Streetcar 's H Street/Benning Road Line serves the station from a stop on the H Street Bridge (a.k.a. the "Hopscotch Bridge") directly north of the station. The stop is accessible via the station's parking garage. On August 1, 2011, John Porcari , the United States Deputy Secretary of Transportation , announced that Greyhound Lines , BoltBus , Megabus , and Washington Deluxe would begin operating intercity buses later that year from

9196-469: The focus of converging avenues in a park-like green setting is one of the few executed achievements of the City Beautiful movement: elite city planning that was based on the "goosefoot" ( patte d'oie ) of formal garden plans made by Baroque designers such as André Le Nôtre . The station held a full range of dining rooms and other services, including barber shops and a mortuary. Union Station

9317-728: The guidance of Daniel Burnham , a famed Chicago architect and member of the U.S. Senate Park Commission, who in September 1901 wrote to the Commission's chairman, Sen. James McMillan , of the proposed project: "The station and its surroundings should be treated in a monumental manner, as they will become the vestibule of the city of Washington, and as they will be in close proximity to the Capitol itself." After two years of complicated and sometimes contentious negotiations, Congress passed S. 4825 (58th-1st session) entitled "An Act to provide

9438-463: The imminent inauguration of General Dwight D. Eisenhower as the thirty-fourth President of the United States. Until intercity passenger rail service was taken over by Amtrak on May 1, 1971, Union Station served as a hub for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , Chesapeake and Ohio Railway , Pennsylvania Railroad , and Southern Railway . The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac provided a link to Richmond, Virginia , about 100 miles (161 km) to

9559-631: The junction of Grant , Tucker and Preston counties in West Virginia. From the Fairfax Stone, the North Branch Potomac River flows 27 mi (43 km) to the man-made Jennings Randolph Lake , an impoundment designed for flood control and emergency water supply. Below the dam, the North Branch cuts a serpentine path through the eastern Allegheny Mountains. First, it flows northeast by the communities of Bloomington , Luke , and Westernport in Maryland and then on by Keyser , West Virginia to Cumberland , Maryland. At Cumberland,

9680-468: The line are (east to west): F Tower (BAA 37.2), QN Tower (BA 2.1), Georgetown Jct (BA 8.3), Montrose (BA 15), Derwood (BA 19.6), Clopper (BA 24.4), Buck Lodge (BA 30), Dickerson (BA 35.5) , PEPCO (BA 37), Tuscarora (BA 39.3), East Rocks (BA 42.6), Point of Rocks (BA 42.8), East Brunswick (BA 73.1), WB Tower (75.6), and Weverton (78.8). The line's bridges cross: Washington Union Station Washington Union Station , known locally as Union Station ,

9801-506: The much larger Seneca Dam was proposed whose reservoir would extend to Harpers Ferry. Several other dams were proposed for the Potomac and its tributaries. Operational Non-Operational Planned, but never built When detailed studies were issued by the Corps in the 1950s, they met sustained opposition, led by U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas , resulting in the plans' abandonment. The only dam project that did get built

9922-651: The nation's capital was to be located on the river. The 1859 siege of Harper's Ferry at the river's confluence with the Shenandoah was a precursor to numerous epic battles of the American Civil War in and around the Potomac and its tributaries, such as the 1861 Battle of Ball's Bluff and the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown . General Robert E. Lee crossed the river, thereby invading the North and threatening Washington, D.C., twice in campaigns climaxing in

10043-628: The new Reagan administration . On April 3, despite a budget austerity push, administration officials proposed a plan to appropriate $ 7 million (equivalent to $ 19.9 million in 2023 ) to allow the Department of the Interior to finish its authorized $ 8 million (equivalent to $ 22.7 million in 2023 ) roof repair program. In addition, the government of the District of Columbia would be permitted to reprogram up to $ 40 million (equivalent to $ 114 million in 2023 ) in federal highway money to finish

10164-487: The parent company filed for bankruptcy earlier in the year, prompting Peter Pan to take over the former's northeastern bus routes from Union Station. The Ivy City Yard, just north of Union Station, houses a large Amtrak maintenance facility. This includes the new maintenance facility for the Acela high-speed train sets. Amtrak also does contract work for MARC 's electric locomotives. Metro's Brentwood maintenance facility

10285-511: The parking garage at Union Station. On October 19, administration officials and members of the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation agreed on additional aspects of the plan. Up to $ 1 million (equivalent to $ 2.84 million in 2023 ) would be authorized and appropriated to fund a study on needed repairs at the station and a second study on the feasibility of turning Union Station into

10406-553: The parking garage, and opening ceremonies were held on Independence Day 1976. Due to a lack of publicity and convenient parking, the National Visitor Center was never popular. Financial considerations caused the National Park Service to close the theaters, end the slideshow presentation in "the Pit", and lay off almost three-quarters of the center's staff on October 28, 1978. During this time

10527-541: The question of West Virginia's succession in title to the lands between the branches of the river was raised, as well as title to the river itself. Claims by Maryland to West Virginia land north of the South Branch (all of Mineral and Grant Counties and parts of Hampshire , Hardy , Tucker and Pendleton Counties) and by West Virginia to the Potomac's high-water mark were rejected by the Supreme Court in two separate decisions in 1910. A variety of fish inhabit

10648-409: The rail networks both north and south of the city. Among the new station's unique features was an opulent "Presidential Suite" (aka "State Reception Suite") where the U.S. President, State Department and Congressional leaders could receive distinguished visitors arriving in Washington. Provided with a separate entrance, the suite (which was first used by 27th President William Howard Taft in 1909)

10769-535: The renovation could start as early as 2027. Architect Daniel H. Burnham , assisted by Pierce Anderson , was inspired by a number of architectural styles . Classical elements included the Arch of Constantine (exterior, main façade) and the great vaulted spaces of the Baths of Diocletian (interior); prominent siting at the intersection of two of Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant 's avenues, with an orientation that faced

10890-621: The river as it passes through Washington, D.C., and beyond. Salinity in the Potomac River Estuary increases thereafter with distance downstream. The estuary also widens, reaching 11 statute miles (17 km) wide at its mouth, between Point Lookout, Maryland, and Smith Point , Virginia, before flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. The source of the North Branch Potomac River is at the Fairfax Stone located at

11011-677: The river bank-to-bank from the low-water mark on the Virginia side while permitting Virginia full riparian rights short of obstructing navigation. From 1957 to 1996, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) routinely issued permits applied for by Virginia entities concerning the use of the Potomac. However, in 1996 the MDE denied a permit submitted by the Fairfax County Water Authority to build

11132-502: The river has improved with a reduction in nutrient runoff, return of fish populations, and land protection along the river. As a result, the same group issued a grade of "B" for 2017 and 2018. In March 2019, the Potomac Riverkeeper Network launched a laboratory boat dubbed the "Sea Dog", which will be monitoring water quality in the Potomac and providing reports to the public on a weekly basis; in that same month,

11253-688: The river in Charles County , Maryland, as the Mallows Bay–Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary in 2019. The river has significant historical and political significance, as the nation's capital of Washington, D.C. is located on its banks, as is Mount Vernon , the home of "Father of his Country" George Washington . During the American Civil War, the river became the boundary between the Union and

11374-430: The river turns southeast. 103 miles (166 km) downstream from its source, the North Branch is joined by the South Branch between Green Spring and South Branch Depot , West Virginia from whence it flows past Hancock , Maryland and turns southeast once more on its way toward Washington, D.C. , and the Chesapeake Bay . The exact location of the South Branch's source is northwest of Hightown along U.S. Route 250 on

11495-512: The river until its mouth at Green Spring . In its eastern course from Petersburg into Hardy County , the South Branch becomes more navigable allowing for canoes and smaller river vessels. The river splits and forms a series of large islands while it heads northeast to Moorefield . At Moorefield, the South Branch is joined by the South Fork South Branch Potomac River and runs north to Old Fields where it

11616-537: The significant pollution control projects at the time was the expansion of the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant , which serves Washington and several surrounding communities. Enactment of the 1972 Clean Water Act led to construction or expansion of additional sewage treatment plants in the Potomac watershed. Controls on phosphorus , one of the principal contributors to eutrophication, were implemented in

11737-641: The south, where major north–south lines of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Seaboard Air Line Railroad provided service to the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida. World War II was the busiest period in the station's history in terms of passenger traffic, with up to 200,000 people passing through on a single day. In 1967, the chairman of the Civil Service Commission expressed interest in using Union Station as

11858-475: The station and are only used by trains arriving from and departing to the north. The lower level contains tracks 22–29, which are served by low-level platforms at the track level. These platforms are served by all VRE trains, all Amtrak long-distance trains that serve the station except for the Capitol Limited , and Amtrak Northeast Regional trains that continue south to Virginia. Unlike the tracks on

11979-414: The station and relying on its waiting and restroom facilities. Columbus Circle has been rebuilt to fix its deteriorated roadbed, adjust the passenger pickup/dropoff locations, streamline the taxi stand, and better accommodate tour buses. In April 2022, Amtrak began condemnation proceedings to take over the leasehold interest, saying that “poor maintenance and lack of capital investment” had “plagued”

12100-567: The station complex to the burgeoning neighborhoods of NoMa and the H Street Corridor . The plan cleared a regulatory gate in March 2024, when the Federal Railroad Administration completed its final environmental impact statement. On April 17, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Amtrak could seize the station’s commercial space through eminent domain , with the price to be set later. Officials said

12221-464: The station complex. The cinema closed in 2009, B. Smith's restaurant and Barnes & Noble in 2013, and the latter's replacement, H&M , in 2019. Amtrak moved its headquarters offices from Union Station to a nearby building in 2017. That same year, the Trump administration listed an $ 8.7 billion expansion and refurbishment of Washington Union Station as an infrastructure funding priority. In

12342-412: The station for years. In the meantime, the agency described plans for a major renovation and expansion, which seek to triple passenger capacity and double train capacity by modernizing and expanding station facilities over 20 years. The "Second Century Plan" accommodates Burnham Place, a planned transit-oriented, three million square-foot mixed-use development over the existing rail yard, that will connect

12463-434: The station in a single day. In 1988, a headhouse wing was added and the original station renovated for use as a shopping mall . As of 2014, Union Station was one of the busiest rail facilities and shopping destinations in the United States, visited by over 40 million people a year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors caused a sharp decline in retail and dining; by late 2022, more than half its commercial space

12584-528: The station over 15 to 20 years. The proposed conversion would "double the number of trains and triple the number of passengers in gleaming, glass-encased halls". Then-Amtrak President and CEO Joseph H. Boardman hoped the federal government would finance "50 to 80 percent" of the project. In June 2015, the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation released a Historic Preservation Plan to guide preservation and restoration at

12705-533: The total cost to the Terminal Company for all the improvements associated with Union Station exceeded $ 16 million (equivalent to $ 456 million in 2023 ). This cost was financed by $ 12 million (equivalent to $ 342 million in 2023 ) in first mortgage bonds as well as advances by the owners which were repaid by stock and cash. Each carrier also received $ 1.5 million (equivalent to $ 42.8 million in 2023 ) in government funding to compensate them for

12826-484: The tracks. On January 10, 1902, representatives of the railroads presented preliminary plans for the construction of the Union Depot (Union Station) to representatives of the District of Columbia. They proposed to build tunnels under the tracks for K, L, and M Streets NE and to close H Street . The street would be closed 300 feet (91 m) on both sides of Delaware Avenue (for a total of 600 feet [180 m]). If

12947-484: The tracks. The most common question asked at the Visitor Center was, "Where are the trains?" After the leaking roof caused the partial collapse of plaster from the ceiling in the eastern wing of the building, the National Park Service declared the entire structure unsafe on February 23, 1981, and sealed the structure to the public. The 1981 ceiling collapse deeply alarmed members of Congress and officials in

13068-512: The upper level, the lower level tracks run through under the station building and Capitol Hill via the First Street tunnel . Electrification ends at the station, and all trains continuing south through the tunnel must have their electric engines swapped out for diesel locomotives. For example, when a southbound Northeast Regional train arrives on a lower-level platform on its way to Newport News, Virginia , its Siemens ACS-64 electric engine

13189-590: The watermen of Virginia's Northern Neck. Being situated in an area rich in American history and American heritage has led to the Potomac being nicknamed "the Nation's River". George Washington , the first President of the United States , was born in, surveyed, and spent most of his life within, the Potomac basin. All of Washington, D.C., the nation's capital city , also lies within the watershed. The First United States Congress by act of July 16, 1790 stated that

13310-478: Was Jennings Randolph Lake on the North Branch. The Corps built a supplementary water intake for the Washington Aqueduct at Little Falls in 1959. In 1940 Congress passed a law authorizing the creation of an interstate compact to coordinate water quality management among states in the Potomac basin. Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the District of Columbia agreed to establish

13431-641: Was also meant to safeguard the Chief Executive during his travels in an effort to prevent a repeat of the July, 1881 assassination of 20th President James A. Garfield in the old former Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station . The suite was converted in December 1941, during World War II , to a U.S.O. (United Services Organization) canteen, which went on to serve 6.5 million military service members during World War II . Although closed on May 31, 1946, it

13552-405: Was closed for restoration and refurbishing. Mold was growing in the leaking ceiling of the Main Hall, and the carpet laid out for an Inauguration Day celebration was full of cigarette-burned holes. In 1988, Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole awarded $ 70 million (equivalent to $ 156 million in 2023 ) to the restoration effort. "The Pit" was transformed into a new basement level, and

13673-744: Was equipped with a presidential suite which is now occupied by a restaurant. Union Station is served by Amtrak 's high-speed Acela Express , Northeast Regional , and several of Amtrak's long-distance trains (including, among others, the Capitol Limited , Crescent , and Silver Service trains). From Union Station, Amtrak also operates long-distance service to the Southeast and Midwest, including many intermediate stops to destinations such as Chicago , Charlotte , New Orleans , and Miami . In fiscal 2011, an average of more than 13,000 passengers boarded or got off Amtrak trains each day. It

13794-475: Was found to have structural problems, and launched the abandonment process the year after 75 feet of track was damaged in the 1985 Election Day floods . The right-of-way from Bethesda to Georgetown was turned into a hike-and-bike trail that opened in late 1996 as the Capital Crescent Trail . The Bethesda-to-Silver Spring portion of the spur was opened in 1997 as an interim rail-trail called

13915-487: Was in March 1936 when it reached 426,000 cubic feet (12,100 m ) /s. The lowest average daily flow ever recorded at the same location was 601.0 cubic feet (17.02 m ) /s in September 1966 The highest crest of the Potomac ever registered at Little Falls was 28.10 ft, on March 19, 1936; however, the most damaging flood to affect Washington, DC and its metropolitan area was that of October 1942. For 400 years Maryland and Virginia have disputed control of

14036-580: Was made in the bill, Senate aides said the intent was to have Amtrak tear down its 1960s-era station at the rear of Union Station and move its operations back inside. The Senate passed the bill unanimously on November 23. The House approved the bill on December 16. President Ronald Reagan signed the Union Station Redevelopment Act into law on December 29. As a result of the Redevelopment Act of 1981, Union Station

14157-399: Was rampant. It was the end of a community but the beginning of a new era for Washington, D.C. Tiber Creek , which was prone to flooding, was put in a tunnel . Delaware Avenue disappeared from the map between Massachusetts Avenue and Florida Avenue under the tracks. Only a small section remains, next to the tracks between L and M Streets NE. The first B&O train to arrive with passengers

14278-438: Was renamed to honor W. Graham Claytor Jr. , who served as Amtrak's president from 1982 to 1993. The decorative elements of the station were also restored. The skylights were preserved, but sunlight no longer illuminates the Concourse because it is blocked by the newer roof structure built directly overhead to support the aging, original structure. In July 2012, Amtrak announced a four-phase, $ 7 billion plan to revamp and renovate

14399-455: Was reopened in 1951 as a U.S.O. lounge and dedicated by President Harry Truman as a permanent "home away from home" for traveling U.S. Armed Services members. On the morning of January 15, 1953, the Pennsylvania Railroad's Federal , the overnight train from Boston , crashed into the station. When the engineer tried to apply the trainline brakes two miles out of the platforms, he discovered that he only had engine brakes. A switchman on

14520-568: Was the Pittsburgh Express , at 6:50 a.m. on October 27, 1907; the first PRR train arrived three weeks later on November 17. The main building itself was completed in 1908. Of its 32 station tracks, 20 enter from the northeast and terminate at the station's headhouse. The remaining 12 tracks enter below ground level from the south via a 4,033-foot twin-tube tunnel passing under Capitol Hill and an 898-foot long subway under Massachusetts Avenue, which allow through traffic direct access to

14641-596: Was vacant, but Amtrak is attempting to regain control of the station and plans a major renovation and expansion. Before Union Station opened, each of the major railroads operated out of one of two stations: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line ran east on D Street NE across North Capitol Street, then north on Delaware Avenue NE. It divided into two lines. The Metropolitan branch continued north on 1st Street NE, turning east on New York Ave NE and continuing north through Eckington . The other line turned east onto I Street NE up to 7th Street NE where it headed back north on what

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