 Map of the Chesapeake Beach Railway in 1913 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Denver, Colorado |
| Locale | Washington, D.C., to Chesapeake Beach, Maryland |
| Dates of operation | December 5, 1898–April 15, 1935 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Chesapeake Beach Railway (CBR), now defunct, was an American railroad of southern Maryland and Washington, D.C., built in the 19th century. The CBR ran 27.629 miles from Washington, D.C., on tracks laid by the Southern Maryland Railroad and its own single track through Maryland farm country to a resort at Chesapeake Beach.[1] The construction of the railway was overseen by Otto Mears, a Colorado railroad builder, who planned a shoreline resort with railroad service from Washington and Baltimore. It served Washington and Chesapeake Beach for almost 35 years, but closed amid the Great Depression and the rise of the automobile. The last train left the station on April 15, 1935. Parts of the right-of-way are now used for roads and a future rail trail.
- ^ "Old Railroad To Beach Due To Be Junked" (PDF). The Washington Post. 16 March 1935. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2006.