Rock Creek Railway
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | The Chevy Chase Land Company |
| Founders | Francis Newlands |
| Dates of operation | 1890–1895 |
| Successor | Capital Traction Company |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Electrification | Yes |
| Length | 7-plus miles |
The Rock Creek Railway was one of the first electric streetcar companies in Washington, D.C., and the first to extend into Maryland.
The railroad was created by the Chevy Chase Land Company to help develop and market the streetcar suburb of Chevy Chase, Maryland. It began service in 1890, and within three years stretched more than seven miles from the Cardoza/Shaw neighborhood of D.C. to Coquelin Run in Maryland. The trip from one terminus to the other took about 35 minutes.
In 1895, the railroad purchased the larger Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company and changed its name to the Capital Traction Company, which would become one of the two major streetcar companies that operated in and around Washington, D.C., in the early decades of the 20th century. The line fostered the development of several neighborhoods of northwest Washington, D.C., and suburban Maryland.