The B. & O. Branch runs out from Washington City diagonally 

 through the county, passing through the Wheaton, Rockville, Gaithers- 

 burg, Clarksburg and Barnesville Districts, and through the towns of 

 Takoma Park, Silver Spring, Kensington, Forest Glen, Rockville, Gaith- 

 ersburg, Germantown, Boyds, Barnesville Station and Dickerson. The 

 passenger service is convenient and reliable though the cars are mostly 

 of a somewhat ancient type. The freight service is sufficient for the needs 

 of the county. The road is double-tracked to a point between Gaithers- 

 burg and Germantown. It is available to about two- thirds of the 

 county, but is of value for shipping purposes chiefly to the Rockville, 

 Darnestown, Gaithersburg, Laytonsville, Clarksburg, Barnesville and 

 Poolesville Districts. 



The C. & O. Canal runs parallel with the Potomac River on the Mont- 

 gomery County side, for the entire length of the county line from the 

 Monocacy River to the District of Columbia. It was built primarily 

 to transport coal from the Cumberland Mountains. Twenty years or 

 more ago it was taken over by the B. & 0. Railroad and has since been 

 operated by them. For the 19>2 miles above Seneca, there are two 

 levels, 11^ and 8 miles long respectively; between Seneca and the 

 District of Columbia there are 24 locks. The canal is not locally used as 

 much now as formerly. It is chiefly important for those districts 

 which lie along the Potomac; Poolesville, Darnestown and Potomac. 



It might also be mentioned that the Southern Metropolitan Branch 

 of the B. & 0. runs through the Bethesda District, entering the county 

 near the Potomac River, running across the lower half of the district, 

 by Bethesda Station and Chevy Chase Lake, uniting with the Metro- 

 politan Branch at Linden. This road is for freight only; it is not used 

 appreciably for the marketing of farm produce, but is chiefly important 

 for the shipping of building materials, tile, etc., into the Bethesda District 



The road question is somewhat more complicated. The total number 

 of miles of road in the county is 830. Ninety-nine miles of this total is 

 stone road of varying degrees of excellence. Diagram No. IV on op- 

 posite page and Table No. 8, Appendix, page II, show the distribution 

 of the roads by districts. The 99 miles of stone road are divided among 

 twelve out of the thirteen districts. For every mile of stone road 

 there is about 7^ miles of dirt road. The building of stone roads has 

 for some reason proven a very expensive operation, both in the initial 

 cost and the up-keep. All that is state and county built is relatively 

 new and for the most part is in good condition, with excellent culverts, 

 bridges and grades. The 24 miles of toll-road is older, and though 

 originally very well made and with an excellent bottom, is at present 

 rather rough, a condition not much improved by the fact that the 

 prevailing method of repairing it appears to be to dump small stone 



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