The Capital Crescent Trail is an 11mi long, shared-use rail trail that runs from Georgetown in Washington, D.C., to Silver Spring, Maryland. The portion from Bethesda to Silver Spring was called the Georgetown Branch Trail but is currently closed to build the Purple Line light rail project and to extend the Capital Crescent Trail.The Capital Crescent Trail is the one of the most heavily used rail trails in the United States and is used by more than 1 million walkers, joggers, bikers, skateboarders and rollerbladers each year. In 2005, it was named one of the "21 great places that show how transportation can enliven a community" by The Project for Public Spaces.HistoryThe trail runs on the abandoned right-of-way of the Georgetown Branch rail line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The rail line was partially built in 1892 and completed in 1910. It served Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO), the Washington Mill and Federal government buildings; but with the changing use of Georgetown's waterfront, became obsolete. Trains stopped running on the line in 1985 after a flood caused a canal washout that removed a section of track and CSX asked for permission to abandon it in 1986.
