Germantown Then and Now: Waring Viaduct

Many of you have crossed over this historic landmark without being aware of the magnificent structure lying below. The Waring Viaduct is now part of the CSX Railroad Line used by the Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) trains. It is about a half mile southeast of the Germantown Railroad Station and crosses Great Seneca Creek.

When the Metropolitan Branch of the B & O Railroad was constructed in 1873 this span was crossed by a wood and iron trestle 400 feet long and 75 feet high. This was replaced by this impressive three-arch stone viaduct in 1906 when the section between Gaithersburg and Germantown was double-tracked. The viaduct is 350 feet long, and 74 feet high.

The section of railway between Washington D.C. and Gaithersburg had been double-tracked from 1886 to 1893, but the huge trestleworks at Great Seneca, Little Seneca Creeks in Montgomery County kept the section between Gaithersburg and Barnesville from being double-tracked until the new 20-year rebuilding plan of B & O President Leonor F. Loree went into effect in 1901. The trestle over Little Seneca Creek was not replaced until after World War I – but more about that in a later column.

The Waring Viaduct is on the Montgomery County Master Plan for Historic Preservation. It is named for the station that was located on the northwest side of the viaduct at Waring Station Road. This was a farm station for the Waring family dairy farm and other local farmers. It also had a large tank of water pumped up from the creek for the use of the steam engines of the early locomotives.

FWI: A bridge is any span over water or land; a viaduct must consist of two or more arches or supports;  a trestle is the structural form of the bridge or viaduct.