September 27, 2016  

Derailed Trolley: Montrose Rd & Rt 355

Derailed trolley #596

Derailed trolley at Montrose Road and Rockville Pike. Photo by Lewis Reed

In the early years of the 20th century, when electric trolleys were a lifeline for Montgomery County, a derailment near Montrose Road (today’s Rt 355) brought travel to a sudden halt.

In populated urban areas, trolley cars kept speeds to 12 mph (6 mph at intersections), but in open country they could get up to 40 mph. Traveling in snow was additionally hazardous, as evidenced by the trolley pictured in these photos, which derailed and plowed into a telephone pole at Montrose Road and Rockville Pike.

Lewis Reed was there to capture the accident from two different perspectives using a five-by-four box camera which produced images on a glass plate.

Derailed trolley Montrose Rd & 355

Viewed from a distance, the derailed trolley lies off the tracks as Lewis Reed records the scene.

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About Reed Brothers

I am a co-owner of the former Reed Brothers Dodge in Rockville, Maryland. Lewis Reed, the founder of Reed Brothers Dodge was my grandfather. We were a family-owned and operated car dealership in Rockville for almost a century. I served in the United States Air Force for 30 years before retiring in the top enlisted grade of Chief Master Sergeant in July 2006. In 2016, I received the Arthur M. Wagman Award for Historic Preservation Communication from Peerless Rockville for documenting the history of Reed Brothers Dodge in both blog and book format. This distinguished honor recognizes outstanding achievement by writers, educators, and historians whose work has heightened public awareness of Rockville’s architectural and cultural heritage, growth and development.

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