Tag Archive | trolley car wreck
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.