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Streetcars
The Battery Car that Couldn't
Photos by Adam Paul
By all accounts, the Towson and Cockeysville Railway was something of an oddity. The line really didn't serve a great number of riders during its eleven year sting from 1912 to 1923, as the area it served was not nearly as developed as it is today.  The line used some rather unconventional equipment in the form of a storage battery powered car, as opposed to the conventional overhead wire that most electric streetcars used.  Finally, the Towson and Cockeysville was odd in that it never went to Cockeysville! Instead, it Northern terminus was at the Timonium Station of the Northern Central.

As nearly 80 years have passed since the abandonment of the T&C, there is very little to show the course its lone car (which would later be replaced with a similar car, while the body of the original was used as its Timonium waiting station) struggled along on its hilly way between termini.  Though one would think that a graded rail right of way would certainly be considered useful for conversion to an auto thorofare, this was only performed in a few spots.  In most cases, the grade, including a cut beneath Seminary Avenue, was largely obliterated or obscured by later residential redevelopment which the line wanted but never really enjoyed during its operating years.  There are a few cases in where the grade is traceable, but these are the exception to the rule.

Towson and Cockeysville Map
As shown by the map, the T&C left Towson by heading North on Bosley Avenue, then curving Northwest to make an acute cross of today's Kenilworth Drive.  From there, it headed more northerly, largely parallelling York Road in most places before pulling along side the Northern Central tracks to terminate.  Green "V's" indicate photo locations, with with the center of the v showing the camera position, and the legs indicating field of view.  Click on this map for an unenhanced version of the same map.


Survivors
Leaving Towson Looking North
After leaving Towson, the line headed along the line of trees in this photo, skirting a small cemetery out of view to the left.  Down the hill from the trees in the background is the Easternmost part of Kenilworth Drive.  This photo location is shown by the lowest "V"
Near the Carver Center
The most impressive part of the T&C right of way is this stretch leading Northwest from the driveway to the Carver Center of Arts and Technology.  Once this section emerges to the commercial district and the Beltway, tracing of the grade is sketchy at best.
Division Street
While the grade is lost in the curving streets just North of the Beltway, it seems to reappear in the form of Division Avenue in old Lutherville for a time.  Futher North, the line seems to mirror Aylesbury Road as it approaches Timonium.

Another portion of grade may be extant near the Lutherville Fire House on Bellona Avenue, but I've not yet had the time to explore this more fully.  Hopefully, more artifacts of the old T&C will surface in the future.

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