Damming Coquelin Run to Make Chevy Chase Lake
Streetcars entered the car barn on the tracks that ran off the main line. Inside, pits beneath the cars were used to repair and service them. Behind the car barn, and a little lower down, just north of Chevy Chase Lake, a power plant with a tall smokestack generated electricity for the streetcars. The lake itself was created by damming Coquelin Run, a tributary to Rock Creek which ran under Connecticut Avenue. The man-made lake spread out on the eastern side of Connecticut, and a photograph taken from the south side of the lake shows the side of the car barn and the electric power plant.
Capital Traction Company
In 1895, Rock Creek Railway merged with the Washington and Georgetown Railroad company to form Capital Traction Company. But the terminus of the streetcar along Connecticut Avenue continued to be Chevy Chase Lake, the destination proclaimed by the signs on the streetcars on this route. In the winter, the sides of the cars were closed, but in summer they were open – the seats were made out of woven straw, and it was easy to hop on and off.
Closed Streetcar #13, used only on the Chevy Chase Lake run between 1909 and 1935, built in 1909 by the Cincinnati Car Co. Donated by Edith Claude Jarvis. CCHS 2008.144.13. 
Summer Streetcar #808, 1914, used on various lines to 1920’s. Built in 1907 by Cinncinati Car Co. Junked 1935. Photo by DC Transit System, Inc. 1914 Inventory of Stock. Donated by Edith Claude Jarvis. CCHS 2008.144.10.
