Because of structural problems with a bridge in Montgomery County , the last train on the line ran in June , 1985 . At that time , the only customers were the General Services Administration ( GSA ) heating plant at 29th and K streets and a small building supply company in Bethesda . Three months later , Chessie indicated that they would ask the Interstate Commerce Commission ( ICC ) for permission to abandon the line . Chessie claimed they were losing money on the line and that it detracted from the scenery around the Washington Harbor Condominiums , of which Chessie was a part owner . Local governments and the National Park Service began trying to acquire the land for a trail and transit corridor as early as 1985 , when the Interstate Commerce Commission informed them that the National Trails System Act of 1968 could not be used to force Chessie to turn the land over . Problems with the line were exacerbated after the Potomac River flood in November undermined about 75 feet of roadbed near Fletcher 's Boathouse . Before the abandonment , Chessie made plans to sell the section in the Palisades to a developer , and offered to sell it for $ 15 million . Chessie , by then part of the CSX Corporation , asked for permission to abandon the line in April 1986 . The abandonment was completed in April 1988
Potomac River flood
1985 Election Day floods
Capital Crescent Trail