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Reel pickup in Frederick County: the north end of the desk's map

FREDERICK, Md. — The desk collects empty reels and delivers wooden spools in Frederick County, the northern edge of the area it covers. Reels here come from the county's own building and utility work and from a large data-centre campus planned on the former Eastalco aluminium works at Adamstown.

From the reel desk · Checked 9 November 2026

Schematic line map, not to survey: Frederick County marked, with I-270 drawn heavier. The Potomac, the Anacostia, the District line and the Beltway are drawn for bearings.

Fact box: Frederick County

Electric utility: Potomac Edison (FirstEnergy)
Large project: Quantum Loophole campus, Adamstown, about 2,100 acres
Distributor location: Shepherd Electric, Frederick
Main corridors: I-270, I-70, US-15, US-340
Town pages: 2

Potomac Edison country

Maryland’s Office of People’s Counsel lists Potomac Edison, a FirstEnergy company, as the utility for Frederick County, along with Washington, Allegany and Garrett counties and portions of Carroll, Howard and Montgomery. Utility distribution and transmission work is one strand of the county’s reel supply.

Potomac Edison’s work crosses the Potomac too. Loudoun County’s transmission page describes a Potomac Edison application, filed in October 2026, to rebuild a 138 kV line and add a 500 kV line over about 10.5 miles of northern Loudoun up to the Frederick County line.

Quantum Loophole at Adamstown

In 2021 Data Center Frontier reported plans by Quantum Loophole for a data-centre campus of about 2,100 acres at Adamstown, on the site of the former Alcoa Eastalco Works, roughly 25 miles due north of Ashburn. The company said the site would have gigawatt-scale transmission capacity. A campus of that size, if built out, uses a great deal of medium-voltage and fibre cable, and it is the main reason the desk extends this far north. We do not know how far construction has gone; check current reporting before you rely on it.

Building

The city of Frederick and its suburbs have grown steadily along I-270 and I-70, with apartments, warehouses, schools and commercial buildings. Shepherd Electric, now part of Graybar, has a location in Frederick, which tells you there is enough electrical work in the county to support a local supply house.

Distances

Frederick is a long way from the District by road: I-270 runs about 35 miles from the Beltway to Frederick. That makes pickups here worth planning around a fuller load. If you have a few reels, the desk may ask whether more are coming before scheduling a truck. A recurring pickup on a fixed day works well for yards in the county.

Buyers

Frederick County is also farm country. Farms and orchards use large reels for wire and hose; wineries and event venues use reels as tables and displays. Demand for big reels is steady here, which helps balance the long trips.

Roads

I-270 is the main road from Montgomery County to Frederick. I-70 runs east to Baltimore and west to Hagerstown. US-15 runs north to Pennsylvania and south through Point of Rocks toward Leesburg, and US-340 heads southwest toward Brunswick and Harpers Ferry.

Town pages

Two Frederick County places have their own pages: Adamstown, where the Quantum Loophole site is, and the city of Frederick.

Sending a request from Frederick County

Count and measure. Count the reels and measure the largest flange edge to edge across the face. A photo with the tape in it is better than a guess.
Check the build. Nailed lumber, plywood sheet, steel or plastic. Look for a stencil or tag naming the maker and the reel number.
Set aside steel and tagged returnables with their serial numbers. Those go back to the maker, not to the desk.
Say where they stand: yard, dock, garage level, alley or curb, plus clearance, gate hours, badging or escort a driver needs.
Say what loads them: forklift, pallet jack, loader, ramp, or only people. Reels over 42 inches weigh more than 100 lb empty.
Say how often: one time, weekly, monthly or at each job close-out.
Buying instead? Give the flange and height you want, how many, and how the reel gets from the truck to where it will sit.
No form handy? Email info@dcwoodenspools.com with the same details and a few photos.

Reels you are likely to have

Common Southwire reels by size: inches and empty pounds, from its Reel Packaging Information.
Reel	Build	Flange	Traverse	Drum	Lb	Usually carries
C-5	Nailed wood	23	17	12	34	Copper building wire, grounding
A-10	Nailed wood	30	22	16	66	Service drop, bare aluminium
N-24	Nailed wood	36	28	14	83	Insulated and multiplex cable
A-29	Nailed wood	42	28	21	154	Overhead conductor, feeders
A-38	Nailed wood	48	28	24	212	Aluminium and ACSR, large feeders
A-62	Nailed wood	60	28	28	397	Utility conductor
A-76	Nailed wood	66	28	30	473	Heavy conductor
S-120	Steel, returnable	84	36	42	895	Transmission and medium voltage

Other makers' reels differ by an inch or two. All flange sizes · How to measure

Questions the desk gets

Does the desk go as far as Frederick?

Yes. Because the trip is long, the desk prefers fuller loads or a recurring day for Frederick County pickups.

Is the Adamstown data-centre campus built?

We know of the 2021 plans for a 2,100-acre campus there. We have not confirmed how much is built; check current reporting.

Sources

Each opened and read on 9 November 2026.

Maryland Office of People's Counsel, Your Local Electricity Companies: which utility serves which Maryland counties
Data Center Frontier, Quantum Loophole plans 2,100 acre data center campus in Maryland (28 June 2021): former Alcoa Eastalco Works site at Adamstown, about 25 miles north of Ashburn
Loudoun County, Transmission Lines in Loudoun County: status of Aspen to Golden, Golden to Mars, BECO to Firehouse, Evergreen Mills, Global Plaza Extension, Mars to Wishing Star and the Potomac Edison Goose Creek rebuild
inside.lighting, Graybar expands in Baltimore-DC, acquires Shepherd Electric (2023): Graybar branches in Lanham and Sterling; Shepherd locations in Baltimore, Laurel, Frederick, Washington and Sterling