Areas · Frederick County
Reels and spools in Adamstown: an old aluminium works and a planned campus
ADAMSTOWN, Md. — Adamstown, in ZIP 21710 in southern Frederick County, is a rural village near the Potomac, and it matters to the desk because of the former Alcoa Eastalco aluminium works nearby, where Quantum Loophole has planned a data-centre campus of about 2,100 acres. Large construction there would make Adamstown a reel source.
From the reel desk · Checked 9 November 2026
Schematic line map, not to survey: Adamstown marked. The Potomac, the Anacostia, the District line and the Beltway are drawn for bearings.
Fact box: Adamstown
- ZIP
- 21710
- Large site
- Former Alcoa Eastalco Works
- Planned project
- Quantum Loophole campus, about 2,100 acres (announced 2021)
- Utility
- Potomac Edison
- Distance
- About 25 miles north of Ashburn
A village and a works
Adamstown is a small village on the old road between Frederick and Point of Rocks, a few miles north of the Potomac. For decades its best-known neighbour was the Eastalco aluminium smelter, run by Alcoa, which closed in the 2000s and left a large industrial site with heavy power connections.
The Quantum Loophole plan
In June 2021 Data Center Frontier reported that Quantum Loophole planned a data-centre campus of about 2,100 acres on the former Eastalco site, roughly 25 miles due north of Ashburn. The company described gigawatt-scale transmission capacity and named TPG as a partner. A related report said Aligned would be the first tenant.
We have not confirmed how much has been built since. Projects this size move in phases and can stall. Check current reporting before you plan around it.
What a campus would mean for reels
If the campus is built out, its reels would look like Loudoun’s: medium-voltage feeders, copper distribution, grounding, control cable and fibre, on reels from 24 to 84 inches, wood and steel. The transmission and substation work to serve it would bring the largest reels, mostly steel and returnable. A site that size could fill several of Sonoco’s truckloads of a single maker’s reels; the mixed and part loads around it would come to the desk.
Potomac Edison
Maryland’s Office of People’s Counsel lists Potomac Edison, a FirstEnergy company, as Frederick County’s utility. Loudoun County’s transmission page describes a Potomac Edison filing in October 2026 to rebuild a 138 kV line and add a 500 kV line through northern Loudoun up to the Frederick County line.
Farms
Today Adamstown is farm country, and its farms are buyers. Large reels for hose, irrigation line and fencing wire are the common request, and the desk delivers.
Getting here
Adamstown is reached from US-340 and MD-85 to the north, and from Point of Rocks and US-15 to the west. From the District, I-270 to Frederick and south on US-340 is the usual truck route.
Sending a request from Adamstown
- 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
| 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
Is the Quantum Loophole campus producing reels now?
We have not confirmed how far construction has gone. If you have reels from work there, send a count.
Does the desk deliver to farms around Adamstown?
Yes. Large reels for hose, irrigation and fencing are the common request.
Sources
Each opened and read on 9 November 2026.
- 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
- Maryland Office of People's Counsel, Your Local Electricity Companies: which utility serves which Maryland counties
- 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