Washington and Old Dominion Railroad

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The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad (colloquially referred to as the W&OD) was an intrastate short-line railroad located in Northern Virginia. Its oldest line extended from Alexandria on the Potomac River northwest to Bluemont at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Snickers Gap, not far from the boundary line between Virginia and West Virginia. The line's route largely parallelled the routes of the Potomac River and the present Virginia State Route 7.

The line followed the winding course of Four Mile Run upstream from Alexandria through Arlington to Falls Church. At that point, the railroad was above the fall line and was able to follow a more direct course in Virginia through Dunn Loring, Vienna, Sunset Hills (now in Reston), Herndon, Sterling, Ashburn, Leesburg, Paeonian Springs, Hamilton, Purcellville and Round Hill to its terminus at Bluemont, turning sharply only after passing through Clarkes Gap in Catoctin Mountain west of Leesburg. The Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail (W&OD Trail) and several other rail trails have replaced much of the railroad's route.

General history

Originally incorporated as the Alexandria and Harper's Ferry Railroad, construction on the line began in 1855 by the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad (AL&H). First intended to cross the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah River to reach the coal fields in the western part of Hampshire County, Virginia, that are now within Mineral County, West Virginia, the AL&H reached Leesburg in Loudoun County in 1860. Because of its proximity to Washington, D.C., the line saw much use and disruption during the Civil War. After the war, the name of the line was changed in 1870 to the Washington and Ohio Railroad. The line was extended from Leesburg to Hamilton in 1870 and to Round Hill in 1874.

Upon acquisition by new owners in the 1880s, the line's name was changed twice: first to the Washington and Western Railroad in 1882 and in the next year to the Washington, Ohio and Western (WO&W) Railroad. However, the line's trains did not serve either Washington, Ohio, or the West.

In 1886, the Richmond and Danville Railroad, a trunk line that connected Washington, D.C., with Atlanta, Georgia, leased the WO&W and operated the WO&W's trains between Washington, D.C., and Round Hill. In 1894, the newly-formed Southern Railway absorbed the Richmond and Danville Railroad and acquired the WO&W. In 1900, the Southern Railway extended the line westward for four miles from Round Hill to Bluemont (formerly Snickersville). The Southern Railway designated the line as its Bluemont Branch.

By 1908, steam locomotives were hauling Southern Railway passenger trains from the new Union Station in Washington, D.C., to Alexandria Junction (north of old town Alexandria), where they switched to travel westward on the Bluemont Branch. A connecting line shuttled passengers from a station in old town Alexandria on a route that the AL&H had earlier established. On weekends, express trains carried vacationers from Washington to Bluemont and other towns in western Loudoun County in which resorts had developed.

Meanwhile, in 1906, electric trolleys had begun to run on the Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad (GF&OD) northwest to Great Falls from Georgetown in Washington, D.C. This line crossed the Potomac River on the old Aqueduct Bridge, passed through Rosslyn, and traveled northwest on a double-tracked line through Arlington and Fairfax County to an amusement park that the railway constructed and operated near the Falls.

In 1911, the owners of the GF&OD formed a new corporation, the Washington and Old Dominion Railway. In 1912, the GF&OD became the "Great Falls Division" of the W&OD Railway.

Also in 1912, the W&OD Railway leased all of the Southern Railway's Bluemont Branch, except for a short segment connecting Potomac Yard with old town Alexandria. The W&OD made the Southern's Bluemont Branch a part of the new railway's "Bluemont Division" and electrified all of its operations over the next four years, becoming an interurban electric trolley system that carried passengers, mail, milk and freight. From that time onward, W&OD trains crossed over Potomac Yard on a long viaduct.

To join its two lines, the W&OD Railway constructed in 1912 a double-tracked Bluemont Division connecting line that traveled between two new junctions in Arlington: Bluemont Junction on the Alexandria-Bluemont line and Thrifton Junction on the Georgetown-Great Falls line. The connecting line passed a short distance west of Ballston, crossing over a competing electric trolley line (the Washington-Virginia Railway) that carried passengers between Rosslyn, Clarendon, Ballston, Falls Church, Vienna and Fairfax City.

The railway distributed direct current (DC) to its Bluemont Division cars and trains through overhead catenary wires. Single overhead wires carried the Great Falls Division's electricity over its tracks. Stationary and movable electrical substations containing Westinghouse transformers and AC to DC converters were located at various points along the railway's routes.

The W&OD's main passenger line ran from Georgetown and Rosslyn through Thrifton Junction, Bluemont Junction and westward to Bluemont. However, after crossing the Potomac River, many of its passengers transferred in Rosslyn to the trolleys of the competing Washington-Virginia Railway. Most of the railway's freight trains ran between Potomac Yard, Bluemont Junction and either Rosslyn or various locations along the Bluemont Division.

In 1923, the W&OD Railway ceased operating from Georgetown when the federal government replaced the aging Aqueduct Bridge with the new Francis Scott Key Bridge. At the same time, the railroad constructed a new passenger station in Rosslyn which became its "Washington" terminal.

The W&OD Railway fell upon hard times in the 1930s during the Great Depression. In 1932, the railway went into bankruptcy and was placed in receivership. In 1934, the railway abandoned operations on the Great Falls Division between Thrifton Junction and Great Falls.

In 1936, a new corporation, the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, assumed operation of the remnants of the W&OD Railway, which by then consisted only of the Railway's Bluemont Division and the portion of the former Great Falls Division that had remained between Rosslyn and Thrifton (which was no longer a junction). Shortly thereafter, in 1939, the railroad abandoned the western end of its line, which had connected the towns of Purcellville and Bluemont.

In 1943, the W&OD Railroad acquired ownership of the section of line between Potomac Yard and Purcellville that the W&OD Railway had earlier leased from the Southern Railway. The Southern Railway retained ownership of the easternmost section of the railroad's route between Potomac Yard and old town Alexandria.

During the 1940s, the W&OD Railroad converted all of its lines' operations from electric to diesel or gasoline power. During that decade, the railroad discontinued its electrified passenger service in 1941, but temporarily resumed passenger service during the Second World War using gas-electric motor cars and cars pulled by diesel-electric locomotives. Passenger and mail service finally ended in 1951; thereafter, the railroad carried only freight.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) purchased the W&OD Railroad in 1956, but did not change the railroad's name. In 1963, the C&O abandoned the segment of its line that traveled between Rosslyn, Thrifton and Ballston. The Commonwealth of Virginia then purchased this segment to acquire a right-of-way for the planned route of Interstate 66 (I-66).

Five years later, in 1968, the railroad, which by that time ran only between Alexandria and Purcellville, ceased operations. Shortly thereafter, the C&O sold the remainder of the railroad's route to the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Commonwealth then sold most of the route to the Virginia Electric Power Company (VEPCO) (now Dominion Virginia Power), whose transmission lines had run along the railroad's right-of-way. The Commonwealth retained a portion of the route in Arlington immediately east of Falls Church, on which it built I-66, and the section of the route which crossed the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway (presently part of Interstate 395 (I-395)) along the Arlington-Alexandria boundary.

Bluemont Division, Alexandria-Bluemont Line

Most of the Bluemont Division's passenger cars or trains ran on the W&OD Railway's Great Falls Division's line from Georgetown over the Aqueduct Bridge through Rosslyn to Thrifton Junction. From Thrifton Junction, the trains ran on the Bluemont Division's connecting line to Bluemont Junction, where they met other Bluemont Division passenger cars or trains that ran from old-town Alexandria or Potomac Yard, following Four Mile Run in Arlington. Some of the Bluemont Division cars or trains then continued their trips through Falls Church, Vienna, Herndon, Sterling, Ashburn, Leesburg, Clarkes Gap and Purcellville to terminate in Bluemont, Virginia, at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, following a route that was similar to that of State Route 7.

The CSX railroad now operates a spur between the Alexandria waterfront and a CSX main line that earlier had traveled through Potomac Yard. The route of the spur formerly served W&OD trains traveling on the Bluemont Division to the Division's freight and passenger stations in old town Alexandria. As the Southern Railway owned and operated the route of the spur and the stations, this section of track remained in operation after the W&OD closed.

A paved trail in Alexandria's linear Mt. Jefferson Park and Greenway has replaced part of the Bluemont Division's course through that city. The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority's (W&OD Trail) travels in the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park within the Bluemont Division's former right-of-way from the Alexandria/Arlington boundary through Bluemont Junction to Purcellville. The section of the Bluemont Division between Purcellville and Bluemont has not become a part of any trail, as the W&OD Railroad abandoned this section many years before the remainder of its line closed in 1968.

I-66 and its adjacent Custis Trail now travel on the former right-of-way of the W&OD Railway's Great Falls Division between Rosslyn and Thrifton Junction. The highway and the trail continue to Washington Blvd. in Ballston along the former route of the Bluemont Division's Thrifton - Bluemont Junction connecting line.

Arlington County's Bluemont Junction Trail now travels on the connecting line's former right-of-way from Washington Blvd. to meet the W&OD Trail near Bluemont Junction. The Junction now contains an Arlington County railroad display that features a bay window Southern Railway caboose that was built in 1972, four years after the W&OD closed.

Stations

The stations on the Alexandria-Bluemont line of the Bluemont Division (with locations of sites in 2006) were:

  • Bluemont (circa 1912 photo) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Homestead
  • Scotland Heights (Scotland Heights Road, Loudoun County)
  • Round Hill (circa 1912 photos) (35 Main St., Round Hill) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Simmons
  • Purcellville (1940 photo) (east side of 21st St. N, Purcellville) (south side of W&OD Trail, Mile 44.8; end of W&OD Trail) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Florance (Maple Ave., Purcellville) (W&OD Trail, Mile 43.8)
  • Ivandale (Ivandale Road, Loudoun County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 42.0)
  • Hamilton (earlier than 1912 photo) (east side of Hamilton Station Road, Loudoun County) (south side of W&OD Trail, Mile 40.9)] (satellite image (Wikimapia))
  • Paeonian Springs (1920's photo) (west side of Simpson Circle, Loudoun County) (south side of W&OD Trail, Mile 39.2) (satellite image (Wikimapia))
  • Clarke's Gap (1930 photo) (west side of Dry Mill Road, Loudoun County) (north side of W&OD Trail, Mile 38.0)
  • Dry Mill (north of intersection of Dry Mill Road and Woodburn Road) (W&OD Trail, Mile 35.8)
  • Leesburg (1906 photo) (1909 colorized postcard) (west side of S. King St. (U.S. Route 15), Leesburg) (north side of W&OD Trail, Mile 34.4)
  • Leesburg Freight Station (1966 photo) (west side of Harrison St. SE, Leesburg) (north side of W&OD Trail, Mile 34.2)
  • Lawson (Lawson Road SE, Leesburg) (W&OD Trail Mile 32.7)
  • Pleasant View (Loudoun County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 31.2)
  • Compher (Cochrane Mill Road, Loudoun County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 30.6)
  • Trap Rock (now Luck Stone Quarry, west of Belmont Ridge Road (VA Route 659), Loudoun County) (north side of W&OD Trail, Mile 29.8)(satellite image (Wikimapia))
  • Belmont Park (Belmont Ridge Road (VA Route 659), Loudoun County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 29.5)
  • Graves (Loudoun County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 28.3)
  • Ashburn (1967 photo) (east side of Ashburn Road (VA Route 641), Loudoun County) (north side of W&OD Trail, Mile 27.5)
  • Smiths (also Normans) (1920's photo) (east side of Smiths Switch Road, Loudoun County) (north side of W&OD Trail, Mile 25.6)
  • Sterling (1927 photo) (W. Church Rd., Loudoun County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 23.4)
  • Buchanan (Warwick Court, Loudoun County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 22.6)
  • Lynn (Loudoun County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 21.6)
  • Oak Grove (Locust Lane, Loundoun County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 21.3)
  • Herndon Heights (Crestview Drive, Herndon) (W&OD Trail, Mile 20.9)
  • Herndon (1890 photo) (1905 photo) (717 Lynn St.,Herndon) (south side of Station St.) (southwest side of W&OD Trail, Mile 19.9)(satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Coral (Coral Rd., Herndon) (W&OD Trail, Mile 19.6)
  • Jackson (Sugarland Run, Loudoun County (between Fairfax County Parkway and Herndon Parkway E) (W&OD Trail, Mile 18.8)
  • Thornton (east of Town Center Drive, Fairfax County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 18.4)
  • Sunset Hills (formerly Wiehle) (1966 photo) (west side of Old Reston Ave., Fairfax County) (north side of W&OD Trail, Mile 17.7) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Soapstone Siding (W&OD Trail)
  • Pinecrest (near Michael Faraday Drive, Fairfax County) (W&OD Trail Mile 16.7)
  • Hunter (earlier than 1912 photo) (Hunter Mill Road (VA Route 674), Fairfax County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 14.7)
  • Lowland (Lowland Station Lane) (W&OD Trail, Mile 14.0)
  • Piney (Piney Branch, north of Peppermill Place, Fairfax County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 13.7)
  • Clarkes Crossing (Clarks Crossing Road, Fairfax County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 13.3)
  • Vienna (between 1894 and 1912 photo) (231 Dominion Rd. NE, Vienna) (W&OD Trail, Mile 11.8) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Church Street (Church Street NE, Vienna) (W&OD Trail, Mile 11.7)
  • Park Street (Park St. SE, Vienna) (W&OD Trail, Mile 11.3)
  • Franklin (near Owaissa Road SE, Vienna, and crossing of Fairfax line of Washington, Arlington and Falls Church Railroad) (W&OD Trail, Mile 10.4)
  • Wedderburn (photo) (west of Cedar Lane, Fairfax County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 10.1)
  • Dunn Loring (1950's photo) (west side of Sandburg St., Fairfax County) (north side of W&OD Trail, Mile 9.1) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Green (in Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority right-of-way near the Capital Beltway) (I-495) and the south end of Fallsmere Court, Fairfax County) (0.1 mile south of W&OD Trail Mile 8.5)
  • Evans (near Chestnut St., Fairfax County) (W&OD Trail, Mile 7.5)
  • West Falls Church (1890's photo) (east side of W. Broad Street (State Route 7), Falls Church) (south side of W&OD Trail, Mile 7.0) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Rothsay (W&OD Trail) (west of Great Falls St. at Rothsay Street, Falls Church) (W&OD Trail, Mile 6.4) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Falls Church (East Falls Church) (1951 photo: Falls Church station) (undated photo: East Falls Church station) (west side of Lee Highway (U.S. Route 29), Arlington) (south side of W&OD Trail, Mile 5.6) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Fostoria (N. Ohio St., Arlington) (W&OD Trail, Mile 4.4) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Torrison (northwest side of Wilson Blvd., Arlington) (east side of W&OD Trail, Mile 3.6) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Bluemont Junction (1950's photos) (in Bluemont Park between Wilson Blvd. and Bluemont Junction Trail, Arlington) (east side of W&OD Trail, Mile 3.4) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Glencarlyn (formerly Carlin Springs) (between 1896 and 1912 photo) (1918 photo) (in Glencarlyn Park near north side of Arlington Blvd. (U.S. Route 50) overpass of W&OD Trail, Arlington) (southwest side of W&OD Trail, Mile 2.7) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Barcroft (formerly Arlington Mill) (c. 1910 photo) (northwest side of Columbia Pike (State Route 244), Arlington) (northeast side of W&OD Trail, Mile 1.6) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Cowdon (Shirlington Road (0. 1 mile west of the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway (I-395), Arlington) (south side of W&OD Trail, Mile 0) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • St. Elmo (crossing of Washington - Virginia Railway) (at intersection of Commonwealth Ave., and northwest end of Mt. Jefferson Park and Greenway between Manning St. and Ashby St., Alexandria) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Alexandria Junction (near southeast end of Mt. Jefferson Park and Greenway at Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. Route 1) between Custis Ave. and Fannon St., Alexandria)
  • Potomac Yard (east side) (east end of W&OD Railway electric trolley line) (near intersection of Slaters Lane and Potomac Greens Drive, Alexandria) (satellite image (WikiMapia))
  • Alexandria (operated by Southern Railway) (northeast corner of Princess St. and N. Fairfax St., Alexandria) (satellite image (WikiMapia))

Remnants of Bluemont Division, Alexandria-Bluemont Line

Stations

Railroad bridge

  • Sycolin Creek, Loudoun County (W&OD Trail Mile 30.4)

Bridge abutments and supports

  • Tuscarora Creek, Loudoun County (W&OD Trail Mile 32.3
  • Goose Creek, Loudoun County (W&OD Trail Mile 30.1)
  • Beaverdam Run, Loudoun County (W&OD Trail Mile 26.2)
  • Broad Run, Loudoun County (W&OD Trail Mile 24.6)
  • Difficult Run, Fairfax County (W&OD Trail Mile 14.3)
  • Piney Branch, Fairfax County (W&OD Trail Mile 13.6)
  • Four Mile Run, Arlington County (W&OD Trail Miles 5.9, 3.9, 3.4, 2.8 and 2.3)
  • Russell Road (west side) between W. Glebe Road and Kentucky Ave., Alexandria (satellite image (WikiMapia))

Overpass

Elevated siding with rails and ties

Floor of electrical substation

Rail Trails

Operating railroad

  • CSX railroad spur (formerly owned by Southern Railway) between Pendleton St. (west of intersection with N. Fairfax St.) and CSX main line near Slaters Lane, Alexandria

Trails

Great Falls Division

Main article: Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad

Bluemont Division, Thrifton-Bluemont Junction Connecting Line

The new Washington and Old Dominion Railway constructed the electrified Thrifton-Bluemont Junction connecting line to connect the Railway's Georgetown-Great Falls line with the Alexandria- Bluemont line. The line travelled between Thrifton Junction (near the present crossing of I-66 and Lee Highway at the Lyon Village Shopping Center) and Bluemont Junction (presently in Arlington County's Bluemont Park). The line closed in sections between 1963 and 1968. I-66 and the Custis Trail replaced the line between Thrifton and Washington Blvd. in Ballston. Arlington County's Bluemont Junction Trail replaced the line between Washington Blvd. and Bluemont Junction.

Stations

The stations on the Thrifton-Bluemont Junction connecting line of the Bluemont Division (with locations of sites in 2006) were:

  • Thrifton (I-66 between Lee Highway and Spout Run Parkway (near Lyon Village shopping center)), Arlington; named for Hugh A. Thrift
  • Hayes (east side of N. Monroe St. at I-66, Arlington)
  • Douglas (east side of N. Quincy St. at I-66, Arlington)
  • Clements Ave. (N. Stafford St. at I-66 (Arlington)
  • Clarenford (east side of N. Utah St. at I-66, Arlington)
  • Lacy (east side of N. Glebe Road at I-66, Arlington)
  • Waycroft (south of crossing of Fairfax line of the Washington, Arlington & Falls Church Railroad)(N. Buchanan St. and Bluemont Junction Trail, Arlington)
  • Garrison (photo) (north side of Wilson Blvd. at southeast side of Bluemont Junction Trail, Arlington)
  • Arlington Avenue (N. Jefferson St. at Bluemont Junction Trail, Arlington)
  • Bon Air (east side of N. Kensington St. at south side of Bluemont Junction Trail, Arlington)
  • Bluemont Junction (1950's photos) (in Bluemont Park between Wilson Blvd. and Bluemont Junction Trail, Arlington) (east side of W&OD Trail, Mile 3.4)* Bluemont Junction (1950's photos) (in Bluemont Park between Wilson Blvd. and Bluemont Junction Trail, Arlington) (east side of W&OD Trail, Mile 3.4) (satellite image (WikiMapia))

Remnants of Bluemont Division, Thrifton-Bluemont Junction Line

Floor of electrical substation

Road

  • I-66 between Washington Blvd. and bridge over Lee Highway near Spout Run Parkway, Arlington

Trail

  • I-66 Custis Trail between Washington Blvd. and bridge over Lee Highway near Spout Run Parkway, Arlington

Rail Trail

  • Bluemont Junction Trail between Washington Blvd. and Mile 3.4 of Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail, Arlington

See also

References

  • Harwood, Herbert Hawley (2000). Rails to the Blue Ridge: The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, 1847–1968. ISBN 0-615-11453-9. 
  • Williams, Ames W (1989). The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad. ISBN 0-926984-00-4. 
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External links

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