A Guide to the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Collection, 1914-2000 Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Collection MSS 02-01

A Guide to the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Collection, 1914-2000

A Collection in The Fairfax County Public Library

Record Group Number MSS 02-01


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Fairfax County Public Library
City of Fairfax Regional Library
Virginia Room
10360 North Street
Fairfax, VA 22030-2514 USA
Virginia Room: 703-293-6227 x6
Fax: 703-293-2155
Email: va_room@fairfaxcounty.gov
URL: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/virginia-room

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Repository
Fairfax County Public Library
Record Group Number
MSS 02-01
Title
The Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Collection, 1914-2000
Extent
2.25 linear feet
Creator
Virginia Room staff
Language
English
Abstract
The Washington & Old Dominion Collection consists of 2.25 linear feet and spans the years 1914-2000 and consists of tickets, brochures, train schedules, magazines, copies of right-of-way maps, a small metal W&OD Trail boundary sign, and a CD-ROM containing scans of 1911 right-of-way maps.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

None

Use Restrictions

Consult repository for information

Preferred Citation

Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Collection, MSS 02-01, Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library

Acquisition Information

Collection assembled by Virginia Room staff over a period of years. Unused train excursion ticket donated by John K. Gott. W&OD Trail boundary marker and railroad magazines donated by Chris Barbuschak in 2015.

Processing Information

Chris Barbuschak, October 2018
EAD generated by Ross Landis, 2024

Historical and Biographical Information

What became known as the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad traces its origins to the Alexandria & Harper’s Ferry Railroad Company incorporated on March 20, 1847. On March 15, 1853, the Virginia General Assembly amended the charter and renamed the railroad the Alexandria, Loudoun, & Hampshire Railroad. Construction on the road began on February 1855, starting from Alexandria, passing through Falls Church, Vienna, and on to Leesburg. Union troops seized the railroad in May 1861, and the line saw much action during the Civil War. New owners acquired the railroad and on July 26, 1870, they renamed it the Washington & Ohio Railroad and extended the line to Round Hill. In 1883, the Washington, Ohio & Western Railroad took over the line, leased the road to the Richmond & Danville Railroad in 1886, and it became property of the Southern Railway in 1894. The Southern Railway extended the line to Bluemont. On May 2, 1911, John R. McLean and Stephen B. Elkins incorporated the Washington & Old Dominion Railway and leased the railroad from the Southern Railway. In 1912, the Great Falls & Old Dominion Railroad became the W&OD’s Great Falls Division, which was abandoned in November 1934. In 1935, the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad was organized by David Elkins and assumed operation of the railroad after it had been placed into receivership. The W&OD ceased passenger service for good on May 31, 1951. In 1956, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad acquired the W&OD, and the railroad ceased operation all together on August 27, 1968. The Virginia Electric Power Company (VEPCO) assumed ownership of the old right-of-way, and in 1977, they sold a portion of the route to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority to create the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park rail trail.

Scope and Content

The Washington & Old Dominion Collection consists of 2.25 linear feet and spans the years 1914-2000 and consists of tickets, brochures, train schedules, magazines, copies of right-of-way maps, a small metal W&OD Trail boundary sign, and a CD-ROM containing scans of 1911 right-of-way maps. Subjects include the history of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad.

Related Material


Washington and Old Dominion Railway Records [microfilm], Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library. [Reel 1. Right-of-way maps, 1855-1912; Reel 2. Record of Way-Bills Received Nov. 29, 1916-May 2, 1917, Purcellville; Reel 3. Station Ledger, May 15, 1912-May 31, 1914, Herndon Station; Reel 4. Station ledger, Dec. 1, 1917-Oct. 31, 1919, Herndon Station] Call No. MICR V 385 W
Ames Williams Collection, Accession #63, Alexandria Library, Local History/Special Collections, Alexandria, Va.
Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampshire Rail Road Account Book, Guilford, VA 1860-1868 (M 002), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, Va.
John Fletcher Railroad Memorabilia Collection, 1896; 1908-1921; n.d. (SC 0085), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, Va.


Index Terms

  • Railroads - Virginia
  • Washington and Old Dominion Railroad
  • Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park (Va.)

Container List

Box 1 Folder 1: W&OD Railway: 46 Trip Monthly Commutation Child's Ticket Books between Herndon and Wiehle [3 books belonged to Jane Knapp, Anna Knapp, and Robert Knapp], 1925
Box 1 Folder 2: W&OD Railway: Unused Train Excursion Tickets [2 tickets, No. 291477 & 291478], c. 1917-1921
Box 1 Folder 3: W&OD Railway: Brochure. "Hotels and Boarding Houses in the Blue Ridge Mountains" [2 copies], c. 1920
Box 1 Folder 4: W&OD Railway: Schedule. Bluemont Division [2 copies], 1912 October 24
Box 1 Folder 5: W&OD Railway: Schedule. Bluemont Division [3 copies], 1920 October 3
Box 1 Folder 6: W&OD Railway: Schedule. Bluemont Division [3 copies], 1921 March 6
Box 1 Folder 7: W&OD Railway: Schedule. Great Falls Division [3 copies], 1914 February 22
Box 1 Folder 8: W&OD Railway: Schedule. Great Falls Division [2 copies], 1915 May 16
Box 1 Folder 9: W&OD Railway: Schedule. Great Falls Division [3 copies], 1916 June 11
Box 1 Folder 10: W&OD Railway: Schedule. Great Falls Division [3 copies], 1920 October 3
Box 1 Folder 11: W&OD Railway: Schedule. Great Falls Division [5 copies], 1920 November 21
Box 1 Folder 12: W&OD Railway: Schedule. [3 copies, reprint], 1932 October 16
Box 1 Folder 13: Railroad Magazine, "Washington & Old Dominion" by A.D Hooks p. 72-77, 1940 October
Box 1 Folder 14: Trains Magazine, "Washington & Old Dominion" by Robert H. Estabrook p. 42-46, 1948 April
Box 1 Folder 15: Trains Magazine, "My 34 years on a short line" by George C. Baggett p. 48-52, 1954 October
Box 1 Folder 16: W&OD Railroad Regional Park Boundary sign, Undated
Box 1 Folder 17: CD-ROM: W&OD 1911 Right of Way Maps copied from the originals held by the Herndon Historical Society, 2000
Box 2: List of Right-of-Way acquisitions, Undated
Box 2: Right-of-Way maps, 1916 [26 maps, blue line copies], Undated
Box 2: Great Falls & Old Dominion Railroad Right-of-Way maps November 1904, May 1909 [2 photocopies], Undated
Box 2: Diagram and Profile Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, 1-26-1965 [photocopy], Undated