Historical Marker Series

Washington and Old Dominion Railroad

Page 5 of 6 — Showing results 41 to 50 of 54
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMGJV_the-great-falls-line_Arlington-VA.html
The Bluemont Branch of the Washington & Old Dominion was not the railroad's only line. The Great Falls & Old Dominion Railroad arose in 1906 from the vision of two prominent men. Sen. Stephen B. Elkins of West Virginia had prospered through coal, lumber, an…
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMGJW_rosslyn-station_Arlington-VA.html
If you were a passenger on the Washington & Old Dominion Railway heading into Georgetown, you would first have to pass through Rosslyn, Virginia, a 15-minute train ride from here. The first Rosslyn Terminal dated from 1906, with the establishment of the …
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMGLC_bluemont-junction-ca-1934_Arlington-VA.html
(Trail Side):Bluemont Junction began operation in 1912 as a part of the newly formed Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Railway. The station was a busy transfer point for passengers and freight from Alexandria and Georgetown to points west, ending at Bluemont…
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMGLQ_train-wrecks_Reston-VA.html
Accidents happened on the Washington & Old Dominion. Mishaps resulted from washouts of the roadbed, loose rails, rotting ties, or from livestock wandering across the tracks. Crew negligence also played a part. One of the earliest and most serious acciden…
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMGNF_sunset-hills-station_Reston-VA.html
Sunset Hills Station, shown below in the 1960s, stands as a reminder that today's Reston was not the first "new town" to be planned for this area. In 1886 Dr. Carl Wiehle bought a large parcel of land north and south of the railroad tracks. He intended to e…
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMHRO_civil-war-action-at-vienna_Vienna-VA.html
On June 17, 1861, at this bend in the railroad, a Union train carrying 271 men of the 1st Ohio Volunteers was ambushed by nearly 700 South Carolina infantry and cavalry. Amid artillery fire, the Ohioans jumped from the platform cars and took cover in the wo…
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMHWR_hamilton-station_Hamilton-VA.html
One of the oldest on the line, Hamilton's train station dates from 1870. It was not in the original plan. When the Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampshire Railway (later the Washington & Old Dominion) was established in the 1840s, its owners intended to head the tr…
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMHZH_tracks-into-history_Hamilton-VA.html
The railroad that became the Washington & Old Dominion was born in Alexandria in response to the competition in shipping posed by the port in Baltimore, which was served by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The B&O was diverting farm produce from the Shenandoa…
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMTM1_the-rail-strike-of-1916_Herndon-VA.html
In the years before motor vehicles came to dominate transportation, business was never better for the Washington & Old Dominion Railway. Demand for passenger and freight service boomed, while the W&OD's owners balked at spending the money necessary to keep …
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HM11VU_east-falls-church-station_Arlington-VA.html
In August 1940, when this photograph was taken, passenger service on the Washington & Old Dominion was losing money and was being phased out. Passenger service stopped altogether in April 1941, but resumed two years later to support the national war effort.…
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