Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad

Diagram of Washington area trolley lines (enlargeable image showing Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad in dark green)

The Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad (GF&OD) was an interurban trolley line that ran in Northern Virginia during the early 20th century.

History

Chartered in 1900 by a group of local landowners and acquired in 1902 by John Roll McLean (owner of The Washington Post) and Senator Stephen Benton Elkins,^[1] the 15-mile electrified railroad began operating from Georgetown in Washington, D.C. in 1906. The first scheduled car reached Great Falls Park in Fairfax County, Virginia on July 3 of that year.^[2]

From Georgetown, the railroad crossed the Potomac River on a superstructure built on the upstream side of the old Aqueduct Bridge to Rosslyn in Arlington, where it made connections with an older electric trolley line, the Washington, Arlington & Falls Church Railroad. From Rosslyn, the railroad traveled northwest along the north side of Lee Highway (now part of U.S. Route 29) to Cherrydale and then on its own right-of-way (now Old Dominion Drive, Virginia State Route 309) in Arlington and Fairfax Counties through forests, farmland and fruit orchards, bypassing the existing villages of Lewinsville and Langley. At Great Falls, the GF&OD constructed a trolley park, which became a popular destination.

The owners gave their own names to two stations located at the railroad's crossings of major roads: McLean Station at Chain Bridge Road (Virginia State Route 123) and Elkins Station at Old Georgetown Pike (Virginia State Route 193). The station at Chain Bridge Road became a focus for development that evolved into the community of McLean, Virginia.

In 1911, McLean and Elkins incorporated the Washington & Old Dominion Railway (W&OD). In 1912, the Georgetown-Great Falls line became the Great Falls Division of the W&OD, sharing trackage with the W&OD's Bluemont Division between Rosslyn and Thrifton Junction. In 1935, Fairfax and Arlington counties obtained the right-of-way west of Thrifton Junction in settlement of delinquent taxes. Most of the right-of-way was converted into Old Dominion Drive.

Interstate 66, the Custis Trail, and Lee Highway were built on the former GF&OD roadbed between Rosslyn and Thrifton Junction.

Stations

The stations on the GF&OD and on the Great Falls Division of the W&OD (with locations of sites in 2008) were:

See also

• Northern Virginia Trolleys
• Washington and Old Dominion Railroad

References

Further reading

• Harwood, Herbert Hawley, Jr. (2000). Rails to the Blue Ridge: The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, 1847–1968 (3rd ed.). Fairfax Station, Virginia: Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. ISBN 0-615-11453-9. OCLC 44685168. 
• Williams, Ames W (1989). The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad. Arlington, Virginia: Arlington Historical Society. ISBN 0-926984-00-4. OCLC 20461397. 
• Interstate Commerce Commission (1916-07-01). "GF&OD Railroad 1916 ICC Valuation Maps". Washington & Old Dominion Regional Park: W&OD Railroad Maps. Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. Archived from the original on 2014-07-20. Retrieved 2015-01-07. 
• King, W.E. (1934-07-19). Index map showing Washington & Old Dominion Railway's line abandoned in relation to other railroads and common carriers in lower left corner of "GF&OD Railroad 1916 ICC Valuation Map No. 3" (PDF). Washington & Old Dominion Regional Park: W&OD Railroad Maps. Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. 1916-07-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-08. Retrieved 2015-01-07. 

External links

• * Historic Great Falls of Potomac: Scenic Beauty Around Great Falls Grand and Picturesque—Waterfalls Reached by the Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad: Spots of Historic Interest Passed en Route Over One of the Finest Double-Track Roads in the United States. Advertisement in Industrial and Historical Sketch of Fairfax County, Virginia. Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. 1907. p. 92. Retrieved 2014-02-02.  At Google Books.
• "Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority historical marker: "The Great Falls Line"". The Historical Marker Database. 2010-02-02. Retrieved 2014-11-15. 
• Yahoo group discussing W&OD and GF&OD
• Swain, Craig (photographer) (2009-11-22). "Circa 1920 system map of Washington and Old Dominion Railway". Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. Retrieved 2015-12-28.  In "Close-up of the Railroad Map". Photograph number 2 in "Bluemont Junction" marker. The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 2015-12-28.  Map shows stations and route of Great Falls Division of W&OD (former route of GF&OD).