Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad

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 John Roll McLean (owner of The Washington Post) and Senator Stephen Benton Elkins, the 15-mile electrified railroad was built from Georgetown in Washington, D.C., to Cherrydale in Arlington County in 1904 and to Great Falls Park in Fairfax County in 1906. 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 and Falls Church Railway. From Rosslyn, the railroad travelled 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, 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 railroad constructed an amusement park, which became a popular destination. The park featured a carousel, a dance pavilion, a picnic area and the nighttime illumination of the falls.

The owners gave their own names to two stations located at the railroad's crossings of major roads: McLean Station at Chain Bridge Road and Elkins Station at Old Georgetown Pike (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 and Old Dominion (W&OD) Railway. In 1912, the Georgetown-Great Falls line became the Great Falls Division of the W&OD Railway, sharing its trackage with the Railway's Bluemont Division between Rosslyn and Thrifton Junction (near the present Lyon Village shopping center). In 1932, during the Great Depression, the W&OD Railway went bankrupt. Service ended on the railway's Great Falls Division in 1934. In 1935, Fairfax and Arlington counties obtained the right-of-way west of Thrifton Junction in settlement of delinquent taxes. Most of this right-of-way became Old Dominion Drive.

Interstate 66 (I-66) and the Custis Trail now run on the railroads's former right-of-way between Rosslyn and Thrifton Junction. Lee Highway runs on or near the railroad's former right-of-way between Thrifton Junction and N. Quincy Street. Old Dominion Drive runs on the former right-of-way between N. Quincy Street and Great Falls Park.

Stations

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

Roads and trails along railroad route

• Roads
  • I-66 between Fort Myer Drive and bridge over Lee Highway (U.S. Route 29) west of Spout Run Parkway], Arlington

• • Old Dominion Drive, Arlington and Fairfax Counties

• Trail
  • I-66 Custis Trail between Fort Myer Drive in Rosslyn and Lee Highway (at Lyon Village Shopping Center, Arlington

See also

• Northern Virginia Trolleys
• Washington and Old Dominion Railroad

Notes

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. 

Links

• Yahoo group discussing the Washington and Old Dominion RR and Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad