Overview | |
---|---|
Headquarters | Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
Reporting mark | RFP |
Locale | Maryland, Virginia, U.S. |
Dates of operation | 1836–1991 |
Successor | CSXT |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad( reporting mark RFP) was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad company.
The RF&P was a bridge line, with a slogan of "Linking North & South," on a system that stretched about 113 miles. [1] Until around 1965, RF&P originated less than 5% of its freight tonnage, probably less than any other Class I railroad. For much of its existence, the RF&P connected with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Seaboard Air Line Railroad at Richmond. At Alexandria and through trackage rights to Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C., where connections were made with the Pennsylvania Railroad, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Southern Railway.
The railine connected to the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad at Potomac Yard and interchanged with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway at Doswell. It and the former Conrail properties are the only CSX lines to have cab signal requirements on their entire system.
Year | Traffic |
---|---|
1925 | 132 |
1933 | 48 |
1944 | 822 |
1960 | 168 |
1970 | 80 |
The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad was chartered on February 25, 1834, [2] to run from Richmond north via Fredericksburg to the Potomac River. It opened from Richmond to Hazel Run in 1836, to Fredericksburg on January 23, 1837, and the rest of the way to the Potomac River at Aquia Creek on September 30, 1842. Steamboat service to Washington, D.C., and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was provided by the Washington and Fredericksburg Steamboat Company, later renamed the Potomac Steamboat Company, controlled by the railroad after 1845. [3]
Badly damaged during the Civil War, on October 11, 1870, [4] an extension to the north toward Quantico was authorized at a special meeting of the company's stockholders. The company's charter limited this branch to 10 miles, leaving it 1.7 miles short of the Alexandria and Fredericksburg Railroad. This split from the existing line at Brooke and ran north to Quantico, also on the Potomac. The old line to the Aquia Creek wharf was abandoned on the opening of the Quantico wharf on May 1, 1872. [5]
On the other end of the line, the Alexandria and Washington Railroad was chartered on February 27, 1854, to build from the south end of the Long Bridge over the Potomac River south to Alexandria. That line opened in 1857. The railroad went bankrupt and was sold July 9, 1887, being reorganized November 23, 1887, as the Alexandria and Washington Railway. In 1873 the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad's branch over the Long Bridge opened, giving a route into Washington, D.C., over which the A&W obtained trackage rights.
Year | Traffic |
---|---|
1925 | 438 |
1933 | 265 |
1944 | 1462 |
1960 | 819 |
1970 | 1102 |
The Alexandria and Fredericksburg Railway was chartered February 3, 1864, to continue the line from Alexandria to Fredericksburg. It opened on July 2, 1872, only reaching Quantico, the north end of the RF&P. At Quantico the 1.7-mile (2.7 km) Potomac Railroad, chartered April 21, 1867, and opened May 1, 1872, connected the two lines. It was leased to the RF&P for 28 years from May 17, 1877. On March 31, 1890, the two companies terminating in Alexandria merged to form the Washington Southern Railway. Until November 1, 1901, it was operated by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad and its successor the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad (part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system). The Potomac Railroad lease was transferred to the Washington Southern on June 30, 1904. On February 24, 1920, the Washington Southern was formally merged into the RF&P.
The Richmond-Washington Company was incorporated September 5, 1901, as a holding company, owning the entire capital stock of the two railroads. The stock of the company was owned equally by the Pennsylvania Railroad, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, Southern Railway, Seaboard Air Line Railway and Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Four of these companies (B&O, ACL, SAL, C&O) have since become part of CSX. The Southern Railway is now part of Norfolk Southern and does not use the former RF&P; the former Pennsylvania Railroad, in its later incarnation as Conrail, has been split between CSX and Norfolk Southern with most of PRR's routes becoming part of Norfolk Southern. However, the portion of the former PRR that connected to the very north of the RF&P's former Potomac Yard, across the Long Bridge and into Washington DC, became part of CSX following the takeover of Conrail by NS and CSX.[ citation needed ] The RF&P company became Commonwealth Atlantic Land V Inc., [2] and a new corporation, named the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railway Company, was formed on October 9, 1991. [6]
On December 31, 1925, RF&P operated 118 miles of road and 432 miles of track; on December 31, 1970, mileages were 118 and 518.[ citation needed ]
John A. Lancaster | 1834–1836 |
Conway Robinson | 1836–1838 |
Joseph M. Sheppard | 1836–1840 |
Moncure Robinson | 1840–1847 |
Edwin Robinson | 1847–1860 |
Peter V. Daniel Jr. | 1860–1871 |
John M. Robinson | 1871–1878 |
Robert Ould | 1878–1881 |
Joseph P. Brinton | 1881–1889 |
E. D. T. Myers | 1889–1905 |
William J. Leake | 1905–1907 |
William White | 1907-1920 [8] |
Eppa Hunton Jr. | 1920–1932 |
Norman Call | 1932–1955 |
William T. Rice | 1955-1957 [9] |
Wirt P. Marks Jr. | 1957–1960 |
Stuart Shumate | 1961-1981 [10] |
John J. Newbauer Jr. | 1981–1985 |
Richard L. Beadles | 1985–1986 |
Frank A. Crovo Jr. | 1986–1991 |
As the link between "North and South" the RF&P primarily hosted the trains of other railroads, particularly those on the lucrative New York–Florida run. In March 1950 this included the East Coast Champion , West Coast Champion , Miamian , Palmland , Silver Star , Silver Comet , Orange Blossom Special , Silver Meteor , Vacationer , Havana Special , Palmetto , Florida Special , Cotton Blossom , Sunland , and Everglades . [11]
The RF&P operated comparatively few trains of its own. One was the Old Dominion, a streamliner inaugurated in 1947 between Washington and Richmond. This train used four 70-seat coaches and a cafe-parlor car, all built by American Car and Foundry. [12] In 1956, the RF&P operated two daily passenger trains, one of which was a local and the other an express in addition to operating numerous through trains from other railroads. [13]
The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac and Richmond and Petersburg Railroad Connection was chartered March 3, 1866, and opened May 1, 1867, as a connection between the RF&P and the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad (later part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad) west of downtown Richmond. It was operated jointly by those two companies. In addition, a downtown connection was owned by the R&P past Broad Street Station.
The Louisa Railroad was chartered in 1836, running from the RF&P at Doswell west to Louisa. At first it was operated as a branch of the RF&P, but it was reorganized as the Virginia Central Railroad in 1850 and merged into the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in 1868 as its oldest predecessor.
In 1896, the Washington Southern Railway opened a 1.13 miles (1.82 km) branch that connected the south end of the Long Bridge in Jackson City to the south end of the Aqueduct Bridge in Rosslyn. [14] The Railway built much of the branch within the grade of the old disused Alexandria Canal. [15] [16] [ better source needed ]
In 1904, the Rosslyn Connecting Railroad, which the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad controlled, acquired the branch on the same day (February 29) that the railroad was incorporated in accordance with Virginia law. [17] The Rosslyn Connecting Railroad abandoned nearly all of its line in 1962 and closed in 1969 after operating for 65 years. [18]
In 1977, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority opened a surface-level section of Metrorail's Blue Line that replaced most of the section of the Rosslyn Connecting Railroad's line that had traveled within the Alexandria Canal's grade. [19] The section of the Blue Line parallels Virginia State Route 110 where passing Arlington National Cemetery. [20]
The Washington Southern Railway extends from the junction of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad at the south end of the Long Bridge, opposite Washington, D. C., to Quantico, Virginia, a distance of 32.12 miles. It has three branches — .... ; and the Rosslyn branch from the south end of the Long Bridge to the south end of the Aqueduct at the village of Rosslyn, Va., opposite Georgetown, D. C., a distance of 1.13 miles. This latter branch was opened for business April 2, 1896.
The grading is rather light. Most of the line follows the route of an old disused canal and in constructing the roadbed the carrier used the canal grading as far as possible.
The railroad that ran past the Pentagon was the onetime Pennsylvania RR Rosslyn branch. This branch left the mainline at RO (for Rosslyn) tower at the south end of the bridge over the Potomac and basically followed the Potomac northwest to Rosslyn. Part of it was built on the bed of the old canal that connected Alexandria with the C&O Canal in Georgetown.
—Corporate history.— The carrier was incorporated February 29, 1904, under the general laws of Virginia, with authority to acquire, maintain, and operate a railroad between Rosslyn and Jackson City, Va. Its organization was perfected on the same date. The mileage owned was acquired by purchase. The carrier is controlled by the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad, through ownership of the entire stock, except qualifying shares. Its principal office is at Alexandria, Va.
Continuing south in Virginia was the Alexandria and Washington Railroad, opened in 1857. The Baltimore and Potomac acquired this line after reaching it, operating it until 1901, when the Washington Southern Railway (the successor of the Alexandria and Washington) was taken over by the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, an independent bridge line owned equally by the PRR and five other railroads. Soon after, in 1904, the line from the Long Bridge to Rosslyn, built by the Washington Southern, was split off into the Rosslyn Connecting Railroad, owned by the PRR.
The Commission .... has authorized the carrier to abandon a portion of line extending from valuation point 26 plus 49 near the Pentagon to ....
Rosslyn Connecting Railroad Company. — A class II railroad operating 2.69 miles of road from south of Potomac Bridge to Rosslyn, Va. This road abandoned 2.3 miles of road in 1962. It is wholly owned by the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad Company, a subsidiary of P.R.R.
The Rosslyn Connecting Railroad started operations in 1904 and stopped service in 1969 for a total period of operations of 65 years.
With the opening today of its 12-mile-long Blue Line from National Airport to RFK Stadium, Washington's Metro subway grows from a downtown demonstration line into the spine of a regional transportation system that could rival the Capital Beltway in its effect on Washington.
There used to be a rail line from Rosslyn to the Long Bridge, but that was replaced by the Blue Line.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States. It operated as B&O from 1830 until 1987, when it was merged into the Chessie System; its lines are today controlled by CSX Transportation.
Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a commuter rail service that connects outlying small cities of Northern Virginia to Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C. It operates two lines which run during weekday rush hour only: the Fredericksburg Line from Spotsylvania, Virginia, and the Manassas Line from Broad Run station in Bristow, Virginia. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,537,000, or about 6,600 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
The Blue Line is a rapid transit line of the Washington Metro system, consisting of 28 stations in Fairfax County, Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The Blue Line runs from Franconia–Springfield to Downtown Largo. The line shares track with the Orange Line for 13 stations, the Silver Line for 18, and the Yellow Line for 7. Only 3 stations are exclusive to the Blue Line.
The Monongahela Railway was a coal-hauling Class II railroad in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the United States. It was jointly controlled originally by the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central subsidiary Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, with NYC and PRR later succeeded by Penn Central Transportation. The company operated its own line until it was merged into Conrail on May 1, 1993.
The Virginia Central Railroad was an early railroad in the U.S. state of Virginia that operated between 1850 and 1868 from Richmond westward for 206 miles (332 km) to Covington. Chartered in 1836 as the Louisa Railroad by the Virginia General Assembly, the railroad began near the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad's line and expanded westward to Orange County, reaching Gordonsville by 1840. In 1849, the Blue Ridge Railroad was chartered to construct a line over the Blue Ridge Mountains for the Louisa Railroad which reached the base of the Blue Ridge in 1852. After a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Louisa Railroad was allowed to expand eastward from a point near Doswell to Richmond.
The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad (B&P) operated from Baltimore, Maryland, southwest to Washington, D.C., from 1872 to 1902. Owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad, it was the second railroad company to connect the nation's capital to the Northeastern U.S., and competed with the older Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad was an intrastate short-line railroad located in Northern Virginia, United States. The railroad was a successor to the bankrupt Washington and Old Dominion Railway and to several earlier railroads, the first of which began operating in 1859. The railroad closed in 1968.
Potomac Yard is a neighborhood in Northern Virginia that straddles southeastern Arlington County and northeastern Alexandria, Virginia, located principally in the area between U.S. Route 1 and the Washington Metro Blue Line /Yellow Line tracks, or the George Washington Memorial Parkway, depending on the definition used. The area was home to what was once one of the busiest rail yards on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. The "Potomac Yard" name is also used to refer to several developments in the area, especially the Potomac Yard Center power center and a Washington Metro station.
The Northern Virginia trolleys were the network of electric streetcars that moved people around the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., from 1892 to 1941. They consisted of six lines operated by as many as three separate companies connecting Rosslyn, Great Falls, Bluemont, Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Camp Humphries, and Nauck across the Potomac River to Washington, D.C.
The Richmond and Petersburg Railroad moved passengers and goods between Richmond and Petersburg from 1838 to 1898. It survived the American Civil War and eventually merged into the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1900.
The Alexandria Canal was a canal in the United States that connected the city of Alexandria to Georgetown in the District of Columbia.
U.S. Route 1 (US 1) is a major north–south U.S. Route that serves the East Coast of the United States. In the U.S. state of Virginia, US 1 runs north–south through South Hill, Petersburg, Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Alexandria on its way from North Carolina to the 14th Street bridges into the District of Columbia. It is completely paralleled by Interstate Highways in Virginia—Interstate 85 (I-85) south of Petersburg, I-95 north to Alexandria, and I-395 into the District of Columbia—and now serves mainly local traffic. At its north end, on the approach to the 14th Street bridges, US 1 is concurrent with I-395; the rest of US 1 is on surface roads.
Quantico station is a train station in Quantico, Virginia, served by two Amtrak trains and the Virginia Railway Express's Fredericksburg Line. The existing station house was originally built by the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad in 1953. It is located at 550 Railroad Avenue at Potomac Avenue and is surrounded by the Quantico Marine Base.
The Fredericksburg Line is a commuter rail service operated by Virginia Railway Express between Washington, D.C., and Olive, Virginia. Virginia Railway Express operates 8 weekday trains, and Amtrak trains serve a few of the stations on the line. Trackage is owned by CSX as part of their RF&P Subdivision.
The CSX A-Line Bridge is a double-track concrete bridge that carries the North End Subdivision of CSX Transportation over the James River in Richmond, Virginia. The bridge was built jointly by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad in 1919. Designed by John E. Greiner, this bridge was one of many he drew up for the RF&P, and brought early success to his recently established private consulting business. The purpose of this "million dollar bridge" was to create a quicker, more direct route around Richmond by passing over east–west tracks on both sides of the river.
The Landover Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation. It runs from the Anacostia section of Washington, D.C., to Landover, Maryland, serving as a freight train bypass of Washington Union Station.
The RF&P Subdivision is a railroad line operated by CSX Transportation and jointly owned by CSX and Virginia. It runs from Washington, D.C., to Richmond, Virginia, over lines previously owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. The line's name pays homage to that railroad, which was a predecessor to the CSX.
The Alexandria Extension is a short rail line in Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County, Maryland. Its northern portion connects the Capital Subdivision to the RF&P Subdivision, allowing freight trains to avoid Downtown Washington. Its southern portion, the Shepherd Industrial Spur, extends south to Shepherds Landing, directly across the Potomac River from Alexandria, Virginia; service on this portion ended in 2001.
Long Bridge is the common name used for three successive bridges connecting Washington, D.C., to Arlington, Virginia, over the Potomac River. The first was built in 1808 for foot, horse and stagecoach traffic, and bridges in the vicinity were repaired and replaced several times in the 19th century. The current bridge was built in 1904 and substantially modified in 1942. It has only been used for railroad traffic and is owned by CSX Transportation.
The Washington District is a Norfolk Southern Railway line in the U.S. state of Virginia that connects Alexandria and Lynchburg. Most of the line was built from 1850 to 1860 by the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, while a small portion in the center opened in 1880 as the Charlottesville and Rapidan Railroad. Today, the line is mainly used for freight service, but Amtrak's Crescent, Cardinal and Northeast Regional passenger services use all or part of the line, and the Virginia Railway Express Manassas Line commuter service uses the northernmost portion of the line.