The Manassas station on the Washington District
The Washington District crossing the James River

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.

Route

The line begins at the CR Tower signal, where lines from the NS Van Dorn Yard meet with the Horn Track, connecting to the CSX RF&P Subdivision in Alexandria, where it splits from the CSX Transportation RF&P Subdivision. It connects to the B-Line in Manassas (milepost 32.6) at the Powell Signal (33.8)[1] At Orange (84.7), the Buckingham Branch Railroad's Washington Subdivision splits and forms a loop that rejoins the Washington District at Charlottesville (112.2). It crosses the CSX James River Subdivision, and then ends at Lynchburg (172.5), becoming the NS Danville District.[2]

The line crosses the Rappahannock, Rapidan, South Fork Rivanna, Tye, and James Rivers. The Rivermont Tunnel is next to the James River crossing.[3]

History

The Orange and Alexandria Railroad (highlighted) in 1852. The Washington District follows these two segments plus an additional bypass line connecting them that was built in 1880.

The line was originally constructed by the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. The portion north of Orange was constructed from 1850 to 1854.[4][5] The extension south to Lynchburg was completed in 1860, with a short section in between that was part of the Virginia Central Railroad.[4]

After the Civil War, the company came under the control of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. By 1881, several mergers had made it part of the Virginia Midland Railway, which in 1886 was leased to the Richmond and Danville Railroad.[4] Both were merged into the Southern Railway in 1894,[6] forming part of its main line.[3]

The Southern Railway later acquired the Charlottesville and Rapidan Railroad, which had opened in 1880,[7] bypassing the former Virginia Central Railroad segment (which is now the Buckingham Branch Railroad's Washington Subdivision). The Southern Railway merged into Norfolk Southern in 1982.[4]

Service

Part of Norfolk Southern's Piedmont Division, the line is mainly used for freight service. Major customers include a Cargill grain elevator in Culpeper (milepost 67.4). A former customer, the Pepco Generating Facility, closed in 2012. Other customers include Robinson Terminal in Springfield; Vulcan Rock Facility in Springfield; Washington Gas in Springfield; Virginia Paving in Alexandria; NS Ethanol Transflow Facility in Alexandria; and Vulcan Rock Quarry in Casanova (Casanova Branch).[3]

Amtrak uses the line for various trains. Its Crescent uses the entire line as part of its New York City-to-New Orleans service. The Cardinal uses the portion from Alexandria to Orange as part of its New York-to-Chicago service. Since 2009, its Northeast Regional service uses the portion of the line from Lynchburg to Washington.[3]

The Virginia Railway Express Manassas Line uses the northernmost portion of the line from Alexandria to the Broad Run station just past Manassas.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Hawkins, David (2010). "NS Washington District North". Railfan Virginia. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  2. ↑ Hawkins, David (2010). "NS Washington District South". Railfan Virginia. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Wilson, Paul A. (1999-01-01). "NS Piedmont Division, Washington District". Central Virginia Railfan Page. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Norfolk Southern Railway History". Piedmont Railroaders. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  5. ↑ Johnson, II, William Page (2004). "The Unfinished Manassas Gap Railroad" (PDF). The Fare Facs Gazette. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  6. ↑ "Local History". Fairfax Station Railroad Museum. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  7. ↑ Walker, Frank Jr. "Tracks Through Time: A Railfan Tour of Orange County, Virginia". Orange County, Virginia. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  8. ↑ "Virginia Railway Express Transit Development Plan" (PDF). Virginia Railway Express. 2019-02-01. pp. 1–19. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
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