The Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad (GF&OD) was an

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...

trolley line that ran in

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...

during the early 20th century.

History

Chartered in 1900 by a group of local landowners and acquired in 1902 by

John Roll McLean John Roll McLean (September 17, 1848 – June 9, 1916) was the owner and publisher of ''The Washington Post'' and ''The Cincinnati Enquirer''. McLean was also a one-time partner in the ownership of the Cincinnati Red Stockings baseball team ...

(owner of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'') and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Stephen Benton Elkins Stephen Benton Elkins (September 26, 1841January 4, 1911) was an American industrialist and politician. He served as the Secretary of War between 1891 and 1893. He served in the United States Congress as a Delegate from the Territory of New Mexi ...

, the 15-mile electrified railroad began operating from Georgetown in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, in 1906. The first scheduled car reached

Great Falls Park Great Falls Park is a small National Park Service (NPS) site in Virginia, United States. Situated on along the banks of the Potomac River in northern Fairfax County, the park is a disconnected but integral part of the George Washington Memorial ...

in Fairfax County, Virginia, on July 3 of that year. From Georgetown, the railroad crossed the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

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 Railway (see

Northern Virginia trolleys The earliest electric railway, or streetcar line, in Northern Virginia opened in 1892. At their peak, when merged into a single interurban system (the Washington-Virginia Railway), the successors of this and several other lines ran between d ...

). From Rosslyn, the railroad traveled northwest along the north side of Lee Highway (now part of

U.S. Route 29 U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida to the western suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland in the Southern United States, connecting the Florida Panhandle to the Baltimore-Washington me ...

) 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 Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...

. At Great Falls, the GF&OD constructed a

trolley park Trolley may refer to: Vehicles and components * Tram, or trolley or streetcar, a rail vehicle that runs on tramway tracks * Trolleybus, or trolley, an electric bus drawing power from overhead wires using trolley poles ** Trolleytruck, a trolleyb ...

, 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 State Route 123 (SR 123) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Woodbridge north to the Chain Bridge across the Potomac River into Washington from Arlington. It goes by ...

) 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 McLean ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. McLean is home to many diplomats, military, members of Congress, and high-ranking government officials partially due to its proxi ...

. 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 Interstate 66 (I-66) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It runs from an interchange with I-81 near Middletown, Virginia, on its western end to an interchange with U.S. Route 29 (US 29) in Washing ...

, the

Custis Trail The Custis Trail is a hilly -long shared use path in Arlington County, Virginia. The Asphalt concrete, asphalt-paved trail travels along Interstate 66#Virginia, Interstate 66 (I-66) between Rosslyn, Virginia, Rosslyn and the Washington & Old Domi ...

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

Stations

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

Maps

W&OD Railway system maps

Topographic Maps

* 1915 topographic map of northwestern Fairfax County, showing the route of the W&OD Railway's Great Falls Division (Electric RR) between

Difficult Run Difficult Run is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed August 15, 2011 tributary stream of the Potomac River in Northern Virginia in the United States. The area has had many ...

and Great Falls: * 1915 topographic map of Washington, D.C., the city of Alexandria, Alexandria County, Falls Church and northeastern Fairfax County, showing the route of the W&OD Railway's Great Falls Division between Georgetown and Great Falls: * 1917 topographic map of Washington, D.C., the city of Alexandria, Alexandria County, Falls Church and northeastern Fairfax County, showing the route of the W&OD Railway's Great Falls Division between Georgetown and Great Falls: * 1929 topographic map of Washington, D.C., the city of Alexandria, Alexandria County, Falls Church and northeastern Fairfax County, showing the routes of the W&OD Railway's Great Falls Division between Rosslyn and Great Falls:

Notes

References

* ''In'' Appendix K of Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority - Pre-filed Direct Testimony of Mr. Hafner, Mr. Mcray and Mr. Simmons, November 30, 2005 (Part 5), Case No. PUE-2005-00018,

Virginia State Corporation Commission The State Corporation Commission, or SCC, is a Virginia (USA) regulatory agency whose authority encompasses utilities, insurance, state-chartered financial institutions, securities, retail franchising, and railroads. It is the state's central filin ...

. Obtained in

External links

* * Photographs of stations, tickets and promotional materials about the Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad and the Great Falls Division of the Washington & Old Dominion Railway. * * ''In'' Map shows stations and route of Great Falls Division of W&OD (former route of GF&OD). * (10:32 minutes) {{DEFAULTSORT:Great Falls Old Dominion Railroad Defunct Virginia railroads Defunct Washington, D.C., railroads Streetcars in Virginia Streetcars in Washington, D.C. Transportation in Arlington County, Virginia Transportation in Fairfax County, Virginia Electric railways in Virginia Electric railways in Washington, D.C. Interurban railways in Virginia Interurban railways in Washington, D.C.