The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
connecting
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
, 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. 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
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...
and
Seaboard Air Line Railroad at Richmond. At
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
and through
trackage rights to
Washington Union Station
Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's second-busiest station and North ...
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. Until 2024, it (along with the former Conrail properties) was the only CSX line to have
cab signal requirements on their entire system; the railroad ended this practice on the line in June of that year in favor of
positive train control
Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains a ...
.
History
The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad was chartered on February 25, 1834,
[Virginia State Corporation Commission]
Commonwealth Atlantic Land V Inc.
(formerly Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad Company); accessed 2018.02.15. to run from
Richmond north via
Fredericksburg to the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
. 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.
Badly damaged during the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, on October 11, 1870, 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.
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
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
. 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.
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
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
, 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
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...
,
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. The RF&P company became Commonwealth Atlantic Land V Inc.,
and a new corporation, named the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railway Company, was formed on October 9, 1991.
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.
Passenger service
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
The ''Silver Meteor'' is a Long-distance Amtrak routes, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Miami, Florida. Introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between New York and Florida, it was t ...
'', ''
Vacationer'', ''
Havana Special'', ''
Palmetto'', ''
Florida Special'', ''
Cotton Blossom'', ''
Sunland'', and ''
Everglades''.
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.
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.
Branches
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
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...
) 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 branch that connected the south end of the Long Bridge in Jackson City to the south end of the
Aqueduct Bridge in
Rosslyn. The Railway built much of the branch within the grade of the old disused
Alexandria Canal.
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. The Rosslyn Connecting Railroad abandoned nearly all of its line in 1962 and closed in 1969 after operating for 65 years.
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. The section of the Blue Line parallels
Virginia State Route 110 where passing
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia.
...
.
[(1) ]
(2) 1942 map showing the Rosslyn Connecting Railroad, the planned route of Virginia State Route 110 (below the railroad), The Pentagon building and Arlington National Cemetery:
(3) Maps and images of the area near the former route of the Rosslyn Connecting Railroad at the Arlington Cemetery Station of Metrorail's Blue Line (Coordinates: )
Heritage units
On February 12, 2024 CSX unveiled
ES44AH No. 1836 as the 10th unit in their fleet. The unit is designed with the cab staying in YN3C and the long hood being painted in the RF&P blue and grey. Another unit,
GP40-2 No. 6394 (former RF&P 142) had its nose vandalized into its original RF&P look.
Station listing
Footnotes
References
*
External links
Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad Historical Society, Inc.Pictures and information on the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad*
*Mileposts fro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond Fredericksburg Potomac Railroad
Defunct Washington, D.C., railroads
Defunct Virginia railroads
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Southern Railway (U.S.)
Seaboard Air Line Railroad
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Predecessors of CSX Transportation
Former Class I railroads in the United States
Standard-gauge railways in the United States
Transportation in Arlington County, Virginia
Companies affiliated with the Pennsylvania Railroad
Companies affiliated with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Railway companies established in 1834
Railway companies disestablished in 1991
1834 establishments in Virginia
1991 disestablishments in the United States
American companies established in 1834