Author: jbcowgill

I am one who loves to travel. I enjoy photography. I take many photos of my journeys. I also write short stories and poems.

Hot Springs, Arkansas

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Arkansas is nicknamed the ‘Natural State’.  If you have driven through the state, you can see why it gets that name.  There are no major cities in the state although the metropolis of Memphis in the U.S. state of Tennessee has suburbs in the eastern part of the state.  Speaking of Memphis, Tennessee, the mighty Mississippi River runs on the eastern border of the state.  As the ‘Natural State’, it is interesting that the state capital is Little Rock.  It is also the state’s largest city.  The state is also known for its hot springs.  One of the places where you will find some of the state’s hot springs is in the city of Hot Springs.

Some of you are saying, “Well, duh!  It is called Hot Springs because there are hot springs there.”

Yes.  That is why it is called Hot Springs.  The city was a city of spas.  That is hot spring spas.  Many of the spa structures remain in a section of the downtown area known as Bathhouse Row, but not all of them have working hot springs.  Yes.  Hot Springs, Arkansas was a place of hot springs, and Hot Springs National Park was established here.  Before they went to the U.S. states of Florida and Arizona, baseball teams did their spring training here.  Yes.  Hot Springs is the birthplace of baseball spring training.  Many famous baseball players to include Herman ‘Babe’ Ruth, Cy Young, Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, and Stan Musial, just to name a few.  Many United States Presidents visited here.  Arkansas’ own William Clinton lived here and graduated from high school here.  This was a resort for celebrities, but it was also a haven for gangsters.  One of the most famous gangsters, Al Capone, had a personal room at the Arlington Hotel.  There is so much to Hot Springs, Arkansas.  If you are ever in the central region of Arkansas, it is worth your time to visit.

Some of you are saying, “This is nice.  I have heard of Hot Springs, Arkansas.  I knew about the springs, but I never knew that it was the birthplace of Spring Training Baseball or a gangster haven.  There is one very big problem.  This city has no railroad history nor does it have anything to do with the railroad.  Therefore, I will not be feeling the hot springs of this place.”

The city of Hot Springs, Arkansas has never been a railroad city.  As you walk and drive around, you see no signs of a railroad ever being here.  Then you come to the Greyhound and Transit Bus Station at the intersection of Broadway Street, Market Street, and Broadway Terrace.  It appears to look like an old train station.  Well, that is because it was an old train station.  This train station was a major contributor to the growth of Hot Springs, Arkansas.  It was built by the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1917.  It was a spur line that connected to the main railroad line in the town of Malvern, Arkansas.

The railroad line began as the Hot Spring Railroad in 1876.  It was a narrow gauge railroad that was built by Joseph Reynolds who built the railroad line so that he could ride the train from his home in Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois to the spas to help cure an illness he has.  The railroad line was converted into a standard gauge railroad and was eventually taken over by the Missouri Pacific Railroad.  Passenger service was discontinued to the town with the last train leaving in 1964, and the original railroad line is now a rail trail.  Some of the old rails remain.  The main railroad line in Malvern remains in service and is the closest Amtrak stop.  The current train station in on the National Register of Historic Places.

The next time you think about Hot Springs, Arkansas, you can think about the hot springs, but it was once a place where the railroad once came to town.

A Train Ride into a New Year

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

Each year begins on January 1 with New Year’s Day and ends on December 31 with New Year’s Eve.  A majority of people around the world stay up all night to celebrate the exact time when the clock strikes at midnight ending the year before and starting the year ahead.  Most people dress up and attend a party.  Some parties are private while others are public like the most popular party at Times Square in New York City, New York.  With twenty four time zones, the celebrations happen each hour around the world.  The celebrations begin in cities like Wellington, New Zealand and Sydney, Australia, and end in cities like Anchorage, Alaska and Honolulu, Hawaii.

How about riding a train from the old year to the new year?

The place is Boyertown, Pennsylvania.  What is special about Boyertown?  Well, it is not a famous town, but it is the home of the Colebrookdale Railroad.  What is special about the Colebrookdale Railroad?

It is December 31, 2025.  I arrive at 10:00pm and park my car in the parking lot.  As soon as I step out of my car, everything changes.  I see a clock, and it says, ‘It is 10:00pm.  The day is December 31, 1925’.  Wait!  What happened?  I heard somebody say, “We will soon say goodbye to 1925 and hello to 1926.”  Did I go back in time?  I walk to the Victorian train station to get the ticket to ride the train.  I look around and see Model T Fords arriving at the station.  I see other classic cars, but they are not classic cars.  It is 1925.  I board the train, and I go to my seat at a table in a first class car.

The train leaves Boyertown at 10:30pm.  Where are we going?  Ladies and gentlemen, we are headed to 2026.  Well, at this time, we are going to 1926.  We are going down the track seeing nothing but darkness with an occasional site of railroad lights at the grade crossings.  I see people walking up and down the train ready to ring in the new year.

Then, the time comes.  It is official.  We have officially ridden the train from the old year of 1925 to the new year of 1926.  We were the last people to ride the train from the old year and are the very first passengers on the train in the new year.

Well, the train returns to the station in Boyertown.  We deboard the train on January 1, 1926.  I walk away from the station, and things change.  What happened?  I see a sign that says, ‘Happy New Year 2026’.  I am back to the present.  It is said that the Colebrookdale Railroad is a railroad that takes you back in time.  A ride on the New Year’s Celebration train, you are not just riding history.  You are a part of history as you ride from one year to the next.

The Train Around the Christmas Tree

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

This is Christmas.  What is special about this day?  Almost everywhere you go, you see a model train around the Christmas tree.  Even though some people may not like trains, they enjoy watching the trains go around the base of the tree.  Everyone  is  awestruck  with  the  train.  It keeps going and going and going until somebody pulls you away.  The model trains make this day special.

Have yourself a Merry Christmas.  May you enjoy the train as it goes around the tree.

The National Toy Train Museum, Paradise, Pennsylvania

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The town of Strasburg in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania is a railroader’s heaven.  You have the famous Strasburg Railroad, the oldest short line railroad in the United States.  You have the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania right across the street with the large collections of locomotives and rolling stock.  You have the Choo Choo Barn that holds a large model train display depicting Lancaster County.  You can spend a night at the Red Caboose Motel where you stay in a real caboose.  In the town itself, you have the Iron Horse restaurant.  With all of that, you are probably wondering what else could be in Strasburg.  One place that you cannot overlook is the National Toy Train Museum.

In case you are wondering, this is not one of those toy train museums where you have this small train display.  This is a museum that has a very big collection of toy trains.  From the very moment you enter the building that is built to resemble an old train depot, you are greeted by walls and walls of trains from Lionel to Bachmann to American Flyer from the early years to the present day.  Yes, there is that many trains.  Along with the shelves full of trains are, what everyone wants to see, the model train displays of every single scale.  You can also see videos of the trains as they roll through the displays and visit the National Toy Train Library, which has a very extensive collection of books, catalogs, postcards and much more.  As mentioned, this is not your normal train museum.

The National Toy Train Museum is located at 300 Paradise Lane in Ronks, Pennsylvania next to the Red Caboose Motel and Restaurant just north of Pennsylvania Route 741.  They are open from 10:00am to 5:00pm on most days, and admission is only $7.00 for adults.  You can get more information at www.nttmuseum.org.

If you ever want to meet people who play with trains, the National Toy Train Museum has people who have many trains to play with.

The Omni Homestead Resort and Spa, Hot Springs, Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Virginia is a state loaded with historic cities and towns and historic sites.  From Alexandria to Williamsburg and Jamestown to Mount Vernon to Montpelier and Monticello to the historic battlefields of Richmond and Manassas.  It is one of the most visited of the United States of America.  Many people do not think about the state being a place of hot springs.  In the western region of the state is a town called Hot Springs.  Although the local Native Americas originally discovered the springs, it was later found by three men who were surveying the land during the French and Indian War.  They later bought the land and moved their families here.  They built and wooden hotel here in 1766.  Today, the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa continues to welcome visitor from around the world.  From a small homestead hotel to a massive resort with the spring and golf courses that produced golfer Samuel Snead, the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa is an amazing place to relax and enjoy.

Some of you are saying, “Wow!  This place is amazing.  This is one incredible place.  It sure beats a night at your normal hotel.  The hot springs must be very relaxing.  There is a very big problem.  What is the big problem?  There is no railroad here.  Therefore, you will not see me resorting to this place.”

So, you refuse to come here because there is no railroad here.  Why would someone who loves railroad want to visit a place where there is no railroad?

As you arrive at the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa, you will see a brick structure with its iconic brick tower.  You will see a great view of the surrounding mountains and golf courses.  What you will not see is a railroad.  You will not see a railroad bed or even a caboose.  The nearest railroad line to the resort is in the town of Covington, which is nineteen miles south of here, and the nearest Amtrak station is in the town of Clifton Forge which is thirty miles away and in White Sulphur Springs in the U.S. state of West Virginia.  So why would you want to visit here?

A resort that was opened in 1766 that is still open today obviously had numerous owners.  In 1881, a prominent lawyer named M. E. Ingalls came to the town of Hot Springs from Cincinnati, Ohio.  Why was he here?  He was doing research for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.  The railway was looking to bring a spur railroad line to the resort.  Mr. Ingalls and other investors to include a man named J. P. Morgan, bought the resort, and the railroad line was built.  The railroad brought many people to the resort.  A newer hotel was built.  The railroad served the resort until people began using the automobile.  The railroad was discontinued, and the tracks were taken up.

Some of you are saying, “The tracks are gone, and there is no signs of the train here.”

Actually, you are wrong.  The original train platform remains, and where the terminal tracks are located is now a small field.  Much of the old railroad bed is on private property, but the main railroad line where the spur ran from is still in service and is now owned by CSX Transportation.  The old train platform can be seen from U.S. Route 220.

As you can see, one of the finest places to relax was once served by the railroad.  You can take a tour of the hotel.  The tours are free, and you do not have to stay here to take the tour.  You are also free to walk the grounds but be warned.  You will be tempted to spend a night here.

The Omni Homestead Resort and Spa is owned by Omni Hotels that own hotels and resorts around the world.  It is located at 7696 Sam Snead Highway (U.S. Route 220) in Hot Springs, Virginia.  You can read more into the history of this resort to include the 1901 fire that burned down the hotel and book a room by going to https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/homestead-virginia?utm_source=yextlisting&utm_medium=organic.

Come and spend some time at the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa.  Enjoy the springs.  Enjoy a night in a nice room.  Enjoy a great meal at one of their restaurants.  Enjoy a place where the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway once brought passengers to.

Santa Claus Museum and Village, Santa Claus, Indiana

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Indiana has the nickname of being the ‘Hoosier State’.  How does the state get that name?  There is no real known answer to the question, but there is a theory being that Indiana is not one of those states that comes first to many people’s mind that the word ‘Hoosier’ comes from the phrase ‘who’s there’.  The definition is simply a resident of the state of Indiana.  Many travel experts would tell you that there is nothing to the state of Indiana.  Sadly, they are mistaken not knowing that the state is the home of one of sports hallowed grounds known by many racing fans as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway which hosts the Indianapolis 500, the greatest Indy Car race in the world.  The southern part of the state in the Louisville, Kentucky metropolis, and horse racing fans are fully aware of another hallowed ground known as Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, the longest continuously running sporting event in the world, and it is part of what is known as ‘The Triple Crown’.  It is also a big basketball state, and South Bend is home to the University of Notre Dame, a university famous for its football team.  Then you have the city of Indianapolis has the second largest number of monuments of any city in the world?  (Washington D.C. is number one.)  The three longest routes in the United States (U.S. 6, U.S. 20, and U.S. 30) all pass through Indiana, and the longest interstate route (Interstate 90) passes through Indiana.  If that is not enough, the city of Elkhart is called the Recreational Vehicle Capital of the World.  How?  Many recreational vehicles are manufactured here, and it is the home of the RV Hall of Fame.

With all of this in a U.S. state that many people consider a boring state, you have the town of Santa Claus.  Yes, there is a Santa Claus.  That is Santa Claus, Indiana.  Located in the southwestern region of the state, it is a town built around the man himself.  Well, it was not originally called Santa Claus but Santa Fe, but there was another Santa Fe in the state.  The name was then changed to Santa Claus, and it has kept this name since.  What is here?  Well, you have an amusement park called Holiday World, and then you have the Santa Claus Museum and Village.  The Santa Claus Museum and Village featured some of the original structures of the original post office where you can mail a letter to Santa, a church from 1880 that has its original furnishings, and a statue of the man himself.  If you believe in Santa Claus, you will enjoy the Santa Claus Museum and Village.

Some of you are saying, “This is nice.  There is a Santa Claus after all.  Well, there is a town called Santa Claus in Indiana.  The man himself would be proud.  There is a very big problem.  This town and this museum and village is about Santa Claus.  There is no railroad here.  Therefore, I will not be going down Santa Claus Lane or visit this town.”

So, you are not going to pay a visit to the town of Santa Claus, Indiana or the Santa Claus Museum and Village because it is not a railroad site.  It is not a railroad museum, and, as far as it is known, there has never been a railroad in this town.  Why would you want to visit the Santa Claus Museum and Village?

As you arrive at the Santa Claus Museum and Village, you will see the museum building.  You will see the original post office.  You will see a church that was built in 1880.  You will see a tall statue of Santa Claus.  What you will not see is an old train station, a locomotive, or a caboose.

Some of you are saying, “See.  There is no railroad here.  Therefore, I have no reason to visit this place.”

This is called the Santa Claus Museum and Village.  You see the village.  Now you enter the museum.  The very first thing you see is the gift shop.  Of course, you have a gift shop.  Then you enter into the various rooms where you see the history of the town.  Then you see the model trains.  Yes, the Christmas holiday has long been associated with model trains particularly around the Christmas tree, and they are on display here at the museum.  From the model trains on display to the model train displays.

Are you still refusing to visit this museum?  If you enjoy model trains to include the old Lionel Trains, the Santa Claus Museum and Village is a must see.  You may not see the man himself, but you still will have a good time.

The Santa Claus Museum and Village is located at 69 Indiana State Route 245 just south of Indiana Route 162 and minutes from Holiday World, Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 231.  Parking is on site.  Admission museum is free, but they will gladly accept donations.  The museum is open year round, but the hours do vary throughout the year.  You can get more information about the museum and village at https://santaclausmuseum.org/.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.  Well, there is the Santa Claus Museum and Village in Santa Claus, Indiana.  You can visit any time of the year.  You will have a jolly old time.

A Time for Thanks

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The holiday we know as Thanksgiving is a day set aside to be thankful for what we have.  Most people think about the Pilgrims who fled persecution in Europe for their faith in God who traversed the Atlantic Ocean to a place in what is now in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, and they were thankful to God for those who survived the passage.  (Not everyone survived the voyage.)  Once they arrived in the New World, they had to survive.  They tried to use their old ways to survive, but when the Native Americans noticed their methods, they stepped in to teach the Pilgrims how to survive.  The result was an abundant feast which we call the First Thanksgiving.  (The actual First Thanksgiving happened in what is now the U.S. state of Virginia, but the one in Massachusetts is the one that the holiday is modeled after as it involved a feast.)  United States President Abraham Lincoln set the holiday on the fourth Thursday in November.  The United States of America is one of the few nations in the world that set a day aside for Thanksgiving.

Some of you are saying, “This is nice.  I enjoy Thanksgiving.  I enjoy the food.  I enjoy watching American football.  I enjoy the day off.  I enjoy hearing the story of the Pilgrims.  There is one big problem.  This holiday, well, no holidays have an origin with the railroad.”

That is true.  As we go to our feasts, some of us ride the train.  We can take the time to thank the railroad workers.  Let us thank the engineer for driving the train.  We can thank the porters for keeping the train nice and tidy and making sure we have clean sheets and towels.  We can thank the baggage handlers who handle the baggage.  We can thank the ticket masters who produce our train tickets.  We can thank the conductor for keeping everything running on the train.  We can thank the mechanics and maintenance workers for repairing and maintaining the trains to keep them running.  We can thank the track workers for keeping the railroad tracks in good working order to prevent derailments.  We can thank the police and emergency workers for keeping us safe.  We can thank the yard workers who put our trains together as well as moving train cars in the yards.  We can thank the cleaning people for keeping the trains clean.  We can thank the chefs who cook the food and the waiters who serve us.

Some of you are saying, “That is nice, but there have been times when the trains have been late.”

True, but we thank those who work hard to get the trains back on time.

We also thank those who are curators and museum workers who work at the railroad museum.  We also thank those who preserve the photos and old papers from the railroad.

Now I wish all of you a HAPPY THANKSGIVING, and if you do not live in the United States of America, enjoy the day anyway.  If you must work on this day, thank you for your service.

Old Train Station, Grafton, West Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

How many of you have ever heard of the small town of Grafton in the U.S. state of West Virginia?  Most of you probably have never heard of this town.  As you drive through the town, you see old buildings.  It appears to be a small town with little significance.  Then you see what looks like an old train station, but it is not your average small town train station.  It looks like something that you would see in a major city.

Why is it here?

The old train station in Grafton, West Virginia was a train station and a hotel.  Why would somebody build a train station and hotel in this small town?  Ladies and gentlemen, this town was not your average small town.

The town of Grafton, West Virginia, originally established at the town of Grafton, Virginia in 1852 as the land was original park of the U.S. state of Virginia before West Virginia was a state, is said to be named after John Grafton.  Who is John Grafton?  He was a civil engineer for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.  It was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad that established the town of Grafton.  The train station and upscale hotel was built in the 1850’s by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in honor of Daniel Williard, the president of the railroad, and the hotel was called the Williard Hotel in his honor.  The hotel closed in the 1960’s with the decline of passenger railroad service and was a hotel for train crews.  Passenger service ceased in 1971.

Today, the railroad tracks are owned by CSX Transportation who still has a railroad yard in the town.  The old train station and hotel and the Grafton Downtown Historic District are on the National Register of Historic Places, but the old train station is not open to the public.  The only view of the interior is through the windows.  It is located on U.S. Route 119 south of U.S. Route 50. Along with the railroad building the town, the railroad was a great contributor to the town’s history particularly during the American Civil War.  The town is also the home of the Mother’s Day Shrine and is said to be the birthplace of Mother’s Day.  As you drive around, you will see that this town that looks like it has little history has some much history to see… brought to you by the railroad and an old train station.

Choo Choo Barn – Traintown, U.S.A., Strasburg, Pennsylvania

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The railroad did not begin in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, but the state has many great railroad sites.  The state is also famous for its railroad towns.  One of these towns is Strasburg, a suburb of Lancaster.  The Strasburg Railroad is the oldest continuously operating standard gauge railroad in the western hemisphere, and this railroad has been giving railroad excursions through the Amish countryside for many years, and it is one of the most popular train rides in the entire world.  As many enjoy the Strasburg Railroad, it overshadows another great attraction that is just one thousand feet away.

Welcome to the Choo Choo Barn.  What is the Choo Choo Barn?

Some of you are saying, “Well, duh!  It is a barn, but instead of housing farm animals, it houses choo choo’s.”

Well, you are partially right.  It does not house full sized choo choo’s like the ones you see at the nearby Strasburg Railroad and Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, but it is the home of a model train display.

Some of you are saying, “Yeah!  I know.  It is one of those model train displays where a model train goes around and around and around a small circle.  It is just another boring model train display.”

If you enjoy boring model train displays, then you will be very disappointed when you visit the Choo Choo Barn.  How great is the Choo Choo Barn?

You may have heard of Northlandz in the town of Flemington in the U.S. state of New Jersey, home of the largest model train display in the world, and you can still visit Northlandz today.  Then you have places like Roadside America in Shartlesville, Pennsylvania and EnterTrainment Junction in the West Chester Township, a suburb of Cincinnati in the U.S. state of Ohio, two other large model train displays that are sadly defunct.  All three of these train displays was the dream of one man.

How does the Choo Choo Barn compare?  It began as a dad giving a gift to his son.  It began in a basement of a house.  Like many great train displays, it outgrew the basement.  It was then relocated to an old maintenance barn, and the Choo Choo Barn came to be as it was opened to the public for millions to enjoy, and it remained under family ownership until 2023 by a man named Gary Russell.

As you enter the room, you see the 1,700 square foot model train display before you.  You see a big village with handmade structures.  No kits were used in this display.  You are mesmerized by the many trains as they go around and around and around.  You see a construction crew doing road construction.  You can take a peek at the zoo.  You can go to the circus  You can gaze at the waterfalls.  Yes, it is real water going over the falls.  As you tour the display, you might want to take in a baseball game.

Through the years, the Choo Choo Barn grew from being a model train display to a gift shop to a small shopping center with model train stores.  It went from being the Choo Choo Barn to Choo Choo Barn: Traintown, U.S.A.  They also have the Choo Choo Barn Foundation which is a non-profit foundation which acquired the Rocky Springs Carousel.  They do have future plans of moving to a new location in the Strasburg area and expanding their attraction while trying to attract younger people to the joys of model railroading.

The Choo Choo Barn: Traintown, U.S.A. is located at 226 Gap Road (Pennsylvania Route 741) in Strasburg, Pennsylvania just a short distance from the Strasburg Railroad and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.  It is open every day (closed on certain holidays) from 10:00am to 5:00pm.  It is suggested that you give yourself an hour to visit the model train display.  It is all on one level making it easy for those in wheelchairs.  Parking is on site.  You can get information on admission and read more into the history of Choo Choo Barn at https://choochoobarn.com/.

The next time you are in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, ride the Strasburg Railroad.  Tour the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.  See the great model train display at the Choo Choo Barn.  Oh, they do have animals.  You will see the animals along with the many model trains.

Fort Belvoir, Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

Many people who live in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area are very familiar with a place called Fort Belvoir.  It is a United States Army military base located in the U.S. state of Virginia on the Potomac River near Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, the first President of the United States of America.  The military base was built on the site of the Belvoir Mansion.  (The mansion was destroyed many years ago.)  The base is not open to public visitors and is under very tight security, but U.S. Route 1 goes through the base as it leaves Washington D.C. and Alexandria, Virginia and continues south into Virginia and the U.S. states south.  As you pass by Fort Belvoir, you pass by a place that employs many people who work for the United States Army.

Some of you are saying, “That is nice.  I have never heard of Fort Belvoir.  I am a great supporter of the United States Armed Forces.  Sadly, this is not a railroad site.  Therefore, there is nothing really special about this base.”

Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to learn something about a Washington D.C. area United States Military base.

As mentioned, Fort Belvoir is a base for the United States Army in the southern region of the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan Area.  It was erected on the site of an old mansion of the same name in a region where there were many plantations of which many are still standing.  (Nearby Woodlawn and Mount Vernon are two of those mansions.)  As you drive along U.S. Route 1, you see the fences that protect the base from unwanted visitors.  What you will not notice is anything that has anything to do with the railroad.  Most people are unaware of the fact that the railroad was a big part of Fort Belvoir.

Before it was called Fort Belvoir, it was called Camp A. A. Humphreys named after General Andrew Atkinson Humphreys.  The camp was erected in 1918 to train soldiers to fight during World War I.  The soldiers were taught to build roads, bridges, trenches, and… railroads.  Twenty miles of a narrow gauge railroad was built in the camp.  Sadly, it was a short lived railroad as the tracks were taken up in 1920, and the locomotives were bought by mining companies who used them to transport coal around the mines.  (It is unknown if any of these locomotives exist today.)

The base was renamed Fort Belvoir in the 1930’s.  About four miles west of the base was a major railroad line that was owned by the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad.  The Fort Belvoir Military Railroad was born connecting the base to a major railroad line.  (The main railroad line is owned by CSX Transportation today.)  The railroad supplied the base with supplies and even had passenger service.  Passenger service ceased after the Korean War, but the railroad continued to run until 1993.

Today, the railroad bridge that crossed U.S. Route 1 is long gone and replaced with a street bridge.  Although much of the old railroad bed remains, it is either part of the military base or is on private property and is not open for the public to be walked upon, but sections of the old railroad bed called be viewed from the old Backlick Road and from Virginia Route 286.  (Please note that much of the original Backlick Road has been rerouted or dismantled by Virginia Route 286 and the interchange with Interstate 95.)  One of the original bridges can be viewed from Backlick Road between U.S. Route 1 and Virginia Route 286.  (It must be viewed from Backlick Road as it is behind a fence.)  You can also drive under one of the original railroad bridges on Cinder Bed Road north of Backlick Road and Virginia Route 286.

The next time you are driving along U.S. Route 1 or along Interstate 95 and see signs for Fort Belvoir, do not think of it as another military base.  Think of it as a military base with a railroad past.