Tag: virginia

Manassas Museum, Manassas, Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

Many people in the United States of America and around the world have heard of the town of Manassas in the U.S. state of Virginia.  The town is rich in history and is most famous for being a major player in the American Civil War.  The most famous thing about Manassas is that it is the only place where two major battles of the American Civil War took place.  The first battle, commonly called the First Battle of Manassas, is where a Confederate General named Thomas Jackson was issued the name ‘Stonewall’ after he continued to fight the Union Army as much of the Confederate Army was retreating, a stand that gave the Confederate Army a victory.  Although the American Civil War dominates the town’s history, that town is known for many things.  The best way to learn the story of Manassas, Virginia is to visit the Manassas Museum.  Located in the Old Town (the original part of the town), the Manassas Museum tells the story from the very beginning to the present day.  If you want to know everything about Manassas, Virginia, the Manassas Museum is a place that you must visit.

Some of you are saying, “This is nice.  I have been to many town museums, and they all talk about their town.  As for Manassas, the town is truly about the American Civil War and the two battles.  There is a problem.  Manassas is famous for the American Civil War and not railroads.  Therefore, I will not be battling my way to visit this museum.”

You are exactly right.  Manassas, Virginia is dominated by American Civil War history.  What is the point of visiting Manassas or the Manassas Museum.

Even though the history of Manassas, Virginia is dominated by the American Civil War and the only place were two major battles of the war took place, the history of Manassas does not start there.  How did the town start?  Well, it was originally called Manassas Junction.  How did the name Manassas Junction come about?  Even though the town is famous for the American Civil War, it began as a railroad town.  A display at the Manassas Museum tells the story of Manassas as a railroad town which features a step for passengers from the Southern Railway, a railroad that served Manassas.  There is also a conductors hat and a replica railroad lantern.

If that is not enough, the First Battle of Manassas was the first war in American history to use the railroad as General Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson and his troops arrived by train at a location near the museum and marched up to the present day battlefield to fight the war.  The first railroad built specifically for military use ran from Manassas to a town called Centreville.  If that is not enough, all of the railroad tracks with the exception of the military railroad which was short lived still pass through Manassas today and is owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway today.  If that is not enough, the Manassas Railroad Festival takes place on the first Saturday in June every year.

As mentioned, the Manassas Museum tells the story of Manassas.  The railroad is a big part of the history of the town from the very beginning as a junction on the railroad to it days as a suburb of Washington D.C.  Manassas has a history that continues to this day.

The Manassas Museum is located at 9101 Prince William Street in Manassas, Virginia just blocks from Virginia Route 28 and across the street from the Manassas Train Station.  Parking is available at the museum.  It is open from 10:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Saturday and 12:00pm to 5:00pm on Sunday.  Admission is free, and the museum is completely wheelchair accessible.

Come to the Manassas Museum.  See the story of Manassas from the beginning to the present day.  See how the railroad started a town that continues to transform the United States of America to this present day.

Victoria, Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

Have you ever heard of the small town of Victoria in the southern region of the U.S. state of Virginia?  If you have never heard of this town, do not feel sad as very few people even know that this town even exists.  The town, located halfway between the port city of Norfolk at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and the city of Roanoke, has no famous historic sites or landmarks.  It is your typical small town with a main street with stores.  The only routes through the town is Virginia State Routes 40 and 49.

Some of you are saying, “Well, that is not much.  With a name like Victoria, it would be funny if the town is named after some famous queen.”

Ladies and gentlemen, start laughing.  This small one-horse town is named after Queen Victoria.  Yes, it is named after the British Queen Victoria.  The county the town is located in, Lunenburg County, is named for a German Duke.  As you can see, the town of Victoria is a small town that has much European royalty.

Now some of you are saying, “Amazing.  Queen Victoria would be very proud to have a town named in her honor.  Being a small town with no castles or palaces, she would probably never visit here.  What is really bad is that there is no railroad in this town.  Therefore, I will not accept the royalty of visiting this town.”

So, you do not want to visit this town because of the fact that it is not a railroad town.  Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to learn about a small town in southern Virginia.

The U.S. state of Virginia is a state that has much history, and the history begins long before the state was established.  Before it was a state, it was a British colony, one of the original thirteen colonies.  It has the oldest continuous American city in the United States of America which is the site of the first English settlement in the nation, Jamestown.  (Yes, Taos, New Mexico and Saint Augustine, Florida are older establishments, but they were not part of the United States of America until years later.)  The state has many great historical cities like the state capitol, Richmond, a city that served as the Confederate capital during the American Civil War, and Williamsburg, a city that was once the state capital of Virginia, and Yorktown where a great victory over the British and where they surrendered during the American Revolutionary War, and, as mentioned, Jamestown, the oldest continuous American city, and Charlottesville, the home of Thomas Jefferson, and Manassas where the first major battle of the American Civil War took place and it the only place that was the site of two major battles during that war, and Alexandria, a city with deep history, and Bristol, a town that is partly in Virginia and partly in Tennessee where it is said that country music began here.  The state has produce more U.S. presidents than any other state.  The father of the nation, George Washington, and the man who drafted the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, two U.S. presidents, were born here and had their homes here.  Speaking of Thomas Jefferson, his home, Monticello, located in Charlottesville, is the only U.S. presidential home that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The state is one of the most visited states in the nation.

That brings us to the town of Victoria, a town that very few have heard of.

Some of you are saying, “If nobody has ever heard of this town, then the town most likely had no significance.”

What is special about the town of Victoria, Virginia?  When you arrive here, you with see a town just like any other small town, but then you notice something.  You see a park with a caboose.  What caboose?  It is from the Virginian Railway.  What is it doing here in this town?  You notice what appears to be a trail, but it is not an ordinary trail, but what appears to be a rail trail.

What is special about the town of Victoria, Virginia?  It was a planned community.  As mentioned, the town is halfway between Roanoke and Norfolk.  What is so important about that?  Norfolk, as mentioned, is a major port city, and it is the largest natural port in the world.  Both Roanoke and Norfolk were major railroad cities, and they are major railroad cities today.  Why is Norfolk a major port?  The Port of Norfolk is a major coal city, and the port is served by many coal trains bringing coal from the mines in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia to the ships in Norfolk.

Some of you are saying, “That is nice, but what does Victoria have to do with it?”

As mentioned, Victoria, Virginia was a planned community.  What was the plan?  The town was planned around the railroad.  The Tidewater Railway came to town.  The Tidewater Railway was then taken over by the Virginian Railway.  The steam locomotive, after one hundred miles of operation, had to be serviced.  What is special about the town of Victoria, Virginia?  It was the site of a roundhouse and a railroad yard.  The town flourished.  As the steam locomotive was replaced by the diesel locomotive that required less maintenance and could go farther before needing maintenance, the roundhouse became obsolete.  The Virginian Railway was taken over by the Norfolk and Western Railway which became the last railroad to serve the town.  (The Norfolk and Western Railway was later taken over by the Norfolk Southern Railway.)  Like with many takeovers of railroads, certain railroad lines are abandoned.  Sadly, the railroad line through Victoria was one of those lines.  The tracks were taken up, and it was eventually turned into a rail trail.

The railroad in Victoria, Virginia is now gone… but it is not forgotten.

Virginian Railway Caboose Number 342 sits in the place where the railroad yard and main railroad line once was.  Next to the caboose, you will see the foundation of the passenger station.  What about the roundhouse?  Across the street from the caboose is the Victoria Railroad Park.  Like the passenger station, only the foundation of the roundhouse and a Virginian Railway gondola car remain.  You can walk and see where a roundhouse once stood.  What is now a quiet park was once a bustling place.  When the railroad left town, the town became what it is today.

The town of Victoria, Virginia is located in southern Virginia served only by states routes 40 and 49.  The railroad park is located off of Main Street (Virginia Route 40).  The rail trail, part of the Tabacco Heritage Trail, is paved.  The Victoria Railroad Park is open sunrise to sunset, and it is free.  Parking is on site.  The park is flat, but it is not completely paved.  Wheelchairs may have difficulty getting around.

The town of Victoria, Virginia, may not be as famous as other cities in Virginia, but it has a place in state, national, and international history.  It may be a small town, but it has much railroad royalty.

The Cover Photo is an AI generated photo.

The Lyceum, Alexandria, Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The city of Alexandria in the U.S. state of Virginia is the most storied town in the United States of America.  It was once an independent city that is now a part of the Washington-Baltimore metropolis.  How many stories does this city have to tell?  Well, you could be here for centuries to hear half of them.  It was once one of the busiest ports in the Western Hemisphere.  It is the home of Christ Church.  What is special about Christ Church?  Let us say that all but a small handful of U.S. Presidents have attended a church service there.  George Washington, the first President of the United States of America, regularly attended here and had his own personal pew.  George Washington was a frequent visitor to Alexandria as his home, Mount Vernon, is south of here.  He also had meals at Gadsby Tavern.  Both sites are open to visitors.  Then you have the Jones Point Lighthouse which is where the southern end of the District of Columbia is located.  Where is the park?  It is under the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge, the only bridge to pass through three states.  (That is Maryland with the border of the Virginia shoreline of the Potomac River with a small section of the District of Columbia next to the Virginia shore.)  There is much more that can be told, but you can visit the Lyceum in Alexandria to learn more about Alexandria.

What is the Lyceum?  That is a good question.  A lyceum is a temple like structure.  Yes, it looks like an actual temple, and there are others in the northeast region of the United States of America.  The Lyceum in Alexandria, Virginia was originally a lecture hall, but it housed other things until it became the home of the Alexandria History Museum.  It you want to learn more about Alexandria, Virginia, the Alexandria History Museum at the Lyceum is the place to start.

Some of you are saying, “Wow!  That is nice.  Alexandria, Virginia is a great place to visit.  There is so much there.  As for the Lyceum, well, it is probably a nice place to see.  There is a very big problem.  As you can see, this Lyceum is the home of the Alexandria History Museum and has nothing to do with the railroad.  Therefore, you will not see a history of me at the Lyceum.”

Well, you have a point.  Why visit the Alexandria History Museum at the Lyceum.  It is not a railroad museum which is a good excuse not to visit.  Why visit?

As mentioned, the city of Alexandria, Virginia has an extensive history.  You walk over to the waterfront along the Potomac River, you see a marina with boats, but you see no ocean bound ships.  This was not the case one hundred years ago.  The peaceful waterfront was once one of the busiest ports in the Western Hemisphere.

What does this have to do with the railroad?

As mentioned, the city of Alexandria, Virginia has an extensive history.  This includes an extensive railroad history.  As a busy port, it was the railroad that brought the goods from the ports to towns west and south that did not have access to ports.  The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad which ran across the northern region of Virginia (now a rail trail) and the Alexandria and Orange Railroad which ran to towns in the central region of Virginia (later owned by the Southern Railway and now owned by Norfolk Southern Railway today) had direct access to the ports.  Trains from the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the Southern Railway were stored in a large railroad yard in the northern region of the city.  The railroad yard was at a site that is now a large shopping center on U.S. Route 1.  Only the main railroad line which runs from the bridge crossing of the Potomac River and is now owned by CSX Transportation is all that remains today.  (The railroad line continues south to Richmond today.)

The railroad yard that was owned by the Alexandria and Orange Railroad remains today and stores railcars from CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway today.  (The yard is between Virginia Route 236 and Interstate 495 today.)  The original yard was much larger than it was today as it included a roundhouse at the east end of the railroad yard.  The roundhouse was demolished years ago, but it had a great place in history.  Why?  It was where a special railroad car was built.  What was this railroad car?  It was President Abraham Lincoln’s private railroad car.  You can call it the Air Force One of the railroad.  It was to be introduced to Abraham Lincoln, but he so desired to take his wife, Mary, to a play a Ford’s Theater that evening.  Did he ever ride his private railroad car?  Yes, he did, but not as President Abraham Lincoln.  That night, he was assassinated.  His private railroad car was renamed his funeral car, and it carried his remains back to Springfield, Illinois where his tomb is today.

Now, why visit the Alexandria History Museum at the Lyceum in Alexandria, Virginia?  Even though you do not see full size trains, and though there is no caboose outside the museum, you will see models and displays of the railroad in the museum.  You see stories of how that trains passed through Alexandria and how the ports benefitted from the railroad.

Is that all?  The answer is no.

During your visit to the Alexandria History Museum at the Lyceum, you will learn more things about the history of the railroad in Alexandria, Virginia.  Alexandria was the headquarters of the United States Military Railroad.  The railroad cars were stored in the same yard as the Alexandra and Orange Railroad.  Sadly, most of the tracks where the railroad cars were stored were taken up.  The United States Military Railroad also operated a railroad ferry.  This ferry took railroad cars and locomotives up and down the Potomac River.

It that it?  As mentioned, the city of Alexandria, Virginia has an extensive history.  As you look at the streets of Alexandria today, you will not see any evidence of trolleys.  The trolleys are long gone, but the Mount Vernon Electric Railway and the Washington-Virginia Railway Company ran trolleys through the town.

The Alexandria History Museum at the Lyceum has many stories to tell including the many stories of the railroad in Alexandria, Virginia.  Even after seeing every in the museum, you will realize that you still have not seen it all.

The Alexandria History Museum at the Lyceum is owned and operated by the city of Alexandria.  It is located in the heart of Old Town Alexandria Virginia at 201 S. Washington Street just blocks east of U.S. Route 1.  It is open Thursday and Friday 11:00am to 4:00pm, Saturday from 11:00am to 5:00pm and Sunday from 1:00pm to 5:00pm.  (It is closed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.)  Parking is available from those visiting the Lyceum only.  Admission is free, and it is wheelchair accessible.  You can get more information at https://www.alexandriava.gov/Lyceum.

The city of Alexandria, Virginia is a city of extensive history, and it is a city of extensive railroad history.  Much of the railroads may be gone, but it stays alive at the Alexandria History Museum at the Lyceum.

The Eastern Shore Railway Museum, Parksley, Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The town of Parksley in the U.S. state of Virginia, a small town on the Delmarva Peninsula is known for its Victorian architecture.  The town was built around a railroad line that was extended south from Pocomoke City in the U.S. state of Maryland to Cape Charles, Virginia which sits at the southern tip of the peninsula. (The railroad line in the Virginia section of the peninsula is now abandoned.)  It you visit the town, the very first thing that you will notice is the numerous rails cars that are resting in this town.  This is the Eastern Shore Railway Museum which celebrates the railroad heritage of the town.

On the outside, you will see the Parksley Depot that was once used for passenger service.  The depot was originally the Depot of Hopetown, Virginia that was brought to the museum and sits on the site of the original Parksley Depot.  You will also see a section of the foundation of the old 1886 depot that was unearthed while clearing the land for the museum.  You can stand in the same spot where passengers stood to wait for the train.  The platform is made with bricks that were used at the train station in Ocean City, Maryland.  You will see a dining car from the Seaboard Airline Railroad.  You see an old maintenance shed and a guard house that was used before crossing gates came along.  You see an old Pennsylvania Railroad Box Car, the Fairfax River, a Pullman sleeper from the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, another sleeper car, a baggage car and two cabooses: one from the Nickle Plate Road and an old Wabash caboose.  There is so much to see, and you have not even gone inside yet.

On the inside, you will see the gift shop, a small model train display, a maintenance car, a luggage carrier and artifacts from the days when regular rail service came to Parksley.

The Eastern Shore Railway Museum is located at 18468 Dunne Avenue in Parksley, Virginia, just minutes from U.S. Route 13 at the intersection of Virginia Route 176 and Virginia Route 316.  Admission is free, but donations are greatly appreciated.  The gift shop, model train display and inside areas are open from April to November, but the grounds are accessible all year round.  A drive along Virginia’s Eastern Shore would not be complete without a visit to Parksley and to the spot that the town originated from.

The Strasburg Museum, Strasburg, Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

Many of you have heard of the town of Strasburg in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.  The town, a suburb of Lancaster, is famous for the Strasburg Railroad, a short line railroad that is the oldest continuously running railroad in the United States of America.  There is also a small town called Strasburg in the U.S. state of Virginia.  Located about seventy-five miles west of downtown Washington D.C. in the Shenandoah Valley, it is the home of the Strasburg Museum.  What is the Strasburg Museum?  Well, it is a museum that tells the story of life in the region around the town to include the industries like pottery and other small town industries.  If you are in the area of Strasburg, Virginia, you will want to visit the Strasburg Museum.

Some of you are saying, “This is nice.  I love the Strasburg Railroad in Pennsylvania.  As for Strasburg, Virginia, it is not as famous as being a railroad town as the Strasburg in Pennsylvania.  Therefore, you will not see me at the museum.”

So why visit the Strasburg Museum?  If you say that it is not a railroad town, you would not be telling the truth.  In 1861 during the American Civil War, General Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson of the Confederate Army led the charge where he and his men hijacked the rolling stock of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in West Virginia.  This was known as ‘The Great Train Raid’.  What does this have to do with Strasburg, Virginia?  The rolling stock was transported to the location of the museum and set on railroad tracks and then sent to North Carolina to be repair and to be used by the Confederate Army.

Some of you are saying, “Now I have learned something new, but the museum is about the region around the town and not about trains.”

Ladies and gentlemen, you are wrong again.

Strasburg, Virginia was a railroad town that was served by the Southern Railway, The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Manassas Gap Railroad.  (All of the railroads in Strasburg are under the ownership of the Norfolk Southern Railway today.)  It may not be as famous as the town in Pennsylvania, but this town does have a deep history with the railroad.  As you approach the Strasburg Museum, there is something that you will notice.  Yes, it is next to a railroad crossing, but many places are next to a railroad crossing.  The first thing you will notice is the building.  What it special about the building?  The building is an old pottery factory that was, in 1913, converted into a train station for the Southern Railway with freight and passenger service.  You walk around the old station, you will see an old caboose and an old baggage car both from the Southern Railway.

You enter the museum through the gift shop.  You then enter the main hall.  You see the different displays on life in the region to include a room dedicated to pottery and an exhibit dedicated to the railroad history of Strasburg, Virginia.

Some of you are saying, “Is that all?”

The answer to that question is no.  You do have the caboose and baggage car.  The caboose is your typical caboose that you can walk through and climb into the cupola.  Then you have the baggage car.  In the baggage car is where you will find a model train display.

Some of you are saying, “Oh great.  Another model train display where you see the model trains go round and round and round and round.”

Ladies and gentlemen, this is not your typical model train display.  It is only operational on Saturday, and there is a timed entry.  Why?  If you only enjoy model trains that just go round and round and round, this is not for you.  If you enjoy something completely different, get ready for an experience.  You enter the baggage car, and you see the model train display set up with its buildings and other structures.  You watch the trains, but then it gets dark.  No.  It is not a power outage.  It is taking you into the display itself.  The moon even comes out for the evening, but it is really afternoon.

The Strasburg Museum is designated as a National Historic Landmark.  It is located at 440 East King Street (Virginia Route 55) in Strasburg, Virginia east of U.S. Route 11.  It is open from May to October on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10:00am to 4:00pm.  Parking is on site.  Please note that the museum only accepts cash.  Also, the main hall has two floors of exhibits and the upper floor is not wheelchair accessible.  You can get more information on the museum and the history of Strasburg, Virginia at https://strasburgmuseum.org/.

Strasburg, Virginia may not have the Strasburg Railroad, but it does have the Strasburg Museum.  It has much history on display.  Make the trip.

Bluemont Park, Arlington, Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

When you visit Bluemont Park, it may appear to be your average park.  Located in Arlington in the U.S. state of Virginia and a suburb of Washington D.C., it looks like your average park, but it is not.

As you approach the park from Wilson Boulevard, you will first notice the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Trail.  Yes, the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Trail passes through many parks in the Virginia suburbs between Alexandria and Purcellville.

So what is special about Bluemont Park?

Bluemont Park has a playground, a softball field, and a creek just like many other parks, and the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Trail passes through the park.  What makes Bluemont Park is what happened here.

What happened at Bluemont Park?

The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Trail, like other railroad trails, follows the route of a railroad line.  This railroad line ran from the port of Alexandria to the town of Bluemont where it connected to a rail line that is now owned by Norfolk Southern Railway.  (The railroad line was owned by many railroads, but the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad was the last railroad that owned the railroad line.)  Bluemont Park was the site of Bluemont Junction.  It was here where the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad connected with a railroad line that ran to Rosslyn, a community in Arlington that is across the river from Georgetown, a historic neighborhood and oldest section of the District of Columbia, and it connected to a railroad line that ran to the Virginia side of the present day Great Falls Park, a famous waterfall on the Potomac River.  (The Bluemont Trail follows the route to Rosslyn which had a train terminal that is long gone.)  Things changed when passenger service ended in 1951 and the railroad was abandoned in 1968.

Today, the railroad lines are long gone and so are the many structures that were here that included a passenger station, an electric power station, and a ‘wye’ track used to turn trains around.  When you visit the site today, you will see a replica of the Bluemont Passenger shelter and a caboose paint in the Southern Railway colors.

A visit to Bluemont Park is a quiet place in a very urbanized area which was bustling in its heyday.  It is located at 601 N. Manchester Street in Arlington, Virginia.  The park is open from sunrise to sunset, and it is completely wheelchair accessible.

Alberta Caboose, Alberta, Virginia

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The small town of Alberta is located in the southern region of the U.S. state of Virginia.  Yes, the name of the town is Alberta.  (Whether it is named after the Canadian province is unknown.)  In this small town in the center of the town is a caboose.  How is the caboose here?  This town has no railroad.  Well, the town was once served by two railroads, and there was heavy rail traffic in its heyday.  Like many small towns, service declined, and the railroads were forced to abandon the town.

Some of you are saying, “This is nice, but many small towns in the United States of America have declined from the lack of the railroad.”

Even though Alberta, Virginia looks like a ghost town today, the Alberta Caboose reminds everyone about the railroad heritage.  The caboose is from the Virginian Railway and sits near the old railroad bed of the Virginian Railway which is now the Tobacco Heritage Trail which runs across the southern region of Virginia as a reminder of how the Virginian Railway and, later, the Norfolk and Western Railway was a big part of the tobacco industry.

What about the caboose itself?  As mentioned, it was used by the Virginia Railway.  It was donated to the town in memory of Earl Walter Wilkinson.  Who is Earl Walter Wilkinson?  He was a devoted employee of the Norfolk and Western Railway.  Like many cabooses that you once saw on the end of freight trains, it was preserved and put on display.

The Alberta Caboose is located in the Town Square in Alberta, Virginia at 123 First Avenue.  It is one block from Virginia Route 136 and minutes from U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 85.  There is a small parking lot for parking.

If you ever visit the town of Alberta, Virginia, it may appear to be a ghost town, but it comes alive with the memory of the railroad.