Tag: virginia

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.