Within the Commonwealth of Virginia east of the Blue Ridge Mountains there are 17 structures

and one locomotive from the 19th and early 20th centuries that were built for or used by Short
Line Railroads prior to 1955 and remain standing today. Short Lines have annual operating
revenues of under $21 million, range from a few miles to usually not more than a few hundred
miles of track, and have as few as five to not more than a few hundred employees.

Virginia Blue Ridge

The Virginia Blue Ridge Railway covered about nineteen miles from Tye River to Massie's Mill,
Nelson County, Virginia. The railroad was incorporated on May 22, 1914 and closed in 1980
because of the closure of the last manufacturing plant using it. In 2003 most of it became the
Virginia Blue Ridge Trail in Nelson and Amherst Counties.

The Piney River Depot is a one-story hip-roofed weatherboarded frame building measuring
approximately 50 feet by 20 feet. The south (trackside) elevation has a polygonal bay, a
traditional part of depot design that allowed the station master to view approaching and departing
trains. The largest room is the unfinished freight room, at the east end of the building, which has
built-in shelves and large freight doors in the north and south walls of the building. The freight
doors are wooden with six raised panels. The ticket office and waiting rooms at the west end of
the building are nicely finished with beaded matchboard on the walls and ceilings. Affixed to the
ceilings are white-glass globe light fixtures. It has been restored for display at a trailhead area.

The Washington and Fairfax Electric Railway Company

The Washington and Fairfax Electric Railway Company was chartered in February 1901. The
trolley company began service to its western terminus of Fairfax Court House on December 2,
1904. The Washington and Fairfax Electric Railway was extensively used from the beginning by
farmers shipping produce into the city, mail carried both ways, and florists sending flowers from
the Oakton area. At the turn of the century, the Oakton area boasted several mail-order nursery
businesses in addition to its local farms. During and after World War I, the line also served a
large and increasing number of commuters. This began to change in the mid-twenties as the
trolley was challenged by the development of public and private vehicle transportation and
competition from rival public transportation lines in the District of Columbia. For the first time
in 1929, the trolley line failed to show a profit. The final blow was the loss of its Washington
terminal at 12th and Constitution Avenue, N.W., which was torn down in the thirties to make
way for a new post office building. The company continued to lose money and finally ended all
service in September 1939.

The Oakton Trolley Station is a medium-sized three-story vernacular-form building. The original
station has a rectangular plan, approximately 24.4
feet by 38.8 feet, with a two-story bay window measuring about 10 feet across located on the
south elevation. A 90-foot wrap-around open porch which functioned as a sheltered waiting
platform is located on the west and south facades.

In 1905 the trolley company built the station and ticket office, part of which was leased to Robert
Ballard for a store. A post office was also in the building at this period.' After the demise of the
trolley, the Oakton Trolley Station continued to be used as a general store and post office. It
served as a post office into the fifties. The building was then used intermittently as a boarding
house. Following a period when it was not inhabited, in the mid-eighties, the building was
restored. It is now a private home.

The Washington and Old Dominion

Six once rural town depots and one power station built for the Southern Railway and its
predecessors for a line that the Southern sold to a Short Line operator in 1912 exist today in
Loudoun and Fairfax Counties. The line once ran from Bluemont to Alexandria. There are a few
other depots and structures still standing but they are not safe from possible demolition.

In 1968, W&OD ceased operations and Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO)
purchased the right-of-way for its transmission lines. Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority
(NVRPA) quickly began working to acquire the use of the railroad right-of-way in order to
create a recreational trail. NVRPA reached an agreement with VEPCO in 1977 and began paving
the empty rail bed; the paved trail reached Purcellville in 1988. NVRPA continues to maintain
the trail as the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park.

Round Hill is a town in Loudoun County that was incorporated in 1900.Railroad Service to the
town ended in 1939. The Round Hill freight depot at 34 Main Street was constructed circa 1890
and has been converted to a dwelling. The one-story building was on the north side of the tracks
and rests on a solid stone foundation.

The Round Hill Passenger Depot that dates from 1902 and stands at 35 Main Street has been
converted into a private residence. It utilizes architectural features of the Italianate style and is
one-story, six-bay .

The 1912 Railroad Power Station at 33 Main Street was built when the trains converted to
electricity. The generators stood on the second floor of the structure. It has been converted to a
private residence. The original brick building was two stories tall with brick corner pilasters and
a wall planes with corbelling at the cornice and a 1/2-story gable frame upper story.

The Purcellville Train Station in Loudoun County, Virginia is a one-story, hip-roofed,

rectangular frame building that was constructed in 1904 by the Southern Railway as a
combination passenger and freight station. The rectangular building measures 18 by 86 feet and
includes an eight-foot-wide rectangular bay on the north wall of the ticket office that projects
three feet towards the railroad right-of-way providing an unobstructed view of the line.
Replacing an earlier depot, it was in continuous use until the abandonment of rail service in
1968. In June of 1912, the newly incorporated Washington and Old Dominion Railway had
assumed responsibilities from the Southern Railway for operating the line to Bluemont, through
Purcellville. After rail service ended, the depot was then used for storage of agricultural
products. The Purcellville Preservation Association acquired the building in 1992 and restored it
in the late 1990s using ISTEA funding. Now owned by the Town of Purcellville, the former
station is used as a public meeting facility and museum. It also houses public restrooms for the
W&OD Trail.

The Herndon, VA depot is a simple, one-story wooden vertical board and batten structure. The
building is rectangular l n shape, and measures 70'6" x 20'1". Victorian style buttresses under the
eaves are the building's only decorative feature. The Herndon Depot was constructed in 1857 as a
stop on the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire railroad.

Vienna

The Vienna Station is a one-story, frame building with board and batten siding. The gable roof
has wide overhanging eaves typical of railroad architecture. A single brick chimney flue pierces
the roof which also has a wooden ventilator at the ridge. There is a box bay window on the rail
side of the building with double, paneled doors immediately west of the bay window. There are
large height doors on both the north and south elevations at the west end of the building. This
depot was built in 1859. At a later date, the passenger waiting area was added.

Sunset Hills Station

The Sunset Hills Station is a small, frame, one-story, three-bay building with novelty siding and
a hip roof of asphalt shingles. There is one interior chimney flue on the rear. At one time, it
served as a ranger station for the park.

Potomac, Fredericksburg and Piedmont

Railroad/Virginia Central (PF&P RR)

The railroad of The Potomac, Fredericksburg and Piedmont Railroad Company, was a single-
track narrow-gauge steam railroad, located entirely within the State of Virginia, and extending
from Fredericksburg to Orange, a distance of 38.062 miles.

The carrier was incorporated by act of the General Assembly of Virginia, March 1, 1863. The
line was transferred to the Chesapeake and Ohio in 1937 except for a 1.7-mile segment in the
City of Fredericksburg that connected with the Richmond Fredericksburg and Potomac. This was
abandoned in 1984.
Two stations of the Virginia Central Railway still stand being used for commercial purposes.

In the Town of Orange in Orange County at I20 East Church Street, there is the Virginia Central
Railroad Passenger Depot, It is a circa 1920 one-story train depot with clapboard siding, four
sliding wood loading dock doors (2 on west 2 on east side), low-pitched gable roof with deep
eaves supported by wood brackets, shed overhang over (former)ticket window, now modern
entry door, platforms removed, large gable roof metal/sided warehouse appended to south end of
depot. It has been used by retail and trade businesses since the Virginia Central ceased servicing
the town in 1938.

The Fredericksburg Depot of the Virginia Central Railway was built between 1900 and 1910 It
became a retail business location sometime between 1945 and 1947. It was a retail and repair
store then an area propane dealer and now is a restaurant and tavern. 406 Lafayette Boulevard is
a one-story, five-bay ca. 1900, frame Italianate-styled railroad building that rests on a solid
parged concrete foundation and is sheathed with wood novelty siding.

Richmond and Henrico Railway

The built in 1910 electricity plant of the Richmond and Henrico Railway and predecessors still
stands on Orleans Street in the eastern end of the City of Richmond, Virginia adjacent to the
James River and a Chesapeake and Ohio now CSX Railroad Yard. In 1914 the company which
operated a few routes of a miles of track each in the city and in Henrico County was sold to the
Virginia Railway and Power Company. The company had much larger hydro power stations on
Brown’s Island and Belle Isle and did not need the electricity generators in the building. The
building became used for other industrial purposes and was then vacant for many years. An
adaptive reuse project in 2007 converted it into a restaurant which opened in 2009.

Richmond and Chesapeake Railway

Three of the structures associated with the Richmond and Chesapeake Railway, an interurban
streetcar line, still stand in Richmond, Virginia. The line became operational in 1907. The line
was planned to provide service to Tappahannock, Virginia but only the 14.6-mile segment
between Richmond and Ashland was built. The Richmond and Chesapeake Railway declared
bankruptcy in December 1917. It resumed operation in 1919 as the Richmond-Ashland Railway
with local owners. The line was converted to the cheaper to operate 600-volt D.C. current instead
of the 6,600-volt current originally used. The line closed in 1938.

Electricity for the line was provided by the Classical Revival-style Hydroelectric Plant t
constructed for the Virginia Passenger & Power Company on Browns Island ca. 1898 to generate
power for the city’s electric streetcar system. Although the building was constructed for a purely
industrial use, its monumental design and classical architectural treatment anticipated public
views. The plant has a tapered and faceted multi-story smokestack with a flared cap at its east
end. The Richmond and Chesapeake Railway had its own equipment in the plant for sending the
electricity to the company office 1.6 miles away. The plant was closed in the 1970s 1980s era. It
has been renovated to be available for use in events and is currently for sale or lease for further
build out for commercial reuse.

The company office and passenger terminal still stand on north side of West Broad Street a block
west of Belvedere Street. The building held a High-Tension Cabinet to assist in distributing the
electricity to the line. It was used as a glass company office and workshop from 1938 until early
2013 when it was purchased by Virginia Commonwealth University Real Estate Foundation for
use by the University. Designed by William C. Noland and Henry Baskervill, architects, the
elegant Italian Renaissance/Beaux Arts structure at 814 West Broad Street was built by W.A.
Chesterman. As built, the train station was 67 feet across the front and 146 feet deep with
railway tracks entering the back of the building at the second floor. In addition to separate white
and colored waiting rooms, a concourse, train platform, and ticket office at the second level
within the main body of the station, storefronts were located in each wing at street level. The
center building is two-story structure of light brick and limestone with projecting central bay and
flanking three-bay wings. The soaring parapet features a handsomely detailed limestone
balustrade. The front façade also displays a broad cornice with modillion course, plain frieze
with dripstone, and a central bay supported by expansive, rusticated engaged pilasters topped
with cartouches. The front has a recessed, arched vault embellished with voussoirs and hood
molding. At the second story, the symmetrical wings had three arched 9/1 double-hung wood
windows and stone keystones and sills.

The railway’s Car Barn on Brook Road a mile north of the company office is now office space.
The corrugated steel-clad, T-plan building has a structural steel frame that supports a Fink Truss
gable roof. The corrugated metal stopped at the bottom of the trusses in the north and south
gable-ends creating large openings through which the cars were driven in and out along rails that
are still imbedded in the concrete floor. The main part of the building had a capacity for six cars.
A second slightly higher gable roof crosses at the center of the building and extends beyond the
sidewall on the east creating a T-shaped plan. The blacksmith and machine shop were located in
the wing. A Vulcan hoist is located in this elevated area. There are three, sixteen-over-sixteen
double-hung, wood-sash windows in the east elevation and two in the west elevation.

Brighthope Railway

Two structures of the Brighthope Railway remain in Chesterfield, County. One is a State Park
Visitor Center, and the other is part of a restored village operated as an event facility and
museum.

When the Bright Hope was merged with the Farmville & Powhatan Line in 1889, the two narrow
gauge railroads were connected to form a ninety-three-mile line. Between Farmville at the west
end and Bermuda Hundred at the east end, there were thirty-two identified stations and sidings:
In 1905, the Brighthope Railway was sold in foreclosure and re-named the Tidewater & Western.
By the time the railroad line was closed in 1917, it was nicknamed the “Tired & Weary” due to
the general deterioration of the rails and equipment. The iron rails were torn up and shipped to
Europe to rebuild the war-damaged rail system and for use in narrow –gauge railway that were
built by the Allied armies from pre –existing railroads to logistics depots near the front lines.

The Beach Station Depot is three-bays wide, with a centered door flanked by windows on the
west elevation. The building, 10-feet by 20-feet in plan, is characterized by a low-pitched, metal-
clad gable roof; simple boxed cornice; horizontal weatherboard siding; and 2/2 double-hung
wood windows which are protected on the exterior by cast iron grids with horizontal rails

The Fendley Station was a water station for the Brighthope Railway, a station equipped with a
water tank that was placed next to the railroad tracks and used to refill the steam engines with
water. In the 1960’s, park staff of Pocahontas State Park moved the former Fendley Station
Depot from Beach Road to the interior of the park. The two-story frame building was enlarged.
Today it serves as the welcome station for the park.

Locomotive 8011

Army diesel locomotive 8011 was built before the attack on Pearl Harbor for the Atlanta and St.
Andrews Bay Railroad. The company was a short line founded in 1905 to operate between
Panama City, Florida and Dothan, Alabama. The Alco RSD1 locomotive likely passed through
Virginia on its delivery trip from the ALCO factory in Schenectady, New York. A road switcher
is a type of railroad locomotive used for delivering or picking up cars outside of a railroad yard
and able to be used for yard switching and mainline freight duties. It was leased by the U.S.
Army for use in World War II and purchased by the Army after the war ended. It was used from
1942 to 1945 on railroad between Persian Gulf in Iran and border with USSR. It was then sent to
the Alaska Railroad in the state of Alaska. The Alaska Railroad from its founding in1914 until
its transfer to the state in 1983 was owned and operated by the Federal Government and had
some train runs dedicated to military use in the Cold War years. 8011 was returned to the
Continental United States and placed in storage for many years until transferred for further use to
the Dept. of Transportation research center in Colorado. It was then sent to the Smithsonian
museums collection but stored and displayed at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania for the
Smithsonian for nearly 30 years. It was sent to the Army Transportation Corps Museum at Joint
Base Langley Eustis in 2011.It is one of the few larger than a pick-up truck sized diesel
locomotives in the world that were built prior to December 7, 1941 that have not been scrapped.
Most early medium to large diesel locomotives were sent to scrap metal dealers in the late- 1950s
to mid-1960s era.
The history of the Washington and Old Dominion is ‘’ Preston, Elizabeth. Southern Railway
Right-of-Way Map, ca. 1910 (OMB 018) Guide, Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

The history of the Potomac, Fredericksburg and Piedmont Railroad/Virginia Central (PF&P RR)
is from the Virginia Central Railway Trail of the City of Fredericksburg and County of
Spotsylvania, VA.

The history of the other sites and lines is from Commonwealth of Virginia documents.

The history of locomotive 8011 is from a Dept. of Defense press release