_at_Doswell%2c_VA_on_January_12%2c_1969_(22286471210).jpg) A Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad freight train passing throughDoswell, Virginia, in 1969 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
| Reporting mark | RFP |
| Locale | Maryland,Virginia, U.S. |
| Dates of operation | 1836–1991 |
| Successor | CSXT |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
TheRichmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad (reporting markRFP) was arailroad in the U.S. state ofVirginia, connectingRichmond toWashington, D.C. The track is now theRF&P Subdivision of theCSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad company.
The RF&P was abridge line, with a slogan of "Linking North & South," on a system that stretched about 113 miles (182 km).[1] Until around 1965, the 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 theChesapeake and Ohio Railway, theAtlantic Coast Line Railroad, and theSeaboard Air Line Railroad at Richmond. AtAlexandria and throughtrackage rights toWashington Union Station inWashington, D.C., it connected with thePennsylvania Railroad, theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad, and theSouthern Railway.
The rail line connected to theWashington and Old Dominion Railroad atPotomac Yard and interchanged with theChesapeake and Ohio Railway atDoswell. Until 2024, it (along with the former Conrail properties) was the only CSX line to havecab signal requirements on its entire system; the railroad ended this practice on the line in June of that year in favor ofpositive train control.
| Year | Traffic |
|---|---|
| 1925 | 132 |
| 1933 | 48 |
| 1944 | 822 |
| 1960 | 168 |
| 1970 | 80 |
The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad was chartered on February 25, 1834,[2] to run fromRichmond north viaFredericksburg to thePotomac River. It opened from Richmond toHazel Run in 1836, to Fredericksburg on January 23, 1837, and the rest of the way to the Potomac River atAquia Creek on September 30, 1842. Steamboat service to Washington, D.C., and theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad was provided by theWashington and Fredericksburg Steamboat Company, later renamed thePotomac Steamboat Company, controlled by the railroad after 1845.[3]
Badly damaged during theCivil War, on October 11, 1870,[4] an extension to the north towardQuantico 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 atBrooke 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.[5]
On the other end of the line, theAlexandria and Washington Railroad was chartered on February 27, 1854, to build from the south end of theLong Bridge over the Potomac River south toAlexandria. That line opened in 1857. The railroad went bankrupt and was sold July 9, 1887, being reorganized November 23, 1887, as theAlexandria and Washington Railway. In 1873 theBaltimore and Potomac Railroad's branch over the Long Bridge opened, giving a route intoWashington, D.C., over which the A&W obtainedtrackage rights.
| Year | Traffic |
|---|---|
| 1925 | 438 |
| 1933 | 265 |
| 1944 | 1462 |
| 1960 | 819 |
| 1970 | 1102 |
TheAlexandria 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 theWashington Southern Railway. Until November 1, 1901, it was operated by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad and its successor thePhiladelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad (part of thePennsylvania 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.
TheRichmond-Washington Company was incorporated September 5, 1901, as aholding company, 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,Southern Railway,Seaboard Air Line Railway andChesapeake and Ohio Railway. Four of these companies (B&O, ACL, SAL, C&O) have since become part ofCSX. The Southern Railway is now part ofNorfolk 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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
| President | Years |
|---|---|
| John A. Lancaster | 1834–1836 |
| Conway Robinson | 1836–1838 |
| Joseph M. Sheppard | 1836–1840 |
| Moncure Robinson | 1840–1847 |
| Edwin Robinson | 1847–1860 |
| Peter V. Daniel Jr. | 1860–1871 |
| John M. Robinson | 1871–1878 |
| Robert Ould | 1878–1881 |
| Joseph P. Brinton | 1881–1889 |
| E. D. T. Myers | 1889–1905 |
| William J. Leake | 1905–1907 |
| William White | 1907-1920[7] |
| Eppa Hunton Jr. | 1920–1932 |
| Norman Call | 1932–1955 |
| William T. Rice | 1955-1957[8] |
| Wirt P. Marks Jr. | 1957–1960 |
| Stuart Shumate | 1961-1981[9] |
| John J. Newbauer Jr. | 1981–1985 |
| Richard L. Beadles | 1985–1986 |
| Frank A. Crovo Jr. | 1986–1991 |
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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 theEast Coast Champion,West Coast Champion,Miamian,Palmland,Silver Star,Silver Comet,Orange Blossom Special,Silver Meteor,Vacationer,Havana Special,Palmetto,Florida Special,Cotton Blossom,Sunland, andEverglades.[10]
The RF&P operated comparatively few trains of its own. One was theOld Dominion, a streamliner inaugurated in 1947 between Washington and Richmond. This train used four 70-seat coaches and a cafe-parlor car, all built byAmerican Car and Foundry.[11] 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.[12]
TheRichmond, 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 theRichmond and Petersburg Railroad (later part of theAtlantic Coast Line Railroad) west of downtownRichmond. It was operated jointly by those two companies. In addition, a downtown connection was owned by the R&P pastBroad Street Station.
TheLouisa Railroad was chartered in 1836, running from the RF&P atDoswell west toLouisa. At first it was operated as a branch of the RF&P, but it was reorganized as theVirginia Central Railroad in 1850 and merged into theChesapeake and Ohio Railroad in 1868 as its oldest predecessor.
In 1896, the Washington Southern Railway opened a 1.13 miles (1.82 km) branch that connected the south end of the Long Bridge in Jackson City to the south end of theAqueduct Bridge inRosslyn.[13] The Railway built much of the branch within the grade of the old disusedAlexandria Canal.[14][15][better source needed]
In 1904, theRosslyn 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.[16] The Rosslyn Connecting Railroad abandoned nearly all of its line in 1962 and closed in 1969 after operating for 65 years.[17]
In 1977, theWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority opened a surface-level section ofMetrorail'sBlue Line that replaced most of the section of the Rosslyn Connecting Railroad's line that had traveled within the Alexandria Canal's grade.[18] The section of the Blue Line parallelsVirginia State Route 110 where passingArlington National Cemetery.[19]
On February 12, 2024, CSX unveiledES44AH 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.
The Washington Southern Railway extends from the junction of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad at the south end of the Long Bridge, opposite Washington, D. C., to Quantico, Virginia, a distance of 32.12 miles. It has three branches — .... ; and the Rosslyn branch from the south end of the Long Bridge to the south end of the Aqueduct at the village of Rosslyn, Va., opposite Georgetown, D. C., a distance of 1.13 miles. This latter branch was opened for business April 2, 1896.
The grading is rather light. Most of the line follows the route of an old disused canal and in constructing the roadbed the carrier used the canal grading as far as possible.
The railroad that ran past the Pentagon was the onetime Pennsylvania RR Rosslyn branch. This branch left the mainline at RO (for Rosslyn) tower at the south end of the bridge over the Potomac and basically followed the Potomac northwest to Rosslyn. Part of it was built on the bed of the old canal that connected Alexandria with the C&O Canal in Georgetown.
—Corporate history.— The carrier was incorporated February 29, 1904, under the general laws of Virginia, with authority to acquire, maintain, and operate a railroad between Rosslyn and Jackson City, Va. Its organization was perfected on the same date. The mileage owned was acquired by purchase. The carrier is controlled by the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad, through ownership of the entire stock, except qualifying shares. Its principal office is at Alexandria, Va.
Continuing south in Virginia was the Alexandria and Washington Railroad, opened in 1857. The Baltimore and Potomac acquired this line after reaching it, operating it until 1901, when the Washington Southern Railway (the successor of the Alexandria and Washington) was taken over by the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, an independent bridge line owned equally by the PRR and five other railroads. Soon after, in 1904, the line from the Long Bridge to Rosslyn, built by the Washington Southern, was split off into the Rosslyn Connecting Railroad, owned by the PRR.
The Commission .... has authorized the carrier to abandon a portion of line extending from valuation point 26 plus 49 near the Pentagon to ....
Rosslyn Connecting Railroad Company. — A class II railroad operating 2.69 miles of road from south of Potomac Bridge to Rosslyn, Va. This road abandoned 2.3 miles of road in 1962. It is wholly owned by the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad Company, a subsidiary of P.R.R.
The Rosslyn Connecting Railroad started operations in 1904 and stopped service in 1969 for a total period of operations of 65 years.
With the opening today of its 12-mile-long Blue Line from National Airport to RFK Stadium, Washington's Metro subway grows from a downtown demonstration line into the spine of a regional transportation system that could rival the Capital Beltway in its effect on Washington.
There used to be a rail line from Rosslyn to the Long Bridge, but that was replaced by the Blue Line.
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