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Orange and Alexandria Railroad

 
Orange and Alexandria Railroad

 
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Orange and Alexandria Railroad
 
 
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The Orange and Alexandria Railroad (O&A) was an intrastate railroad in Virginia
Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
. It extended from Alexandria
Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the United States Census 2000, the city had a total population of 128,283....
 to Gordonsville
Gordonsville, Virginia

Gordonsville is a town in Louisa County, Virginia and Orange County, Virginia counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 1,498 at the United States Census, 2000....
, with another section from Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville is an independent city located within the confines of Albemarle County, Virginia in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of George III of the United Kingdom of the United Kingdom....
 to Lynchburg
Lynchburg, Virginia

Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 71,282 at the 2007 United States Census. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River , Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills", "The Hill City" and sometimes described as "A City Unto Itself" mostly in ref...
. The road played a crucial role in the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
, and eventually became an important part of the modern-day Norfolk Southern rail system.

Antebellum period
The Orange and Alexandria Railroad (O&A) was chartered by the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly

The Virginia General Assembly is the State legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The General Assembly is a bicameralism body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members, and an upper house, the Senate of Virginia, with 40 members....
 on May 28, 1848, to run between Alexandria
Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the United States Census 2000, the city had a total population of 128,283....
 to Gordonsville
Gordonsville, Virginia

Gordonsville is a town in Louisa County, Virginia and Orange County, Virginia counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 1,498 at the United States Census, 2000....
.






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Firefly Train
The Orange and Alexandria Railroad (O&A) was an intrastate railroad in Virginia
Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
. It extended from Alexandria
Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the United States Census 2000, the city had a total population of 128,283....
 to Gordonsville
Gordonsville, Virginia

Gordonsville is a town in Louisa County, Virginia and Orange County, Virginia counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 1,498 at the United States Census, 2000....
, with another section from Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville is an independent city located within the confines of Albemarle County, Virginia in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of George III of the United Kingdom of the United Kingdom....
 to Lynchburg
Lynchburg, Virginia

Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 71,282 at the 2007 United States Census. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River , Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills", "The Hill City" and sometimes described as "A City Unto Itself" mostly in ref...
. The road played a crucial role in the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
, and eventually became an important part of the modern-day Norfolk Southern rail system.

Antebellum period


The Orange and Alexandria Railroad (O&A) was chartered by the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly

The Virginia General Assembly is the State legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The General Assembly is a bicameralism body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members, and an upper house, the Senate of Virginia, with 40 members....
 on May 28, 1848, to run between Alexandria
Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the United States Census 2000, the city had a total population of 128,283....
 to Gordonsville
Gordonsville, Virginia

Gordonsville is a town in Louisa County, Virginia and Orange County, Virginia counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 1,498 at the United States Census, 2000....
. Construction began in 1850 and was completed in April of 1854,when it connected with the Virginia Central Railroad
Virginia Central Railroad

Virginia Central Railroad was chartered as the Louisa Railroad in 1836 by the Virginia Board of Public Works and had its name changed to Virginia Central Railroad in 1850....
 in Orange County
Orange County, Virginia

Orange County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the United States Census, 2000, the population was 25,881. Its county seat is Orange, Virginia....
.

Also in 1854, the O&A was granted permission by the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly

The Virginia General Assembly is the State legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The General Assembly is a bicameralism body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members, and an upper house, the Senate of Virginia, with 40 members....
 to build southward from Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville is an independent city located within the confines of Albemarle County, Virginia in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of George III of the United Kingdom of the United Kingdom....
 to Lynchburg
Lynchburg, Virginia

Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 71,282 at the 2007 United States Census. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River , Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills", "The Hill City" and sometimes described as "A City Unto Itself" mostly in ref...
 (O&A had to pay to use what are now known as trackage rights over the Virginia Central Railroad for a section from Gordonsville to Charlottesville). In 1860 the southern extension between Charlottesville and Lynchburg was completed with connections to the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad
Virginia and Tennessee Railroad

The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad was an historic railroad in the Southern United States, much of which is incorporated into the modern Norfolk Southern Railway....
 and the South Side Railroad. The O&A greatly benefited from the connection with these two railroads, as well as connecting with the Manassas Gap Railroad
Manassas Gap Railroad

The Manassas Gap Railroad was an historic intrastate railroad in the Southern United States which ran from Mount Jackson, Virginia to the Orange and Alexandria Railroad at a junction called "Manassas Junction", which later became the city of Manassas, Virginia....
 to the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bound to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River and to the south by the James River ....
 at Tudor Hall (today named Manassas
Manassas, Virginia

Manassas is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 35,135 at the United States Census 2000. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Manassas with Prince William County, Virginia for statistical purposes....
 after this junction).

The end result was great for commerce in Virginia. Farmers could ship their products, produce and goods much more cheaply than before and could go any direction via the connecting railroad. Alexandria became a thriving seaport and manufacturing center. In addition to freight, passengers could go from Washington to Lynchburg in eight hours instead of the three-day travel by stagecoach before the railroad’s completion.

Barricades On Duke Street

American Civil War


The O&A was strategically important during the Civil War (1861–65
1865

Year 1865 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar ....
) and was arguably the most fought over railroad in Virginia. In connection with the Virginia Central, it was the only rail link that existed between the capitals at Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
, and Richmond
Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
. The importance of the link drew Union Army
Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
 troops to the 1861 First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run

The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as the First Battle of Manassas , was the first major land battle of the American Civil War, fought on July 21, 1861, near Manassas, Virginia....
 in an attempt to gain control of Manassas Junction. This important junction traded hands numerous time during the war. Confederate
Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was a military organization whose primary mission was to provide the necessary forces and capabilities to support the National Security and defense of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865....
 Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
Stonewall Jackson

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and probably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E....
 took advantage of its importance by attacking it in the Battle of Manassas Station Operations
Battle of Manassas Station Ops.

}|-||}The Battle of Manassas Station Operations, also known as the Bristoe Station, Kettle Run, Bull Run Bridge, or Union Mills, took place from August 25 to August 27, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the Northern Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War....
 to draw the Union into the 1862 Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run

The Second Battle of Bull Run, or, as it was called by the Confederate States of America, the Battle of Second Manassas, was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War....
. The 1863 Battle of Brandy Station
Battle of Brandy Station

The Battle of Brandy Station, also called the Battle of Fleetwood Hill, was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the American Civil War, as well as the largest to take place ever on American soil....
 and Second Battle of Rappahannock Station
Battle of Rappahannock Station II

The Second Battle of Rappahannock Station took place on November 7, 1863, near the village of Rappahannock Station , on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, between Confederate States forces under Major General Jubal Early and Union Army forces under Major general John Sedgwick as part of the Bristoe Campaign of the American Civil War....
 were also fought near the railroad line.

Reconstruction

Following the war, the railroad found it was in dire shape. Much of the O&A track had been ripped up and most of the rolling stock destroyed. During Reconstruction, in 1867, the O&A merged with the Manassas Gap Railroad to become the Orange, Alexandria and Manassas Railroad. Then in 1873, the company was consolidated into the Virginia Midland Railway, which was controlled by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. At first this railroad was located entirely in the state of Maryland with an original line from the port of Baltimore, Maryland, west to Sandy Hook, Maryland....
. It later became part of the Richmond and Danville Railroad
Richmond and Danville Railroad

The Richmond and Danville Railroad was chartered in Virginia in the United States in 1847. The portion between Richmond, Virginia and Danville, Virginia was completed in 1856....
 and, in 1894 became an important piece of the Southern Railway
Southern Railway (US)

The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894....
.

A cutoff between Orange and Charlottesville was incorporated in 1876 as the Charlottesville and Rapidan Railroad and opened in 1880; the property was sold to the Southern in 1914.

Modern times


In 1982, Southern Railway System joined the Norfolk and Western Railway
Norfolk and Western Railway

The Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....
 to form the Norfolk Southern (NS) system. The former O&A tracks are also used by Amtrak
Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide Inter-city rail train#Passenger trains service in the United States....
 and Virginia Railway Express
Virginia Railway Express

The Virginia Railway Express is a Regional rail service that connects the Northern Virginia area with Washington, DC. VRE is a transportation partnership of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission ....
 (VRE) operates commuter railroad service along a portion of the historic line.