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Virginia Midland (VM) Crossing (Site)

GPS Coordinates: 38.8065633, -77.1078518
Closest Address: 4406 Wheeler Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22304

Virginia Midland (VM) Crossing (Site)

These coordinates mark the exact spot where the buildings once stood at the crossing. This was the crossing point from 1872 to 1905 when it was moved further east. No visible remains exist.


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Here follows an excerpt from "The Iron Road of Franconia" book about the railroad written by local historian Nathaniel Lee.

VM CROSSING: 1872-1905

It was near Holmes Run, bordering today's Ben Brenman Park that the Alexandria and Fredericksburg Railway would intersect with the Virginia Midland Railway, formerly known as the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. Railroading tradition holds that when a railroad company crosses a pre-existing railroad line, the newcomer is required to build and maintain that crossing. In this case, the Alexandria and Fredericksburg Railway built a small structure in August of 1871 to house a telegraph operator and a signalman to make sure that the trains of the two railroads did not attempt to use the intersection at the same time and collide. It would be named the VM Crossing (for Virginia Midland), but the call sign on the telegraph wire would be "AF" for Alexandria-Fredericksburg since they would be managing the trains at the crossing. The crossing would serve until 1905, when the realignment of the tracks moved the crossing further east. The building itself saw use as a storage shed until after the Second World War, when it was finally demolished.

This railroad line through Fairfax County changed its name several times, which continues to be the cause of much confusion for armchair historians. The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad Company was chartered in 1834, and the line was finished as far as Fredericksburg by 1837. From this point, passengers bound for Washington took a coach to Aquia Creek and then took a steamboat up the river. The line then extended to join the Pennsylvania Railroad's subsidiary line, the Alexandria and Washington Railroad after the Civil War. In 1872, the name was changed to the Alexandria and Fredericksburg Railroad Company. In 1890, the Washington Southern Railway took control of the railroad through Fairfax County, and then folded into the Richmond - Washington Company as a part of the RF&P Railroad in 1920, which is what most people remember. CSX Transportation finally took over operations along the line in 1991. Confused yet? You should be. That's about six name changes over 150 years for the railroad in Fairfax County. Please read the book "The Iron Road of Franconia" for a more detailed explanation of all the changes.


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Below is a description of Southern Railroad's operations per the AF Tower website:

AF interlocking was the junction between the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad (RF&P) and the Southern Railway's (SOU) Washington Division. It was six tracks across; from the south edge of the plant, the first three were SOU trackage: North Freight track, South Freight track, and North Passenger Track. Next came the RF&P tracks: 1, 2, and 3. A SOU South Passenger track connection, referred to as the "Horn" parted from the north side of RF&P track 3 at Seminary, .4 mile south of AF Tower. The call sign "AF" stands for the Alexandria and Fredericksburg Railway, the predecessor to the RF&P. The four SOU tracks converged at SOU's CR Tower approximately 1 mile south of AF Tower, and the SOU was double track from that point to the South. ''CR'' stood for Cameron Run, a creek that passes under the right-of-way at that point. Prior to a rebuilding of the RF&P which added a third track and elevated all so they could pass over the SOU North Passenger and both Freight tracks, these crossed at grade at ''VM Crossing.'' The telegraphic call sign for this location was ''AF.'' In 1904, it was at milepost 105.4.

Both SOU North Freight and South Freight tracks had set-out tracks between AF and CR. These two tracks ran East through the AF interlocking into the SOU Alexandria Yard. Alexandria Yard was essentially the end of SOU-owned trackage. From AF Tower, SOU passenger trains for Washington, DC, operated over the RF&P trackage rights to the south end of Long Bridge. From there, they ran over the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to the portal of the First Street Tunnel, which provided entry to Washington Terminal. SOU freight trains bound for Potomac Yard (PY) operated within yard limits from AF Tower onto RF&P track 4; they departed PY on RF&P track 3 and return to SOU rails at AF Tower by heading onto the South Freight track. The set-out tracks allowed PY-bound freights to drop-off or pick-up a block of cars for Alexandria Yard handling. These set-out tracks were within the SOU Alexandria Yard limits, so that a switcher could run through AF interlocking between the yard and the set-out tracks without orders. Alexandria Yard serviced local industries, built local freight trains for the Harrisonburg Branch, the Warrenton Branch, and the mainline south to Monroe. Alexandria Yard also had a roundhouse and locomotive shop that serviced freight engines for both PY and Alexandria Yard freight trains. Locomotives used on PY freight trains were shuttled between Alexandria Yard and PY with a hostler engineer.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) ran over the SOU on trackage rights. C&O freight trains did not enter Alexandria Yard, but passenger and freight trains otherwise operated in a similar fashion as those of the SOU.

ABOUT ME

Award-winning local historian and tour guide in Franconia and the greater Alexandria area of Virginia.

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ADDRESS

Nathaniel Lee

c/o Franconia Museum

6121 Franconia Road

Alexandria, VA 22310

franconiahistory@gmail.com

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