Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad

The Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad was an interurban trolley line that ran in Northern Virginia during the early 20th century.

History

Chartered in 1900 by a group of local landowners and acquired in 1902 by John Roll McLean and Senator Stephen Benton Elkins, the 15-mile electrified railroad began operating from Georgetown in Washington, D.C., in 1906. The first trial run was in March 1906, but only went as far as Difficult Run and the first scheduled car reached Great Falls Park in Fairfax County, Virginia, on July 3 of that year. They laid a second track in 1908.
From Georgetown, the railroad crossed the Potomac River on a superstructure built on the upstream side of the old Aqueduct Bridge to Rosslyn in Arlington, where it made connections with an older electric trolley line, the Washington, Arlington & Falls Church Railway. From Rosslyn, the railroad traveled northwest along the north side of Lee Highway to Cherrydale and then on its own right-of-way in Arlington and Fairfax Counties through forests, farmland and fruit orchards, bypassing the existing villages of Lewinsville and Langley. At Great Falls, the GF&OD constructed a trolley park, which became a popular destination.
The owners gave their own names to two stations located at the railroad's crossings of major roads: McLean Station at Chain Bridge Road and Elkins Station at Old Georgetown Pike. The station at Chain Bridge Road became a focus for development that evolved into the community of McLean, Virginia.
In 1911, McLean and Elkins incorporated the Washington & Old Dominion Railway and in 1912, the new W&OD signed a 50-year lease on the Southern Railway's Alexandria-Bluemont line. In the same year, it then constructed a double-tracked Bluemont Division connecting line that traveled between two new junctions in Arlington: Bluemont Junction on the Alexandria-Bluemont line and Thrifton Junction on the Georgetown-Great Falls line. The Georgetown-Great Falls line became the Great Falls Division of the W&OD, sharing trackage with the W&OD's Bluemont Division between Rosslyn and Thrifton Junction. In 1935, Fairfax and Arlington counties obtained the right-of-way west of Thrifton Junction in settlement of delinquent taxes. Most of the right-of-way was converted into Old Dominion Drive.

Remnants

Not much remains of the Great Falls Division.
The right-of-way west of Thrifton Junction became Langston Blvd and Old Dominion Drive; and the right-of-way between the Key Bridge and Thrifton Junction became Interstate 66. The trestle over Difficult Run lasted until 1979, when it was replaced because it could not handle the loads required of it.
Great Falls Trolley Park became Great Falls Park, part of the National Park Service.
Several area names, like the town of McLean, also remain.

Stations

The stations on the Great Falls Division of the W&OD were:

Station	Location	Coordinates	Jurisdiction	Side of Tracks	Photo	Notes
Georgetown	M Street, N.W., between 35th and 37th Streets, N.W.		District of Columbia	West		Terminal station of GF&OD and W&OD until 1923. Adjacent to Georgetown Car Barn, which served Washington's electric street cars.
Rosslyn	Passenger Terminal : Fort Myer Drive between George Washington Memorial Parkway and Lee Highway		Arlington County	West		The GF&OD and W&OD stopped at a passenger shelter from 1904 to 1923. The W&OD terminated behind a passenger station on Fort Myer Drive from 1923 to 1938. The railroad terminated near a maintenance shop in the present route of I-66 a short distance west of Fort Myer Drive from 1938 to 1964. All of the Rosslyn stations and termini were near the present site of the . Historical Marker:
Colonial	I-66 at N. Nash Street		Arlington County	South
Rosslyn Freight House	I-66 near N. Oak Street		Arlington County	North
Mackeys	I-66 at N. Quinn Street		Arlington County	Northwest
Park Lane	I-66 east of N. Uhle Street; north of Lee Highway		Arlington County	Southwest
Pearce	I-66 near N. Adams Street		Arlington County	South
Clark	I-66 near N. Calvert Street		Arlington County	South		Near east side of Spout Run.
Thrifton	I-66 between Lee Highway and Spout Run Parkway		Arlington County	South		North of Lyon Village shopping center near southeast end of Maywood Historic District. Named for Hugh A. Thrift. East of junction with Thrifton – Bluemont Junction connecting line.
Dominion Heights	Lee Highway at N. Monroe Street		Arlington County	South		Adjacent to Maywood Historic District
Cherrydale	Intersection of Lee Highway and Old Dominion Drive at Military Road		Arlington County	Southwest
Harrison	Old Dominion Drive at N. Thomas Street		Arlington County	South
Greenwood	Old Dominion Drive at Lorcom Lane ; east of N. Upton Street		Arlington County	South
Maplewood	Old Dominion Drive between traffic lanes north of Lee Highway; west of N. Abingdon Street		Arlington County	South
Livingston	Old Dominion Drive at 24th Street N.		Arlington County	Southwest		24th Street N. was Livingstone Street prior to 1935
Lyonhurst	Old Dominion Drive at 25th Street N.		Arlington County	Southwest		Named for the nearby estate of Frank Lyon
Summit	Old Dominion Drive at 26th Street N.		Arlington County	Southwest
Rixey	Old Dominion Drive at N. Glebe Road		Arlington County	Northeast		Named for the nearby estate of Dr. Presley Marion Rixey. Marymount University now occupies the Rixey estate. Later station on southwest side of tracks.
Jewell	Old Dominion Drive at Rock Spring Road		Arlington County	Southwest		Named for Charles Jewell
Vanderwerken	Old Dominion Drive at Little Falls Road		Arlington County	North		Named for Gilbert Vanderwerken
Franklyn Park	Old Dominion Drive at Franklin Park Road		Fairfax County	Northeast
Rockwell	Old Dominion Drive near Dominion Crest Lane		Fairfax County	Southwest
Chesterbrook	Old Dominion Drive at Kirby Road		Fairfax County	Northeast
El Nido	Old Dominion Drive at Birch Road		Fairfax County	North
Selva	Old Dominion Drive at 6th Place		Fairfax County	Southwest
Viresco	Old Dominion Drive between Pimmit Run and Linway Terrace		Fairfax County	Northeast		Southeast side of B&O Railroad right-of-way
Lawnvale	Old Dominion Drive near Holmes Place		Fairfax County	Southwest
McLean	Old Dominion Drive at Chain Bridge Road		Fairfax County	Northeast		Named for John Roll McLean
Ingleside	Old Dominion Drive at Ingleside Avenue		Fairfax County	Northeast
Balls Hill	Old Dominion Drive at Balls Hill Road		Fairfax County	West
Hitaffer	Old Dominion Drive at Swinks Mill Road		Fairfax County	Northeast
Jackson	Old Dominion Drive northwest of Swinks Mill Road		Fairfax County	Southwest
Spring Hill	Old Dominion Drive at Spring Hill Road		Fairfax County	Northeast
Prospect Hill	Old Dominion Drive at Bellview Place		Fairfax County	Northeast
Belleview	Old Dominion Drive at Bellview Road		Fairfax County	Southwest
Glendale	Old Dominion Drive at Towlston Road		Fairfax County	Southwest
Peacock	Old Dominion Drive at Peacock Station Road		Fairfax County	Southwest
Fairview	Old Dominion Drive at Falls Run Road		Fairfax County	West
Elkins	Old Dominion Drive at Georgetown Pike		Fairfax County	West		Named for Stephen Benton Elkins.
Dickeys Road	Old Dominion Drive in Great Falls Park		Fairfax County			Named for . Near former site of Matildaville.
Great Falls	Old Dominion Drive in Great Falls Park		Fairfax County	Inside turnaround		Terminal station of GF&OD and Great Falls Division of W&OD.

Maps

W&OD Railway system maps

Topographic Maps

1915 topographic map of northwestern Fairfax County, showing the route of the W&OD Railway's Great Falls Division between Difficult Run and Great Falls:
1915 topographic map of Washington, D.C., the city of Alexandria, Alexandria County, Falls Church and northeastern Fairfax County, showing the route of the W&OD Railway's Great Falls Division between Georgetown and Great Falls:
1917 topographic map of Washington, D.C., the city of Alexandria, Alexandria County, Falls Church and northeastern Fairfax County, showing the route of the W&OD Railway's Great Falls Division between Georgetown and Great Falls:
1929 topographic map of Washington, D.C., the city of Alexandria, Alexandria County, Falls Church and northeastern Fairfax County, showing the routes of the W&OD Railway's Great Falls Division between Rosslyn and Great Falls: