The Railroad that became the Washington & Old Dominion was born in Alexandria in response to the competition in shipping posed the the port in Baltimore, which was served by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.  The B&O was diverting farm products from the Shenandoah Valley away from Alexandria by way of its junction with the Winchester & Potomac Railroad.  It also had access to the rich coalfields of the Ohio Valley.

A group of Northern Virginia businessmen formed the Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampshire Railroad, with the first train reaching Leesburg from Alexandria on May 17, 1860.  Their goal was to reach the farmland and coalfields and recapture the trade that was slipping away.

Because of financial problems, this goal was never achieved and the railroad terminated in the town of Bluemont, Virginia.  To survive, the rail line picked up business wherever possible.  The railroad hauled farm products from the Fairfax and Loudoun countryside into Washington, carried mail for the Federal government, provided freight service to and from the many towns and communities springing up along the line and furnished passenger service for the many commuters working in Washington.  A specialized service promoted by the railroad was as an excursion line for vacationers wanting to reach the cooler temperatures and resorts in the Loudoun Valley.

The railroad was only modestly successful throughout its life, although it experienced a boom during the fuel shortage years of World War II.  After that, with improvements to the road system and motor vehicles, business declined quickly.  By 1951, passenger service had ended and, in 1968, the rail line was abandoned.

Photo courtesy of the National Capital Trolley Museum

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