The Bluemont Junction was part of the Washington and Old Dominion Railway that began operation in 1912. Located in Bluemont, Arlington, the wye junction served as a transfer point for passengers and freight from Alexandria and Georgetown to points west ending at Bluemont, the a popular resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Park signs in the former junction

Background edit

The junction was part of the land purchased by the railroad that now comprises the Bluemont Junction Trail. It was part of a planned connection between the railway's line that ran between Alexandria and the western Virginia town of Bluemont, and the line that travelled between Georgetown and Great Falls.[1]

Peak years of passenger service were from 1912 into the 1920s with trains running through the junction every 10–20 minutes. Passenger service ended in 1951, and in 1968 fright service ended with the end of the railroad. Bluemont Park [ceb] and Bluemont Junction Park [Wikidata], divided by the Four Mile Run, sit on the site of the former junction.

References edit

  1. ^ Harwood, Herbert H. Jr. (April 2000). Rails to the Blue Ridge: The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, 1847 – 1968 (3rd ed.). Fairfax Station, Virginia: Northern Virginia Parks Authority. p. 46. ISBN 0615114539. LCCN 77104382. OCLC 44685168.

External links edit

38°52′23″N 77°07′58″W / 38.87306°N 77.13278°W / 38.87306; -77.13278