Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad

John Roll McLean (1904)

^{Library of Congress}Stephen Benton Elkins

Chartered in 1900 by a group of local landowners and acquired in 1902 by John Roll McLean (owner of The Washington Post) and Senator Stephen Benton Elkins,[1] the 15-mile electrified railroad began operating from Georgetown in Washington, D.C., in 1906. The first scheduled car reached Great Falls Park in Fairfax County, Virginia, on July 3 of that year.[2]

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 (see Northern Virginia trolleys).[3] From Rosslyn, the railroad traveled northwest along the north side of Lee Highway (now part of U.S. Route 29) to Cherrydale and then on its own right-of-way (now Old Dominion Drive, Virginia State Route 309) in Arlington and Fairfax Counties through forests, farmland and fruit orchards, bypassing the existing villages of Lewinsville and Langley.[4] 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 (Virginia State Route 123) and Elkins Station at Old Georgetown Pike (Virginia State Route 193). 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 (W&OD). In 1912, 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.

Interstate 66, the Custis Trail, and Lee Highway were built on the former GF&OD roadbed between Rosslyn and Thrifton Junction.

The stations on the Great Falls Division of the W&OD (with locations of sites in 2008) were:

• Northern Virginia Trolleys
• Washington and Old Dominion Railroad

• Harwood, Herbert H., Jr. (April 2000). Chapter 3: The Great Falls Trolley: 1903-1911 (PDF). Rails to the Blue Ridge: The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, 1847 – 1968 (3rd ed.). Fairfax Station, Virginia: Northern Virginia Parks Authority. pp. 33–42. ISBN 0615114539. LCCN 77104382. OCLC 44685168. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2020. In Appendix K of Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority - Pre-filed Direct Testimony of Mr. Hafner, Mr. Mcray and Mr. Simmons, November 30, 2005 (Part 5), Case No. PUE-2005-00018, Virginia State Corporation Commission. Obtained in "Case Docket Search". Virginia State Corporation Commission. Retrieved July 25, 2020.

• Williams, Ames W (1989). The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad. Arlington, Virginia: Arlington Historical Society. ISBN 0-926984-00-4. OCLC 20461397.
• Interstate Commerce Commission (July 1, 1916). "GF&OD Railroad 1916 ICC Valuation Maps". Washington & Old Dominion Regional Park: History: W&OD Railroad Maps. NOVA Parks. Archived from the original on November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
• King, W.E. (1934-07-19). Index map showing Washington & Old Dominion Railway's line abandoned in relation to other railroads and common carriers in lower left corner of "GF&OD Railroad 1916 ICC Valuation Map No. 3" (PDF). Washington & Old Dominion Regional Park: History: W&OD Railroad Maps. NOVA Parks. July 1, 1916. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018.

• Historic Great Falls of Potomac: Scenic Beauty Around Great Falls Grand and Picturesque—Waterfalls Reached by the Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad: Spots of Historic Interest Passed en Route Over One of the Finest Double-Track Roads in the United States. Advertisement in Industrial and Historical Sketch of Fairfax County, Virginia. Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. 1907. p. 92. Retrieved February 2, 2014 – via Google Books.
• "Historical Background: Old Dominion Drive Notable Facts (Formerly the Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad)". greenwayheightshistory.com. Eloise Lorenze. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019. Photographs of stations, tickets and promotional materials about the Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad and the Great Falls Division of the Washington & Old Dominion Railway.
• "Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority historical marker: "The Great Falls Line"". The Historical Marker Database. February 2, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
• Swain, Craig (photographer) (November 22, 2009). "Circa 1920 system map of Washington and Old Dominion Railway". Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. Retrieved December 28, 2015. In "Close-up of the Railroad Map". Photograph number 2 in "Bluemont Junction" marker. The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved December 28, 2015. Map shows stations and route of Great Falls Division of W&OD (former route of GF&OD).