Cracking the Flags

It was 35 degrees Celsius in Alexandria, Virginia, and very humid. Using our umbrella as a parasol, we intrepidly set forth to look for evidence of the city’s railways, past and present.

A former tobacco port in colonial days and now an affluent suburban settlement on the west bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria’s waterfront is just seven miles south and within view of the Capitol building in Washington DC.

Approaching Alexandria from Washington on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, and having already passed Arlington and the Pentagon, the road crosses the remaining single-line railroad track - unused but still in situ on the northern outskirts of town. A short distance to the east and next to the river, we found the end of the line.

Opened in 1859 as part of the Alexandria, Loudain and Hampshire Railroad, it was one of a number of initiatives aimed at opening up the coalfields of West Virginia. Passenger trains subsequently offered city dwellers opportunities for recreation in the hills of western Virginia. Operated eventually by the Norfolk Southern Railway, this spur from Alexandria Junction to the riverside eventually closed in 1989.

There is apparently some discussion in Alexandria about removing the track over the main road because traffic has to slow down to cross it as it approaches the built-up area. Conservationists may argue that that is no bad thing in itself. On this particular day it was the heat that was slowing us down as we sought respite in an air-conditioned cafe.