Northern Virginia trolleys
Network of electronic passenger rails From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Network of electronic passenger rails From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Northern Virginia trolleys were the network of electric streetcars that moved people around the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., from 1892 to 1941. They consisted of six lines operated by up to three companies connecting Rosslyn, Great Falls, Bluemont, Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Camp Humphries, and Nauck across the Potomac River to Washington, D.C.[1]
 | This article's lead section may be too long. (July 2024) |
| Washington-Virginia Railway | |
|---|---|
Mount Vernon trolley terminal between 1910 and 1920 | |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | 1892 |
| Ended operation | 1941 |
Northern Virginia's trolleys were originally operated by three companies that all planned to operate within the District of Columbia, but were never integrated into the Washington streetcar network.
Two companies were founded in 1892: the Washington, Arlington and Falls Church Railway Company and the Washington, Arlington and Mount Vernon Railway. A number of communities developed along their routes. In 1910, they merged into the Washington-Virginia Railway, which entered receivership after a dozen years[2], was split into two companies in 1927, and stopped operating trolleys by 1939.
A third company operated electric cars from 1911 to 1936 as the Washington and Old Dominion Railway; then from 1936 to 1941, and again briefly in 1943, as the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad.
At its peak, the system consisted of lines that ran from downtown D.C. to Fort Humphries/Mount Vernon, to Fairfax via Clarendon and to Rosslyn; from Rosslyn to Fairfax and Nauck; from Alexandria to Bluemont via Bon Air; from Georgetown to Bon Air and from Georgetown to Great Falls.
The major lines of the Washington-Virginia Railway converged at Arlington Junction, which was located in the northwest corner of present-day Crystal City south of the Pentagon[3] and in Rosslyn at the south end of the Aqueduct Bridge, near today's Key Bridge and adjacent to a W&OD station.
From Arlington Junction, the W-V Railway's trolleys crossed the Potomac River near the site of the present 14th Street bridges over the 1872 Long Bridge and then, beginning in 1906, the old Highway Bridge. They traveled to a terminal in downtown Washington along Pennsylvania Avenue NW, and D Street NW, between 12th and 13+1⁄2 Streets NW, on a site that is now near the Federal Triangle Metro station and the Old Post Office building within the Federal Triangle.
The Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Railway terminated in Georgetown at a station on the west side of the Georgetown Car Barn after crossing the Potomac River from Rosslyn over the Aqueduct Bridge. After the Francis Scott Key Bridge replaced the Aqueduct Bridge in 1923, the W&OD was no longer allowed to cross into D.C. Instead, Washington streetcars crossed the river on the new bridge, reaching a turnaround loop in Rosslyn where passengers could transfer to Northern Virginia trolleys.
After early success, the trolleys struggled. They were unable to set their own prices and found it difficult to compete with automobiles and buses as roads were paved and improved. Much of the system was shut down in 1932 after the trolleys lost their direct connection to Washington, D.C., and the last trolley ran in 1941.
Most of what remains of the system was affiliated with the W&OD, whose right-of-way has been turned into two trails, a park, part of I-66, and Old Dominion Drive.
Before the electric trolleys, there was the horsecar line of the Alexandria Passenger Railway (APR), which served Alexandria, Virginia, for just over a year in the 1870s. Starting on July 12, 1873, the APR ran two horse-drawn cars on tracks from the Ferry Wharf, west on King Street and then south on Peyton Street to the old stone bridge over Hooff's Run. The company failed and the railway shut down on September 4, 1874. Several other enterprises to run passenger rail in Alexandria were launched and abandoned over the next couple of decades.[4]
For 15 years, the Washington-Virginia Railway (W-V Railway) controlled two of the three electric railways in Northern Virginia, along with its own Alexandria and Suburban Motor Vehicle Company (A&S). The W-V was chartered in 1910 to operate an electric line from Bluemont to Vienna, which it never did.[5] Instead, in that same year it took control of the Washington, Alexandria, and Mount Vernon Electric Railway and the Washington, Arlington and Falls Church Railways.[6]
A 1912 merger with the Washington Utilities Company was reversed the following year by federal regulators,[7] and the latter company shut down.[8]
Washington, Alexandria, and Mount Vernon Electric Railway
In 1890, the Alexandria and Fairfax Passenger Railway was chartered to provide a faster way to reach Mount Vernon than the steamboats that had been used since Mount Vernon opened to the public three decades earlier. In 1892, it changed its name to the Washington, Alexandria, and Mount Vernon Electric Railway and began operating between Alexandria and Mount Vernon.[4][9] Desiring to become an interurban railroad, it updated its charter and extended the line to Rosslyn in 1896. Along that extension it reached a point called Arlington Junction, located near the present-day corner of S. Eads and S. 12th Streets in Arlington where it also built tracks to the 1872 Long Bridge allowing access to Washington, D.C. Once across the Long Bridge, it first used the Belt Line Street Railway Company's old horsecar tracks to reach a station on 14th Street NW in downtown.[4][9] A year later, it tore those tracks out and replaced them with ones that allowed for underground power. Service to DC began in May 1896 and a few months later to Rosslyn. When the Rosslyn extension opened in July 1896, it was the longest electric streetcar line in the world.[10]
In 1902, the railroad moved its station, as the Belt Line's tracks were circling the block containing the site of a planned new District Building (now the John A. Wilson Building). The new station at 1204 Pennsylvania Avenue NW extended along Pennsylvania Avenue NW, and D Street, NW, from 12th Street, NW, to 13+1⁄2 Street, NW, near the site of the present Federal Triangle Metro station and on the opposite side of 12th Street from the Old Post Office building.[9][11][12][13] In May of that year, the tracks between Arlington Junction and Four Mile Run were doubled to allow for storing rush hour cars during the day.[4]
In 1903 they built a loop around the block bounded by King, Fairfax, Prince and Royal in Alexandria to allow trains in either direction to turn around.[4]
In 1905, to accommodate the construction of a new City Hall on the site of the Capital Traction Company's former power house, which had burned to the ground in 1897, the railway terminal was moved from 13 1/2 Street and E to 12th and D, NW. That same year, the double tracking of the line was extended south to Alexandria and included the bridge over Four Mile Run.[4]
In 1906, the 1872 Long Bridge's streetcar tracks and road were moved to the Highway Bridge, a new truss bridge immediately west of the older bridge.[9][14] This span was removed in 1967.[15]
By 1906, the railway had transported 1,743,734 passengers along its routes with 92 daily runs. The route became known as the "Road of the Presidents." Passengers and others could read a 122-page Hand-book for the Tourist Over the Washington, Alexandria and Mount Vernon Electric Railway that described in detail the railway's routes and stations as well as the landmarks, history and geography of the area through which the railway traveled.[16]
In 1907 they finished work on a new terminal at Mt. Vernon. Located near the present entrance, it was a large building with a large restaurant that offered al fresco dining on the balcony.[4] That same year, the Union Passenger Depot opened on the west end of Alexandria with the Mt. Vernon passing beneath it at viaduct and small spur was built to the west, which was removed in 1910.[4]
Washington-Virginia Railway
In 1910, the Washington, Alexandria, and Mount Vernon Electric Railway merged with the Washington, Arlington & Falls Church Railway, which was under the control of the Washington-Virginia Railway.[5]
The rise of the automobile, bad decisions, and economic hard times would lead to the demise of the railway.
In early 1918, A year after the U.S. entered World War I, the Army created Camp Humphreys to train engineers. At the time the only way to reach it was by boat so in July the railway, via a separate corporation named the Mount Vernon and Camp Humphries Railway (chartered with this misspelling), agreed to build a 5-mile extension to the camp. Money was forwarded to them by the War Department and the U.S. Railroad Administration and they purchased 49 new cars with it. While they originally planned to finish the work in 60 days, they were only able to build about 4 miles, and only electrify a few hundred feet, before they ran out of financing. Meanwhile, a standard gauge railroad connection from the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad opened in July and the Richmond-Washington Highway was paved in October, reducing the need for the electric rail. When the war ended on Nov 11, 1918, the incentive to invest in the line largely disappeared and, as a result, the line sat disused for years. At the end of 1920, the US Government cut a deal to finish the line and operate service on it, paying rent to the streetcar with an option to buy it. By that time the company was already reorganizing.[17] During the spring of 1921, troops at the engineering school finished the line. The corps of engineers bought a single yellow, Brill-Mack rail gasoline rail car and trailer and ran the line for about a year, before stopping service because it was too costly. The project left the railway with a million dollars of debt.[18] The debt, competition from automobiles resulting from the paving of the highway and the construction of new roads, led the company into receivership in 1923. The next year it ended all freight operations, as that had lost money for years.[4] It continued to operate in receivership until 1927.
In early 1925, Robert L. May received a charter to operate a bus line between Washington and Alexandria. Prior to that the W-V railway had formed the Alexandria and Suburban Motor Vehicle Company (A&S) to run buses between Alexandria, Potomac Yard and the Virginia Theological Service.[19] At the time, many correctly predicted that it would lead to the end of the Washington-Virginia railway, though the A&S was given permission to go to Washington 10 months later.[20][21]
Mount Vernon, Alexandria and Washington Railway
In 1927, the two railways were separated and sold at auction, the Washington-Mount Vernon line (AKA the Mount Vernon Division) becoming the Mount Vernon, Alexandria and Washington Railway.[22] At the same time the A&S was sold to the Alexandria, Barcroft and Washington (AB&W) Transit Company.[23]
The next year, Congress passed legislation to build the George Washington Memorial Parkway and they later began negotiations to purchase the line between Alexandria and Mount Vernon as the parkway would follow the route of the railway in several places and the land at the terminus was needed for the park planned along the road. In early 1930, it was announced that the line south of Alexandria, which had long been losing money, would be abandoned, scrapped and the land sold to the federal government.[24] On February 4 they petitioned the state for authority to abandon the 8 miles of line, following which the federal government paid $150,000 for it.[25] A few days after announcing the abandonment, the owners announced a deal to sell the tracks, trolley wires, incidentals and rolling stock, including a once state-of-they art luxury car used to carry Presidents and other dignitaries to Mount Vernon, for scrap metal. Scrapping of the line began on 1 March 1930.[26]
In May 1930, the railway was sold to Robert L. May and merged with the bus service, with both reducing service and raising prices.[27]
In 1926, the federal government began planning for Federal Triangle. By 1931 it was decided that the DC terminal and a portion of tracks for the Mount Vernon, Alexandria and Washington railway would need to be removed to make way for the project.[28] The company sued to prevent this, but lost their case and an appeal to the Public Utilities Commission to use a different route. In early 1932, after being threatened with having their charter stripped and being promised compensation, they agreed to end service to Washington.[29] The last trolley between Arlington Junction and downtown Washington ran on January 18, 1932, two days after the George Washington Memorial Parkway opened. Its operations were replaced with buses from Arlington Junction to a new bus terminal in DC and the tracks between the Bridge and Arlington Junction removed to widen Route 31.[30][31] For a brief time it operated as the Mount Vernon, Alexandria and Arlington railway, but it was granted permission to suspend service which it did on April 9 of that year.[32] The tracks and other equipment in Alexandria and Arlington were removed except on the paved streets of Alexandria, and in the fall Alexandria negotiated for the removal of the tracks in the city.[33][34][35] However, in 1934, finding the cost out of reach, Robert L. May negotiated the transfer of the right of way to the city in exchange for not having to remove them.[36]
Not much of the line remains. Some streets follow the right-of-way and the path of the trolley turnaround at Mount Vernon remains as a traffic circle at the south end of the Parkway, while the former rail yard in southern Arlington now serves as a Metrobus yard.
After crossing the Potomac River, the trolleys entered Arlington County (named Alexandria County before 1920) to run southward near and along the present route of Interstate 395 (I-395). They then reached Arlington Junction. At the Junction, the line's route diverged from that of a line that traveled west to Fairfax City and which connected to others that served Arlington National Cemetery, Rosslyn and Nauck. After leaving Arlington Junction, trolleys on the Washington-Mount Vernon line continued south along the present route of S. Eads Street while traveling largely on the grade of a towpath on the west side of the defunct Alexandria Canal.[37][38] Near Arlington's present southern border at Four Mile Run, the railroad and its affiliates constructed an amusement park (Luna Park) and a rail yard containing a car barn and a power plant.[37]
After crossing Four Mile Run into present-day Alexandria, the trolleys continued to travel south along the present route of Commonwealth Avenue. The Mount Vernon line then passed under a bridge at St. Elmo that carried the Bluemont branch of the Southern Railway and later the branch's successor, the Bluemont Division of the W&OD Railway. The lines' St. Elmo stations, located in Alexandria's present Del Ray neighborhood, gave travelers an opportunity to transfer between the railroads.[39]
The Mount Vernon line's trolleys then continued southward along Commonwealth Avenue until reaching King Street near Alexandria's Union Station. The line's trolleys then turned to travel east on King Street until they reached a station at Royal Street, in the center of Old Town Alexandria next to Market Square. They then turned again, traveled south on S. Royal Street and crossed Hunting Creek to enter Fairfax County on a 3,500 feet (1,067 m)-long bridge containing a concrete and steel center span and trestle.[40]
The railway also operated a city line that ran from the ferry wharf at King and Union to the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station at Cameron and Fayette, travelling along King, Columbus and Cameron.[4]
After traveling through New Alexandria, where the line had originated,[40] the trolleys continued south through Fairfax County at speeds of up to 30 miles (48 km) per hour[40] while traveling partially along the present routes of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, East Boulevard Drive and Wittington Boulevard. After crossing Little Hunting Creek, they reached a turnaround loop on which they traveled to a terminal constructed near the entrance to the grounds of George Washington's home in Mount Vernon.
At Mount Vernon, when the electric railway began service, the estate's proprietors insisted that only a modest terminal be constructed next to the trolley turnaround. They were afraid that the dignity of the site would be marred by unrestricted commercial development and persuaded financier Jay Gould to purchase and donate thirty-three acres outside the main gate for protection.
The stations on the Washington-Mount Vernon Line of the Washington, Alexandria, and Mount Vernon Electric Railway (Alexandria-Mount Vernon Branch of the Washington-Virginia Railway)[41] were (with locations of sites in 2008):
| Station | Location[42] | Jurisdiction | Miles from Washington Terminal[12] |
Notes | Coordinates | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camp Humphreys | Fort Belvoir | Fairfax County | ||||
| Mount Vernon[12] | South side of traffic circle at Mount Vernon Estate | Fairfax County | 15.8 | 38°42′39″N 77°05′12″W | | |
| Oakwood | George Washington Memorial Parkway | Fairfax County | 38°42′56″N 77°05′06″W | |||
| Miller | Near west bank of Little Hunting Creek | Fairfax County | 38°43′04″N 77°04′38″W | |||
| Riverside[12] | Wittington Boulevard and Bluedale Street | Fairfax County | 14.7 | |||
| Hunter[12] | Wittington Boulevard and Elkin Street | Fairfax County | 14.2 | 38°43′22″N 77°03′54″W | ||
| North Mount Vernon | Fort Hunt Road (Virginia State Route 629), south of Old Stage Road | Fairfax County | 38°43′30″N 77°03′34″W | |||
| Grassymead[12] | East of Fort Hunt Road, north of Waynewood Boulevard | Fairfax County | 13.1 | 38°43′39″N 77°03′20″W | ||
| Snowden[12] | West Boulevard Drive and Collingwood Road (Virginia State Route 628) | Fairfax County | 13.1 | Named for Isaac, William and Stacey Snowden[43] | 38°43′56″N 77°02′54″W | |
| Herbert Springs[12] | East Boulevard Drive and Herbert Springs Road | Fairfax County | 12.9 | |||
| Arcturus[12] | East Boulevard Drive and Arcturus Lane | Fairfax County | 12.8 | |||
| Wellington[12] | East Boulevard Drive, southwest of Wellington House at River Farm | Fairfax County | 12.5 | 38°44′26″N 77°02′51″W | ||
| Bellmont[12] (Wellington Villa) |
George Washington Memorial Parkway and Alexandria Avenue | Fairfax County | 12.1 | 38°44′48″N 77°02′56″W | ||
| Happy Home | Fairfax County | |||||
| Warwick | George Washington Memorial Parkway and Morningside Lane | Fairfax County | 38°45′07″N 77°03′00″W | |||
| Dyke[12] | George Washington Memorial Parkway | Fairfax County | 11.3 | 38°45′34″N 77°02′56″W |  | |
| Oaks | George Washington Memorial Parkway | Fairfax County | 38°45′49″N 77°03′08″W | |||
| New Alexandria[12] | Potomac Avenue and Belle Haven Road | Fairfax County | 9.6 | 38°46′50″N 77°03′23″W | ||
| Unnamed | Near S. Royal Street and Hunting Creek | City of Alexandria | 38°47′32″N 77°02′46″W | |||
| Alexandria[12][41] | King and Royal Streets | City of Alexandria | 7.7 | 38°48′17″N 77°02′37″W | ||
| Spring Park (later Union Station)[12] | King Street and Commonwealth Avenue | City of Alexandria | 6.7 | 38°48′24″N 77°03′35″W | ||
| Rosemont | Rosemont Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue | City of Alexandria | 38°48′36″N 77°03′39″W | |||
| North Rosemont | Walnut Street and Commonwealth Avenue | City of Alexandria | 38°48′44″N 77°03′42″W | |||
| Braddock[12][41][44] | Braddock Road and Commonwealth Avenue | City of Alexandria | 6.0 | 38°48′59″N 77°03′45″W | ||
| North Braddock[41] | Commonwealth Avenue | City of Alexandria | ||||
| Lloyd[12][41] | Windsor Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue | City of Alexandria | 5.7 | 38°49′27″N 77°03′45″W | ||
| Del Ray[12][41] | Del Ray Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue | City of Alexandria | 5.6 | 38°49′33″N 77°03′43″W | ||
| Mount Ida[41] | Mount Ida Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue | City of Alexandria | Historical marker near site of station: The Electric Railway[45][46] | 38°49′42″N 77°03′39″W | ||
| St. Asaph[12] | Commonwealth Avenue, between Forrest Street and Ancell Street | City of Alexandria | 5.6 | Served St. Asaph Racetrack. (1894–1905)[47] Historical marker near site of station: St. Asaph Racetrack[47][48] |
38°49′47″N 77°03′36″W |
|
| Hume[41] | Intersection of Hume Avenue, Mount Vernon Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue | City of Alexandria | Historical marker near site of station: Mount Vernon Avenue[49][50] | 38°49′51″N 77°03′35″W | ||
| St. Elmo[12][41][51] | Commonwealth Avenue near Ashby Street | City of Alexandria | 4.8 | Crossing of W&OD Railway's Bluemont Division Historical marker near site of station: The Bluemont Line[52][53] |
38°49′59″N 77°03′32″W | |
| Four Mile Run[12][41] | Near present intersection of S. Glebe Road and S. Eads Street | Arlington County | 4.1 | Historical marker near site of station: Transportation[37][54] | 38°50′33″N 77°03′17″W | |
| Car Barn | In bus yard east of S. Eads Street | Arlington County | Formerly in rail yard[37] | 38°50′43″N 77°03′14″W | ||
| Luna Park[55] | West side of S. Eads Street | Arlington County | Adjacent to amusement park in present site of sewage treatment plant[37] | 38°50′43″N 77°03′14″W | ||
| Aurora Hills[41] | 26th Street S. and S. Eads Street | Arlington County | 38°51′02″N 77°03′13″W | |||
| Virginia Highlands[41] | 23rd Street S. and S. Eads Street | Arlington County | 1910 Photo[56] | 38°51′12″N 77°03′12″W | ||
| Addison[12][41][57] | 18th Street S. and S. Eads Street | Arlington County | 3.2 | 38°51′27″N 77°03′11″W | ||
| Arlington Junction[12][41][58] | Between Army-Navy Drive and 12th Street S and between S. Eads Street and Richmond Highway (U.S. Route 1) | Arlington County | 2.7 | Junction with the Rosslyn Branch of the Washington, Alexandria, and Mount Vernon Railway and later with the South Arlington branch of the Washington—Virginia Railway | 38°51′50″N 77°03′12″W | |
| South Washington | Near I-395 | Arlington County | 38°52′00″N 77°02′56″W | |||
| Alexander Island[12][41] | Near I-395 between Boundary Channel Drive and George Washington Memorial Parkway | Arlington County | 2.1 | 38°52′15″N 77°02′40″W | ||
| Washington Terminal[41] | 1204 N. Pennsylvania Avenue[11] West side of 12th Street, NW, between Federal Triangle Metro Station and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW |
District of Columbia | 0 | At corner of 13 & 1/2 Street, NW, and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in 1902.[12] | 38°53′41″N 77°01′42″W |
The Washington, Alexandria, and Mount Vernon Electric Railway constructed the Rosslyn branch (aka the East Arlington Branch), which traveled from Arlington Junction to the Virginia end of the Aqueduct Bridge in Rosslyn, primarily as a way to compete for Arlington Cemetery patronage.[58]
The Rosslyn Branch began passenger service on 22 May 1896, just weeks before the Mount Vernon line was connected to it.[61] Following the merger that created the Washington-Virginia system, service to the cemetery was primarily provided by the Falls Church line, so in May 1921 the W-V sought and received permission to discontinue service on the Rosslyn Branch between Rosslyn and Mt. Vernon Junction. The only opposition came from workers at the Government Experimental Farm located on the east side of the track.[62]
The tracks were removed in the 1930s and the right of way was taken for use by the Pentagon, its nearby traffic interchanges and an expansion of Arlington National Cemetery.
After leaving Arlington Junction, the Rosslyn branch traveled northwest along a route that was south of the future site of The Pentagon, crossed Columbia Pike and entered Mt. Vernon Junction. At that junction, the Rosslyn branch met the South Arlington branch, which the Washington, Arlington & Falls Church Railroad constructed.
After leaving Mt. Vernon Junction, the Rosslyn branch crossed the southern boundary of the federally-owned "Arlington Reservation". The site of the crossing was at that time near the southeast corner of Arlington National Cemetery, which was within the Reservation. After entering the Reservation, the branch turned to travel north along the eastern side of Arlington Ridge Road (formerly named the Alexandria & Georgetown Turnpike), which was outside of the Cemetery near the Cemetery's eastern wall.
While traveling next to Arlington Ridge Road, the branch passed the Cemetery's McClellan and Sheridan Gates. An expansion of the Cemetery later encompassed this portion of the Road, whose route no longer exists within the Cemetery.
Construction of the branch permitted visitors from Washington, D.C., to reach the Cemetery by rail for the first time. However, after leaving the trolleys outside of the Sheridan Gate at the branch's Arlington station, visitors needed to ascend a steep hill to reach most of the Cemetery's well-known features and burial sites.
After passing its Arlington station, the branch crossed the north boundary of the Reservation and turned to travel northwest until it met Rosslyn's Chadwick Avenue (now named N. Lynn Street), on which it traveled north. The branch ended near the Aqueduct Bridge at the railway's Rosslyn terminal.[11][63]
The stations of the Rosslyn branch were (with locations of sites in 2008):
| Station | Location[42] | Jurisdiction | Notes | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosslyn[41][64] | N. Lynn Street near Key Bridge Marriott Hotel | Arlington County | East of W&OD Railway station. 1925 photo[65] | 38°53′59″N 77°04′15″W |
| Arlington[66] | Arlington National Cemetery | Arlington County | Outside of the now-demolished Sheridan Gate of Arlington National Cemetery (location now inside the cemetery)[67] | 38°53′05″N 77°04′01″W |
| Queen City[68] | Near present crossing of Columbia Pike and South Joyce Street | Arlington County | Outside of the south boundary of Arlington National Cemetery | 38°52′14″N 77°03′56″W |
| Mount Vernon Junction[41] | Near present east crossing of Columbia Pike (Virginia State Route 244) and Washington Boulevard (Virginia State Route 27) | Arlington County | Junction with South Arlington branch of Washington, Arlington & Falls Church Railway | 38°52′11″N 77°03′42″W |
| Relee[41] | I-395 between S. Fern Street and S. Eads Street, south of The Pentagon | Arlington County | Named for Robert E. Lee | 38°51′56″N 77°03′20″W |
| Arlington Junction[41][58] | Between Army-Navy Drive and 12th Street S and between S. Eads Street and Richmond Highway (U.S. Route 1) | Arlington County | Junction with Washington-Mount Vernon line | 38°51′50″N 77°03′12″W |
During its forty years of life, this interurban trolley company operated under a variety of names, as it expanded, reorganized, and contracted.
Washington & Arlington — 1892–1896
On February 28, 1891, the United States Congress enacted a statute that incorporated the Washington, Arlington and Falls Church Railway Company in the District of Columbia, with authorization to reach Fort Myer and the northwest entrance of Arlington National Cemetery (the cemetery's Fort Myer Gate) by crossing the Potomac River on a new bridge that the company would build at or near the "Three Sisters" islets.[69] "Arlington" in the name referred to the cemetery and the house; Arlington County did not exist yet. The system started in October 1892 as a horsecar line with tracks from Rosslyn up the hill to the cemetery's Fort Myer Gate; this would later become the Nauck Line. The following spring it opened a 0.75 mile long section of line using underground electric conduit operation of its own design. But another conduit system, introduced a few months later, became the standard in DC and in June 1893 the bank foreclosed on them, shutting down operations for two years. In 1894, the assets were sold at auction.[4] One of the buyers reestablished service to Ft. Myer - along a slightly different route, at first by horses but then, in late 1895, the system was electrified. The company never built its planned Three Sisters Bridge.
Washington, Arlington & Falls Church — 1896–1910
In 1896, the company laid track from Rosslyn through Clarendon and Ballston to Falls Church, constituting the North Arlington Branch and part of the Fairfax Line, and the name was changed to the Washington, Arlington & Falls Church (WA&FC). The track though Fort Myer was extended past the northwest entrance to Arlington National Cemetery to reach Penrose in 1900 and Nauck, just north of Four Mile Run, in 1901. That same year saw the opening of about a mile of additional track, extending from East Falls Church to West Falls Church. Work on a far more ambitious extension began at West Falls Church in 1903, bringing the line through Dunn Loring and Vienna in 1904 to reach the Fairfax County Courthouse in Fairfax City.[70] The railroad finally gained access, indirectly, to Washington, when the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad began running a "bridge car" from Rosslyn to Georgetown in 1906. In 1907, the W.A. & F.C. built the South Arlington branch from Clarendon to a point where it met the Washington, Alexandria and Mt. Vernon Railway's Rosslyn branch, called Mount Vernon Junction, and used systems tracks to reach