Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-10-20


Is GOOSE CREEK.
Manassas Gap Railroad Company was
authorized to extend its line from
Purcellville to Harpers Ferry. rail-
road that Is not built yet.
In going through these ancient rec
ords the Rambler came upon what
was, perhaps, the earliest proposition
for connecting Washington and Alex
andria by railroad. On February 81,
1864. the Virginia legislature passed
construct, on the plan of James 8.
French, a railroad between Alexandria
and Washington city" The incorpora-
tors were James s. French, John w.
Maury. A. ]. Marshall, Cornelius Boyle,
r. W; Latham: A report on this pro-
posed railroad is to be found in the
proceedings Of the Virginia house Of
delegates during the session Of 1850
1901. The legislature passed an act,
portion Of the works Of the Alex
andria Canal Company to the Alexan-
dria and Washington City Railroad
Company, and on the same date an
other act was passed authorizing the
sale OF portion or any part Of the
Washington and Alexandria turnpike
to the railroad company.
~
The approach of the civil war, and,
OF course, the advent of that war. nut
an end to railroad building in vir-
ginia. Some railroads were in the
course Of construction when the war
came on. and these unfinished rail-
roads often figured in the strategy
OF generals. Perhaps the most con-
spicuous example Of this was the use
by Gen. jackson in the second battle
OF oull Run of what is nearly ALWAYS
rreIerred to In the military and other
railroad er reRorts ba as IAN abandoned
Groveton and Sudley. That old rail-.
road grade. with its cuts ana Ale
put on which ties and rails were never
lald, runs through the fields Of the
second Bull Run today, ~o
one OF the first two civil war n,on,-
ments stands on the edge Of the rail-
road cut on the bloody Dogan-Peach
Tree farm, about thousand varda
southwest of Groveton Corners. II 10
one or those little brown stone shafts
ef gsee py Union troops in the spring
the Bull Run fields. One. az stated
stands BY the railroad cut near Grove,
ton and the other stands on Henrv
NH. In the northeast angle of the
Warrenton turnpike and the Manassas
Ssudley road, about a mile west OF
stone bridge over Bull run.
The Rambler does not know h,+
ne believes that this famous "aban-
doned railroad grade'' is what ia ieft
OF the line which the Manassas Gan
railroad was building from it's main
t tnn ne. near Gainesville to Purcellville,
previous to this, pointed out that in
1856 the Manassas Gap Railroad Com
pany was authorized to extend ifs
line from Purcellville to Harpers
Ferry. railroad that is not yet built"
vire,n many "t 6ene aod parts Of northern
war" one comes upon the relics Of
these roads that were building when
the civil war broke out. The Alley.
andria, Loudoun and Hampshire came
to take the name Of the Washington.
part Of the Piedmont Air Line svstem e
and later part Of the Southern rail,
way system. Some. as a railroad sws-
tenn. considered it feeder" but zen.
orally they consider 1t Sucker" For
q , long time it's terminus was PURCELL
burg. and then 1t was built on to
Round Hill, three miles farther west.
There 1t stopped for q good manv
years and there it connected with a
line OF stages running through Snick-
ers gap and across the Shenandoah
at Castlemans ferry to Berryville, con-
Meeting with the Shenandoah Valley
railroad. now q part of the Norfolk
and Western. Round Hill is close to
the source Of the north fork of Goose
creek. From Round Hill the railroad
was extended to the village Of Blue
mont, at the east base Of the Blue
Ridge. and where the old east and
west stage road from Alexandria and
Washington, by way of Goose creek.
Leesburg. Clarks Gap, Hamilton, Pur-
cellville and Round Hill, passes
through the ridge by way Of Smokers
Gap.
The station at Belmont Park is not
unlike many others in this part of the
country. There is a platform and an
open-face shelter that Is sometimes
called waiting room. A road Of