VA -- Alexandria -- Wilkes Street Tunnel:
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- Description of Subject Matter: The Orange & Alexandria was Chartered by the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia on March 27, 1848 and was authorized to run from Gordonsville through Orange Court House and Culpeper Court House to Alexandria. Construction on the mainline began in 1850. On May 6, 1851 the engine 'Pioneer' ran from the north end of Union Street to the Wilkes Street tunnel in the city and on May 7, 1851 the inaugural run extended from the western edge of downtown Alexandria to the waterfront, a total of under 2 miles. The railroad reached Tudor Hall (present day Manassas) in 1851, Culpeper Court House by 1853, and joined the Virginia Central Railroad at Gordonsville in 1854. Construction along much of its alignment followed the old Piedmont stage route. In 1854 the O & A was granted permission by the general assembly to build southward from Charlottesville to Lynchburg. The O&A railroad reached Lynchburg in 1860 where it accessed the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. Between Gordonsville and Charlottesville the O & A paid the Virginia Central for use of its tracks.
The above is from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMR24
Wilkes Street tunnel is important piece of past
October 19, 1995
By
Pamela Cressey
Alexandria's vast railroad system was one of the city's most predominate features in the historic cultural landscape. Today, the rails that have survived are being torn up and consolidated. Only a few structures associated with Alexandria's railroad history have been preserved: the Orange and Alexandria Railroad Bridge over Hooff's Run (see my last four articles), the Wilkes Street Tunnel and the Alexandria Union Station.
The Orange and Alexandria Railroad was incorporated in 1848, but service to Culpeper did not begin until 1851. Over the next four years, the rails were extended to Warrenton, Orange, Gordonsville and Lynchburg. James Massey and Jere Gibber note: "At the peak of its activity in 1860, the Orange and Alexandria extended 148 miles and had $7,180,201 of capital. In the decade prior to the Civil War, the railroad greatly improved Alexandria's economic fortunes by diverting trade from other markets and increasing the city's share of interior trade."
Building the rails required money, engineering and labor. T. C. Atkinson was the chief engineer. Two separate construction contracts were awarded. Eggleston, McDonald and Company was responsible for building the 60 miles of rails between Cameron Mills (near the Huntington Metro Station) and Culpeper. These gentlemen apparently came to Alexandria on a temporary basis. The 1850 U.S. census shows that they both lived at the Marshall House Hotel on King and Pitt streets. Eggleston and McDonald were born in New York and were 42 and 55 years old respectively. Presumably they left town soon after, since the firm abandoned its work in November 1850. The O&ARR president, George Smoot, noted in the annual stockholder report that their action caused "a delay and loss of time equal to six months."
The same month, T.C. Atkinson placed a bid notice in the Alexandria Gazette for the city portion of the O&ARR: "The work now to be let embraces about fifty thousand yards of graduation, the Sidewalls and Arching of a Tunnel about 360 feet in length with support walls, bridge and culvert masonry...Bids will be received until the 19th instant. Bidders who are unknown to the undersigned must bring testimonials of character." The firm of Malone and Crockett won the bid. Apparently they satisfied the good character requirement. Samuel Crockett was a 45 year old Irish immigrant who lived in a town with his wife and seven children.
Malone and Crockett moved quickly. By April 14, 1851, the Gazette reported that construction on the tunnel was proceeding "with vigor." Then on May 7, the newspaper announced that "the first locomotive was put upon the track of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad yesterday and in the afternoon steam was got up and the locomotive was run over the line from the north end of Union Street to the tunnel on Wilkes Street." Next week we will look at the tunnel, one of our most significant historic structures.
Pamela Cressey is the Alexandria City Archaeologist.
The above is from http://oha.alexandriava.gov/cgi-bin/get_gazette_article.pl?GAZ9542+95
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