Last updated: February 9, 2024
Place
Information Panel: Unfinished Railroad
Photo: NPS / Claire Hassler
Quick Facts
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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
During the 1850s, two local railroads- the Orange & Alexandria and the Manassas Gap- met at Manassas Junction. In order to reach commercial markets near Washington, the Manassas Gap Railroad signed an agreement with its rival to use its tracks from the junction to the port of Alexandria. The annual cost of track rental cut into profits, however, and officials sought an alternate route.
The Manassas Gap decided to lay its own track from Gainesville to Alexandria. Work on the "Independent Line" commenced in 1854 as engineers surveyed the proposed route. Local slaves and Irish immigrants provided much of the labor- felling trees, leveling the roadbed, and quarrying stone for bridge abutments. By the time grading operations neared completion in 1858, the company halted the project for lack of funds. No track was ever laid. The abandoned railbed became a ready-made defensive position for Confederate troops at Second Manassas.
The Manassas Gap decided to lay its own track from Gainesville to Alexandria. Work on the "Independent Line" commenced in 1854 as engineers surveyed the proposed route. Local slaves and Irish immigrants provided much of the labor- felling trees, leveling the roadbed, and quarrying stone for bridge abutments. By the time grading operations neared completion in 1858, the company halted the project for lack of funds. No track was ever laid. The abandoned railbed became a ready-made defensive position for Confederate troops at Second Manassas.