The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, in cooperation with author Herbert H. Harwood, Jr., presents a new and expanded edition of a popular railroad history classic, Rails to the Blue Ridge: The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad.

This book, first published in 1963 and republished in 1970, has been out of print for several decades and, in recent years, has proven very difficult to obtain. For the 2000 edition, Mr. Harwood has provided new chapters, corrected (where necessary) and rewritten previous chapters, and he has included three times as many photographs as were to be found in the previous edition. These historic images are drawn from his own collection, from those of other collectors both private and public, and from the archives of NVRPA.

The new edition is a paperback book whose dimensions are 8 1/2 x 11 inches. It contains 150 pages, and on its cover is a color photograph, taken in 1951, of the Purcellville train station. Price: $19.95.

Excerpt from a review of the book in the January 2001 issue of TRAINS magazine Harwood, a gifted writer, makes the most of the Old Dominion's extremely colorful history, but Rails to the Blue Ridge is much more than anecdotes and photos-it is a complete and well-researched history, and it is encouraging to see this valuable resource back in print.

table of contents of Rails to the Blue Ridge

INTRODUCTION

1 ALEXANDRIA STRUGGLES WEST 1847-1865

2 DREAMS AND DOLDRUMS 1865-1911

3 THE GREAT FALLS TROLLEY 1905-1911

4 TRANSFORMATION 1911-1912

5 THE TURBULENT TEENS 1913-1919

6 THE NOT-SO-ROARING TWENTIES 1920-1929

7 STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 1930-1940

8 DIESELS AND PROFITS 1941-1956

9 FINALE 1956-1968

10 EPILOGUE: THE AFTERLIFE 1969-

APPENDICES:

Chronology

Equipment Rosters

Station Lists

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND REFERENCES

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