"Washington - Richmond Track Line Question." Topic

I have looked at two gaming maps that show a continuous track line between the two that I assume crosses the Potomac River at Alexandria(??). But I thought the south tore up some of that track when the war started to make sure there was not a continuous rail line?
So…..in my game, on the map, should I leave a continuous rail line that cross's the river or should I have a break in the line?? Thoughts??

Federal troops took over Alexandria in May 1861 which was the connection point for rails south. The bridge crossing the Potomac upstream at Arlington was made rail-useable by February 1862. The Union army was very adept at repairing rail lines and bridges, once captured. Confederate forces were not generally able to do so due to lack of material (in all the South, I believe only the Tredegar mill in Richmond was capable of rolling rail and that plant had plenty of other work competing for priority).

Also, remember that the railroad was torn up and damaged multiple times in 1862 starting in April. I am not sure when the Rappahannock River bridge was destroyed in 1862. Not sure if it happened in April, or later in the year before the battle of Fredericksburg.

Here are two interesting sites related to CW railroads.

link

link

Thanks BTC! I'll definitely have to take some time for the info at those links.

Thanks for the input, some of this I have researched, so the question still remains, should I just leave the rail on the map connected??? Sounds like for the most part it was??

It should be broken between the two armies, at least.

gamer1. if something varies over the period, it's not a yes/no question. Sounds as though the rail lines connect whenever the Union forces hold both sides of the river. If your campaign deals in very short time periods, it's probably worth asking how long it took the Union engineers to restore the break.

At the outset of the ACW the closest thing to a through line between Washington and Richmond ran northwest from Richmond to Gordonsville (Virginia Central) and then northeast from Gordonsville to Alexandria (Orange & Alexandria). The rail connections across the Potomac and between the roads in Alexandria were made during the War.

The more direct line from Richmond (Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac) stopped at Aquia Creek just north of Fredericksburg. There goods were transferred to ship to complete the travel to Washington. Maritime connections were also used by the Richmond & York and the City Point line to reach northern destinations. Both of which were used by the U.S. during the war. So of the four railroad supply lines the Army of the Potomac relied upon in Virginia, three did not have connections with northern roads, and relied on maritime connections.

I don't believe the USMRR operated on the O&A south of Culpepper, and on the RF&P south of the north bank of the Rappahannock opposite Fredericksburg. After Johnston abandoned Centreville the Confederate controlled railroads seldom operated north of Orange on the O&A and Fredericksburg on the RF&P.

That isn't to say they couldn't. It's just that the ebb and flow of the war made it inadvisable to operate beyond those points. However if you are setting up a game, where your forces go may not reflect their movements in the original timeline. If it were me I would have continuous lines, but each side would have a rail head beyond which there trains could not go until repair crews did their work.

Thanks Bill, I am leaning towards having a continuous line because I require, in this case Union "troops" to be on Rail lines in southern states to be able to use them and that would represent doing any repair work extra.