Railroad Rails

Comparison of the two different rails. The 1850s style is at left, as described in the marker, while the post-1867 rail is at right. The obvious difference to the naked eye is in the web - the thin piece between the head/top of the rail and the foot/bottom of the rail. When the C&O took over the Virginia Central, they replaced the original rails due to load concerns - the original rails, as seen at left, were of lighter manufacture and not as strong as the rolled steel tracks the C&O preferred. The tapered head on the replacement rail at right was a structurally stronger transition of load towards the rail's foot, and therefore the rail tie, than the thin head on the original.

The small shed is the antebellum polling station and post office for the hamlet of Trevilians. The house beyond, built ca. 1843, is the house of Charles Goodall Trevilian, whose family gave its name to the station and village. Gen. George Custer spent the night of 11 June 1864 on the porch of this house (though the porch has been remodeled from its antebellum appearance to include only one bay instead of three - originally it was the width of the house before the installation of the bay windows). It is open for tours on occasion - refer to the Trevilian Station Battlefield Foundation's website and Facebook page for times.

The modern tracks, for comparison to the 19th century examples at the C.G. Trevilian House, are just north.

This passenger station and freight depot was constructed by the C&O Railroad some time in the later 19th century, certainly after the Civil War. It replaced a station that was north of the tracks. The company also purchased a house for use by the stationmaster, though this appears to have been a house across the tracks from the Trevilian House rather than the Trevilian House itself. Virginia Central Railroad seems to have placed the station closer to the Fredericksburg Road for proximity to the Netherland Tavern. Both the original station, and its 1864 replacement, were burned during the Civil War.

Stones adjacent to the railroad rails display also have relevant history. Though described by TSBF guides as being from the foundation of the Trevilian House, the house's brick foundation appears to be very much intact - to include an original brick pillar pattern that was later augmented by filling in the areas between. However, the railroad station that C&O constructed after the Civil War on the north side of the tracks had a stone foundation, some of which remains in the woods to the northeast; since most of the station's stone foundation has disappeared over the past 70 years since it was last clearly visible in aerial photographs, there's a strong possibility these are from that structure rather than the Trevilian House.