Manassas, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Site of Manassas Junction

Photographed By Tom Fuchs, June 10, 2006

1. Site of Manassas Junction Marker

Inscription. One mile west was the junction of the Orange and Alexandria and Manassas Gap Railroad lines. The point became known as Manassas Junction. During the Civil War both sides used the area as a supply base. The site of the first depot was probably about one half mile to the east. The present structure was erected by the Southern Railroad in 1914, and is the third building on this site. For many years this depot was an important passenger and freight stop in commerce between markets of the north, south, and Shenandoah Valley.

Erected by City of Manassas.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Railroads & Streetcars • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Manassas Gap Railroad series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1914.

Location. 38° 45.011′ N, 77° 28.353′ W. Marker is in Manassas, Virginia. Marker is on Battle Street south of Center Street, on the right when traveling south. Marker is trackside on the east end of the station platform. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Manassas VA 20110, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 5 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Jackson's Raid (within shouting distance of this marker); A Railroad Town (within shouting distance of this marker); Wartime Manassas (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Wartime Manassas (within shouting distance of this marker); The Town Is Born

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(within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Manassas.

Regarding Site of Manassas Junction. Station currently serves Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express passenger trains. The tracks through Manassas are owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railroad.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. First Manassas Markers around Mansasas (town)

Additional commentary.
1. This Is Still a Busy Passenger Station
In addition to numerous Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter trains, this station still serves the Amtrak versions of two famous long distance trains, Southern's Crescent, and C&O's George Washington (which Amtrak now calls The Cardinal). In its heyday, twelve name trains ran past this station.

The Crescent was Southern Railway's luxury daily train between New York and New Orleans via Washington and Atlanta, with through cars to and from Los Angeles. It ran with nine private-room Pullman cars every day (as well as a dining car and lounge cars) in the late 1950's even as rail travel declined nationwide. Pennsylvania Railroad electric locomotives hauled the train between New York and Washington. Southern's locomotives handled it the rest of the way. Southern's southbound Crescent left New York at 2 in the afternoon and stopped in Manassas a few minutes after

Marker Between Kiosk and Station image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Tom Fuchs, June 10, 2006

2. Marker Between Kiosk and Station

7 PM. It arrived in New Orleans by 7 PM the next day. The northbound train left New Orleans at 11 PM and passed Manassas at 3 in the morning 28 hours later. It arrived in New York at 9 AM.

Amtrak's southbound Crescent keeps to Southern's 20th Century timetable, stopping at Manassas at about the same time, 7:22 PM. The northbound train is timed differently these days. It leaves New Orleans at 7:20 AM, stops in Manassas at 8:46 AM the next day, and arrives in New York at 2:02 PM. Then and now, in order to keep to a daily schedule on the 1377 mile run, four trains are en route at any given time, two in each direction.

Other daily Southern Railroad trains that passed through Manassas were the Washington-Atlanta-New Orleans Express, The Birmingham Special, The Augusta and Asheville Specials, The Southener (to New Orleans), The Peach Queen (to Atlanta), and The Piedmont Limited (to New Orleans). The Pelican (to New Orleans via Roanoke) and The Tennessean (to Memphis) were operated jointly with the Norfolk and Western (N&W) Railway.

Amtrak's Cardinal runs between Chicago and New York via Cincinnati and Washington. The Cardinal is the successor to Chesapeake and Ohio's George Washington that ran between Cincinnati and Washington. It used the tracks through Manassas but did not stop here. To ride it to and from Manassas you would have had to take a local east to Alexandria or west to Charlottesville to catch it there. The daily westbound George Washington left Washington at 5:45 PM, rolled through Manassas about 50 minutes later and arrived in Cincinnati

Manassas Amtrak and VRE Station image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 10, 2006

3. Manassas Amtrak and VRE Station

A tourist Visitor's Center and a small museum is in the station. There is plenty of parking at the station and elsewhere in town.

at 7:20 AM. Eastbound it left Cincinnati at 6:15 PM, rolled through Manassas at around 7 AM, and arrived Washington at 7:55 AM. The three times a week westbound Cardinal stops in Manassas at 12:02 PM and the eastbound stops at 4:35 PM.

The Chesapeake and Ohio ran two other named trains to Washington and New York on this line, The Sportsman (Washington to Detroit) and The F.F.V. (Fast Flying Virginian). The F.F.V between Washington and Huntington West Virginia stopped here at 11:50 PM westbound and 1:56 PM eastbound. It was a popular train to the mountain resorts at Hot Springs and at White Sulphur Springs and carried daily through Pullman cars from New York that it dropped off and picked up at those resorts. You could board those cars here at Manassas.

— Submitted November 18, 2006, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.

Manassas Junction Station image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Craig Swain, September 2, 2007

4. Manassas Junction Station

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on November 18, 2006, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland. This page has been viewed 3,824 times since then and 71 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 18, 2006, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland. 3. submitted on November 18, 2006, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 4. submitted on September 2, 2007, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.