Home built line car #53 rests on the Nauck Line track at Rosslyn, Virginia, on June 13th, 1935, while a Washington & Old Dominion Railway car waits on the Rosslyn Loop to either pick up passengers or drop them off. The Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway owned three different line cars throughout its corporate existence numbered #16, #53, and #209. All three cars were home built at the Four Mile Run Shops of the Washington-Virginia Railway; an Arlington & Fairfax predecessor. Notice that this car is still lettered for the Mount Vernon, Alexandria, & Washington Railway. It probably remained in this livery until being retired and scrapped in 1937 as the exterior image of the trolley cars, especially the maintenance of way cars, was a very low priority. It's interesting to note that seeing a Washington & Old Dominion Railway electric car on Capitol Transit's Rosslyn Loop is quite a surprising sight, as the Washington & Old Dominion had a vary large station constructed in the western part of Rosslyn known as Rosslyn Terminal. Why a Washington & Old Dominion car would venture onto Capitol Transit tracks is unknown to me.

Line car #53 is seen later in it's life sitting unused in the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway's Lacey Yard near Ballston, Virginia. Another photograph without a date, I would say this photograph was taken between 1933 and 1937. At this time in the 1930's, Lacey Yard had begun to show its age as it had been storing trolley cars since the early 1900's! Even so, as the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway's only major maintenance and storage facility, Lacey Yard played an important role in maintaining the functionality of the railway including fixing damaged cars, storing excess pieces of equipment, and presumably housing the railway's offices and headquarters. In fact, Lacey Yard continued to be used by the successor to the Arlington & Fairfax, known as the Arlington & Fairfax Auto Railroad, until the aforementioned railroad's abandonment in 1939. Today, nothing is left of Lacey Yard as the land once utilized by this impressive shop complex now houses a university building and a small parking lot.

Slate Belt car #83 prepares to begin its journey towards Fairfax at the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway's Rosslyn Terminal on March 9th, 1934, as a Capitol Transit car sits on the trolley company's Rosslyn Loop. Due to Capitol Transit's stranglehold on trolley operations into Georgetown at this time, passengers riding on the Arlington & Fairfax wishing to get into Georgetown were forced to get off their car at Rosslyn and transfer to the Capitol Transit car for access into the District. However, this wasn't always the reality for commuters, as the original bridge in use during the birth of the trolley era in Northern Virginia, known as the Aqueduct Bridge, was operated on by another trolley railway known as the Great Falls, & Old Dominion Railway. This company worked in conjunction with the other trolley companies at the time, the Washington, Alexandria, & Falls Church Railway, and the Washington, Arlington, & Falls Church Railway, to transport commuters across the bridge and into Georgetown. The Washington, Arlington, & Falls Church Railway was a direct predecessor of the Arlington & Fairfax. With the closure of the Aqueduct Bridge in 1923, this arrangement ended and a replacement bridge, named the Francis Scott Bridge, was opened. As the new bridge was constructed in the District of Columbia, the Capitol Transit Company purchased the sole rights to use this new bridge for trolley service. This caused the arrangement displayed in this image and utilized until the end of the Arlington & Fairfax in 1937. Take note of all the snow on the ground; must have been a cold March!

Slate Belt car #83 sits empty after allowing passengers to disembark at the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway's Rosslyn, Virginia, Terminal in February of 1935. The reason this car and sister #82 were referred to as the "Slate Belt" cars was because both cars were originally intended to be delivered to the Slate Belt Electric Street Railway of Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania. What actually happened was that the Slate Belt was low on cash and simply couldn't make the payments totally voiding the order. This caused the J. G. Brill Company, which manufactured the two cars, to relist them for sale in the hopes of another company purchasing them. The Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway's immediate predecessor, the Washington-Virginia Railway, ended up being the first company interested in purchasing the cars and did so in February of 1918. Both cars served the railway faithfully and were ultimately included in the Falls Church Division parcel which became the Arlington & Fairfax in 1927. Both cars suffered the same indignant fate when the railway switched to only auto railers in 1937. Both car's bodies ended up as the foundation for a new restaurant in Northwest Washington D.C. where they remained as late as 1959! The duo may possibly have been the very last Arlington & Fairfax cars in existence when they were ultimately removed at some unknown date in the 1960's.

Slate Belt car #83 is caught at the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway's Rosslyn, Virginia, Terminal preparing to leave for Falls Church, Vienna, and ultimately, Fairfax Court House sometime between 1927 and 1936. It's interesting to note the use of sun blocking curtains inside the car. It almost makes this image appear as if it could have occurred in the modern day. Also, a close observance of this photograph yields the fact that the little compartment located to the left of the entrance to the car spells out "Washington Post". Another detail that could have definitely not been out of place in the modern day even with the death of the physical newspaper. Unfortunately, I was unable to make out what the text on the sign to the right of this photograph says, so if anybody can make that out, please contact me on the contact page.

McGuire-Cummings car #120 sits stored at the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway's Lacey Yard along with car #214 on September 16th, 1933. Notice how #120 still retains it's Washington-Virginia Railway reporting marks; it may have worn these markings up until the day it was scrapped later that same year. A note on the reverse side of this piece states that the car was painted in a shade of dark green reminiscent of it's days working on the Washington-Virginia Railway. Even though this car was scrapped along with the entirety of the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway's streetcar roster, it is relieving to know that a sister of #120 survives today. This survivor is Chicago & West Towns Railway #141 and is operational at the Illinois Railway Museum of Union, Illinois. It's also interesting to note that #120 was purchased as a non powered trailer but was motorized by the Washington-Virginia Railway sometime in the 1920's. Referring to car #214 also included in this shot, this car was used mainly on the Nauck Line between Rosslyn and Green Valley and was one of the last cars on the railway's roster before finally being scrapped in 1937. Most historians also credit #214 as being the final Jackson & Sharp Company streetcar used on the Arlington & Fairfax.

Line car #209 prepares to depart Rosslyn Terminal and head south on the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway's Nauck Line on September 14th, 1933. This view is looking southeast and shows the rarely photographed North Lynn Street which the railway paralleled until reaching Fort Myer Junction just beyond Rosslyn. Not only did the three line cars, numbered #16, #53, and #209, serve as maintenance of way cars, they also performed freight duties on the line. This is confirmed as the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway operated a freight station at the end of the Fairfax Line in Fairfax City. This station was served by a small spur which diverged from the mainline and followed the current route of railroad Avenue and surprisingly, operated well into the 1930's. However, unlike the Washington & Old Dominion Railway which had a large freight business, the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway focused almost entirely on passenger business and made no effort to increase freight business. If, as proven by the Washington & Old Dominion Railway, the Arlington & Fairfax had begun focusing on freight operations more, the railway could have presumably survived much longer.

1905 Jackson & Sharp car #210 sits, derelict, in the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway's Lacey Yard sometime between 1930 and 1937. #210 was existing on borrowed time at this point as it had been retired from the roster prior to the capturing of this image. Note the lack of windows, chipping paint, and junked interior; these confirm the sad state of the car on the day of this photograph. Knowing the state of the railroad at the time of this photo, It can be safe to assume that #210 would unfortunately never run again.

1905 Jackson & Sharp car #214 prepares to depart Rosslyn Terminal with only a few passengers on board. At the time of this photograph taken sometime between 1934 and 1937, the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway's Nauck Line was mainly served by the railway's 200 series of cars including #214. As expected, this image displays #214 on the Nauck Line preparing to head south to Green Valley; the terminus of the Nauck Line at this point in time. Unfortunately, the lack of customers on the Nauck Line, as well as the entire system, was not a rarity as the railway had to compete with automobiles. Any historian who has an inkling of knowledge on streetcars knows exactly who wins the battle.

1908 Stephenson car #221 is seen stored at the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway's Lacey Yard facility sometime between 1935 and 1937. Old #221 was one of the only cars that still had an aesthetically pleasing look as it had been repainted sometime during the early 1930's by the railway's car maintenance employees. Many cars remained in the paint schemes of either the Arlington & Fairfax's predecessor railroad, the Washington-Virginia Railway, or other previous owners such as the Mount Vernon, Alexandria, & Washington Railway. As part of the 200 series of cars, #221 spent most of it's life on the A&F making the four mile trek to Green Valley and back before being scrapped with the final surviving electric trolley equipment in 1937.

1910 Brill car #226 prepares to depart Rosslyn Terminal for Green Valley on the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway's Nauck Line on March 9th, 1934. Another one of the 200 series cars, old #226 was one of the last cars utilized on the Nauck Line before it was totally converted for auto-railer use only in 1937. This image is facing northeast and showcases a building towards the right hand side which could have possibly been a part of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Rosslyn Connecting Railroad. This railroad was a wholly owned subsidiary of the PRR and operated between a junction south of Long Bridge to an industrial park in Rosslyn. As one can observe from the image, the right of way of the Arlington & Fairfax was built on a fill that caused the Rosslyn Connecting Railroad's facilities being unable to connect with either the A&F or the neighboring Washington & Old Dominion Railway.

1918 Brill car #300 is seen stored at the Arlington & Fairfax Electric Railway's Lacey Yard sometime between 1933 and 1937. This car was one of four purchased from junk dealer J. B. Simpson who in turn, had purchased the group during the liquidation sale of the Mount Vernon, Alexandria, & Washington Railway in 1932. #300, along with sisters #307, #311, and another, all arrived on the property of the Arlington & Fairfax at Rosslyn in 1933. All four cars would remain on the roster pulling passengers on the Fairfax Line until the end of electric service in 1937.

In a classic scene from Lacey Yard, Brill cars #300 and #318 are seen stored alongside Stephenson car #221 near the end of electric service in 1936. #300 is the car farthest to the right and closest to the camera. All three of these cars would remain in service until the official end of electric trolley operations in 1937. Notice how despite this photograph being in black and white, it appears that #300 and #318 are in two different paint schemes. This is because #300 was formerly owned by the neighboring Mount Vernon, Alexandria, & Washington Railway and at the time of #300's purchase in 1933, the Arlington & Fairfax was so low on funds that they simply couldn't repaint the car into the company's paint scheme. So it remained in the livery of the Mount Vernon, Alexandria, & Washington until it was scrapped in 1937.

1918 Brill car #317 is caught performing the sacred art of changing the poles at Rosslyn Terminal on March 9th, 1934. Note the Fairfax sign, this means that after the car departs, it's final destination will be Fairfax Court House where, after all passengers depart, it will begin it's trip back north to Lacey where it will end the day. Something peculiar arose while I was researching the history of this specific car. Apparently, after it's tenure on the Arlington & Fairfax, the car ended up on the Richmond-Ashland Railway; an interurban that connected Richmond, Virginia, to Ashland, Virginia. The strange thing about this revelation is that the Richmond-Ashland Railway was abandoned in 1938, just a year after the last trolley ran on the Arlington & Fairfax! This photo was taken in 1934 while I have seen a photo of #317 on the Richmond-Ashland Railway in 1936. Strange indeed.