O&A RR Letterbox
Placed 17 February 2002 by PKPaul
Accotink Park, Fairfax County
Annandale, VA


Park has a lake and lots of people fishing. This looks like a popular spot
for the mountain bikers and hikers as well. I also noticed the birds are
loud and leave generous droppings, so watch out.

The access road to the park is on the old railroad bed (called right-of-way
or ROW for short) for the Orange & Alexandria Railroad (now Norfolk Southern
RR). Today the railroad runs on the tall trestle bridge next to the dam. I
saw an westbound Amtrak train cross it at 11:21 AM Sunday.

Start on the trail in front of the dam and head west.
The trail goes around the lake so this will be "clockwise". You will pass
counter-clockwise milepost (MP) 3.5. At clockwise MP.5, bear right at
intersection with Carrleigh Parkway Entrance Trail. Proceed past a single
section split rail fence on the right. When you come to a five section
split rail fence, take the next trail on the left (approx 130 degrees) for
about 25 steps. This should put you on a small ridge relative to the trail
you turned from. Straight ahead you can see present NS RR tracks (in
winter). From there look at about 280 degrees for a level path along the
top of the ridge and proceed. You are on the old O&A Railroad right-of-way
(ROW) called a "fill" in RR terms. It is constructed with earth removed
from "cuts". Cuts are man-made valleys dug through natural ridges to allow
a level path for the railroad. As you proceed on this fill, you can look
ahead to see the approaching cut. At the end of the fill, go down the very
steep bank on the right (or back-track) to the main trail. Continue through
the cut. You should pass a three section split rail fence and
counter-clockwise MP 3. After the cut look for a dip in the otherwise level
ROW. From the dip head 240 degrees for 80 steps, (again you can see the
active railroad in winter) looking for the first noticeable valley on the
left. Proceed up the valley past a tree with moss on its trunk. Look past
the fallen tree and see an old lawn mower looking thingy. Go back to the
moss tree and then head 295-300 degrees for 13 steps. Look in the hollow
tree trunk, covered with leaves, bark and twigs.