CSX has today continued its heritage program with the release of CSXT 1836, an ES44AH honoring the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad.
The RF&P was largely a bridge road, serving as a connection between the North and South with connections to fellow CSX predecessors Chesapeake and Ohio and Atlantic Coast Line in Richmond, Virginia as well as connections to the Baltimore and Ohio, Southern Railway, and the Pennsylvania Railroad in Washington DC, reaching the nation’s capital by trackage’s rights from Alexandria, Virginia.
As part of this operation, a unique approach to locomotives was found on the RF&P in the early diesel era. Even numberer locomotives led northbound trains and odd numbered locomotives led southbound trains. It also wasn’t an uncommon sight to see switcher locomotives as road power, with SW1200s being geared for 60+mph speed on the main line.
The RF&P was owned by the railroads it connected with and with so many of them eventually becoming part of CSX, CSX eventually snatched up the RF&P as well in 1991. The old road is now a vital part of CSX’s system as the RF&P Subdivision and continues to host many passenger and freight trains.