LOUISA, Va. — The Washington, D.C., Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society has announced a rare-milage excursion over 50 miles of the Buckingham Branch Railway — former Chesapeake & Ohio territory — on Sunday, April 26, 2026, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Doswell Special will begin in Louisa and travel the railroad between Doswell and Gordonsville, Va.
This line last saw regular passenger service with Amtrak’s James Whitcomb Riley, Newport News Section, which was discontinued on June 14, 1976. After that, a few Chessie Steam Special excursion trains operated on the line in the 1970s.
This excursion will begin in Louisa and travel east to Doswell. The train will reverse direction and travel west past Louisa to Gordonsville. The trip concludes with the return to Louisa. Weather permitting, there will be at least one, if not more, photo runbys during the trip.
Louisa is where the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway began as the Louisa Railroad. Chartered in 1836, the railroad began operations in 1850. In the 1870s, Collis P. Huntington gathered a number of smaller railroads across Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia to form the C&O. Now operated by the Buckingham Branch Railroad, this trip will travel through original C&O territories of Louisa and Hanover Counties. Doswell, the eastern end of the trip, holds the RF&P (now CSX) Railroad junction and was a Civil War battle site.
Lunch will be served and is included in the ticket price.
For more information on this excursion, visit the website of the Washington, D.C. chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.
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