I'm Mike Burke. I'm the Director of the New Orange and Alexandria Railroad. I want to be the first to welcome you aboard as we take a journey back through the history of the Virginia Piedmont . Like one of the earlier directors of this railroad, Silas Burke, I'm also a member of the organized Virginia militia. It is commonly called the "State Guard" but better known as the Virginia Defense Force. I enjoy serving the commonwealth in this capacity as I get to meet some very interesting people!
About me... I got my first real interest in the Civil War when I took a trip from my home in New Hampshire to visit my cousin who lived in Manassas Virginia in 1976.
I was really young, I couldn't quite understand what the fighting was about. As the years went by I actually moved to Manassas. I got my first model train set in 1981. I became interested in trains ever since. Manassas was a railroad town and it was built up from the O &A which eventually became Southern and now Norfolk Southern. I always thought that the trains were neat to watch. I had become a big fan of Southern but quickly learned about Chessie System, Seaboard Coastline, Santa Fe, and Conrail. Then the merger happened that brought Seaboard together with Chessie and created CSX.
In the early 1990's I got involved with the Northern Virginia Model Railroader's Club located at the Old Washington and Old Dominion railroad station in Vienna Virginia. I was appointed as the first Secretary of the Piedmont Railroaders Club of Warrenton Virginia. I stepped out of pursuing any rail interests for 19 years. In the 1990's I got involved in learning about history with the advent of the proposed " Disney's America" theme park that was supposed to go in Haymarket Virginia. I had taken the time to learn Prince William County history very well. I had even revealed a cemetery in which there was a record of but the exact location wasn't determined. I found it and revealed it. I had become re- involved in the Piedmont Railroaders and stayed for a year. I got involved in the Prince William Model Railroaders Club and have been into history ever since. I set up the New O & A to provide as much history as we can about the railroad that built Manassas. So much had been learned over the O & A as it was one of the most hotly contested means of transportation in the Civil War. This site, is here to speak of that journey. We are going to learn about the people, places and events that happened in and around the Virginian Piedmont during the Civil War and then we are going to have some fun with railroading. We are big advocates of "Operation Lifesaver" a railroad safety campaign that was developed in 1972 and is used in many countries throughout the world.
About me... I got my first real interest in the Civil War when I took a trip from my home in New Hampshire to visit my cousin who lived in Manassas Virginia in 1976.
I was really young, I couldn't quite understand what the fighting was about. As the years went by I actually moved to Manassas. I got my first model train set in 1981. I became interested in trains ever since. Manassas was a railroad town and it was built up from the O &A which eventually became Southern and now Norfolk Southern. I always thought that the trains were neat to watch. I had become a big fan of Southern but quickly learned about Chessie System, Seaboard Coastline, Santa Fe, and Conrail. Then the merger happened that brought Seaboard together with Chessie and created CSX.
In the early 1990's I got involved with the Northern Virginia Model Railroader's Club located at the Old Washington and Old Dominion railroad station in Vienna Virginia. I was appointed as the first Secretary of the Piedmont Railroaders Club of Warrenton Virginia. I stepped out of pursuing any rail interests for 19 years. In the 1990's I got involved in learning about history with the advent of the proposed " Disney's America" theme park that was supposed to go in Haymarket Virginia. I had taken the time to learn Prince William County history very well. I had even revealed a cemetery in which there was a record of but the exact location wasn't determined. I found it and revealed it. I had become re- involved in the Piedmont Railroaders and stayed for a year. I got involved in the Prince William Model Railroaders Club and have been into history ever since. I set up the New O & A to provide as much history as we can about the railroad that built Manassas. So much had been learned over the O & A as it was one of the most hotly contested means of transportation in the Civil War. This site, is here to speak of that journey. We are going to learn about the people, places and events that happened in and around the Virginian Piedmont during the Civil War and then we are going to have some fun with railroading. We are big advocates of "Operation Lifesaver" a railroad safety campaign that was developed in 1972 and is used in many countries throughout the world.