Antebellum Alexandria Waterfront Diorama

Alexandria Bird's Eye View showing activity during the Civil War

I have been working on a model of Pioneer Mills the past few weeks. This is part of a larger diorama I am building for the Alexandria Lyceum. The diorama will depict part of the industrial heritage of Alexandria in 1855 before the civil war.   It focuses on one waterfront block from Duke to Wolfe Street. As such it features Pioneer Mills and Virginia Locomotive and Car Works.

Work in progress showing dormers and cupola
with marine leg

I have blogged about Alexandria in the Civil War several times before such as here and here.  These buildings were still standing during the Civil War, but were used by the US Army for storage and other purposes. This diorama shows the period before the war when the loco factory and mill were in operation as civilian business.

This diorama will be in built in N Scale as a static model. The photo  at the left shows the model of Pioneer Mills as a work in progress. I'll post more photos as the project nears completion.

In the meantime, I am looking for more information about the Virginia Locomotive and Car Works. Other that the Birds Eye image of Alexandria (see above), I have seen no photos of this facility. This website has some historical information.





Here is an image from the SMU archives of one of the locos they built.






[''Goliah'' locomotive, Smith & Perkins, Virginia Locomotive Works]






The 4-4-0 Virginia in my blog's side bar was also built by them.
If you know of any further information about Virginia Locomotive and Car Works that could aid in building the model, please pass it on.