Ashland station (Virginia)

Ashland, VA
Ashland Station & Visitor Center
Location 112 North Railroad Avenue
Ashland, Virginia
Coordinates 37°45′35″N 77°28′52″W / 37.7596°N 77.4812°W / 37.7596; -77.4812Coordinates: 37°45′35″N 77°28′52″W / 37.7596°N 77.4812°W / 37.7596; -77.4812
Line(s) RF&P Subdivision
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Other information
Station code ASD
History
Opened 1866
Rebuilt 1890, 1923
Traffic
Passengers (2017) 30,892[1] Increase 10% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
Northeast Regional
toward Boston South

Ashland is an Amtrak intercity train station in Ashland, Virginia, serving the Northeast Regional train. The station is also designated as Ashland's visitor center. The tracks are lined with a cobblestone median in the center of town, making it a popular train-watching site for railfans.

History

The Silver Comet stopping at Ashland on November 28, 1968

The station succeeds a former Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad station built in 1923 as a replacement for the station which was originally built in 1866 and rebuilt in 1890. The station was closed in 1967, but reopened in 1985.[2]

The Ashland station was racially segregated, like many railroad stations in the Southeastern U.S. until the 1960s. A single ticket booth in the center of the building used to serve both the white and black waiting rooms separately. The former black waiting room is now a museum filled with various RF&P railroad artifacts, including blueprints, model railroad trains, a bench that was once on display at the Smithsonian Museum, local newspaper and locally related magazine articles.

References

  1. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2017, Commonwealth of Virginia" (PDF). Amtrak Government Affairs. November 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  2. ↑ Bowes, Mark (June 14, 1985). "Back on Track". Richmond News Leader.

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