Ashland station (Virginia)
Ashland, VA | |||||||||||
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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°WCoordinates: 37°45′35″N 77°28′52″W / 37.7596°N 77.4812°W | ||||||||||
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] ![]() | ||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||
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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
![](../I/m/RF%26P_1008_with_Train_34%2C_The_Silver_Coment%2C_stopping_at_Ashland%2C_VA_on_November_28%2C_1968_(25463661215).jpg)
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
- ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2017, Commonwealth of Virginia" (PDF). Amtrak Government Affairs. November 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ↑ Bowes, Mark (June 14, 1985). "Back on Track". Richmond News Leader.