Downtown Ashland Association is proud to announce it has received a $25,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to help fund construction of the Mid-Atlantic Railroad Park. The Park will take the form of a walking tour and tell Ashland’s railroad story in nine exhibits. Railroad Park is a placemaking initiative to drive tourism and economic activity in downtown Ashland.

The grant brings current funds raised to $185,000—fulfilling the construction budget! Fundraising continues to meet the cost of signage on Interstate 95, which will make Railroad Park a highly visible attraction. A total of $220,000 is needed. Downtown Ashland Association asks residents and businesses who wish to support the project to visit ashlandvirginia.com/railroad for more info.

Exhibits are under construction now, and engineering has begun for site plans. Construction will begin next year in hope to open exhibits by Ashland Train Day on April 29, 2023.

Downtown Ashland, with its quaint and quirky charms, already draws visitors to stroll by the shops and restaurants along the railroad tracks and to cross over between the train station and Randolph-Macon College. Railroad Park will enhance that experience by telling the community’s story alongside the exciting evolution of American railroads. Exhibits will include the 1923 train station, a restored 1926 red caboose, the 200-foot steam train mural, major railroad inventions, and the 45 freight and passenger trains traveling the rails through the heart of downtown daily.

Railroad Park is a joint project of Downtown Ashland Association, Ashland Museum, Hanover County Black Heritage Society, and the Town of Ashland. More than one hundred individuals and businesses have donated toward Railroad Park’s construction. Doswell Limited Partnership is its largest supporter, followed closely by the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation. CSX and The Port of Virginia provided support as well.

Learn more and add your support at ashlandvirginia.com/railroad.