The story of the Richmond-Ashland Railway began on April 15th, 1919, when the Commonwealth of Virginia approved a charter for a standard gauge, electric interurban railroad to operate between Ashland and Richmond, Virginia; a distance of 14.8 miles. Local businessmen Jonathan Bryan and Oliver J. Sands had purchased the assets of the liquidated Richmond & Chesapeake Bay Railway in 1919 and were appointed president and treasurer respectively of the Richmond-Ashland upon creation. They wished to restore the convenient services once provided by the Richmond & Chesapeake Bay Railway but in a more efficient and cost effective way.

The Richmond & Chesapeake Bay Railway, a business venture of acclaimed businessman Frank Jay Gould, was once predicted to connect Washington D.C. with Richmond, Virginia, but never expanded past the town of Ashland, Virginia. The railway however had many of the amenities found on many of the most prestigious steam roads of the era including a Victorian terminal in Richmond and Pullman style electric cars. The rolling stock was powered by 6600 volts of electricity, a very large amount for such a small road. The cars were so luxurious and powerful that they were actually powered by pantographs, not the trolley poles that were so frequently used on other interurban roads. As Gould wanted to reach directly into downtown Richmond, the contractors assigned with the construction of the road designed a half mile long concrete viaduct that would connect to the second floor of the Richmond terminal and head north to just south of Brook Road. On October 21st, 1907, the railway was completed and the first run was scheduled to run on October 27th, 1907. Amazingly for its time, the cars were certified to operate up to 90 MPH on the route; this included on the Richmond viaduct. Unfortunately, the fact that the railroad never expanded father north and that personal automobiles were starting to catch on with the public, the railway was doomed from the start. The last of the Pullman cars ran on December 20th, 1917, and the line was put up for sale.

This is where Sands and Bryan come into the picture. As Gould was contemplating selling the company for scrap as the World War 1 scrap drive was in full throttle, the two businessman made an offer to Gould for the purchase of the franchise with the intent of operation and Gould, proud of his railway, took the $135,000.00 offered by the pair. This led to the creation of a new railway, the Richmond-Ashland which was chartered in the Commonwealth of Virginia on April 15th, 1919. Immediately, the new company scrapped the idea of expanding further north as well as maintaining the 6600 volts for operation. This led to the company switching to cheaper 600 volt DC current electricity to run smaller cars which also meant the Pullman style cars had to go. A number of the new cars were purchased second hand from various other Virginia interurbans including the Petersburg, Hopewell, & City Point Railway and the Washington-Virginia Railway. These cars would operate until the very end of service in 1938.

The railway trundled on through the 1920's and 30's surviving multiple devastating derailments and collisions including one on July 16th, 1922, that injured six people. However, finances were continuously decreasing and the multiple crashes had consumed much of the monetary reserves that the railway had. Expenses continued to overtake revenues until finally, on March 22nd, 1938, the last Richmond-Ashland Railway trolley left the Richmond Terminal. Interestingly, much of the copper wires and rails were sold to the Japanese during the liquidation auction and many theorize some of that same iron was returned to us via bullets and explosives. I think most everyone would have preferred to keep the railway in that case!

1918 J. G. Brill car #316 is caught on the north end of the Richmond Viaduct in Richmond, Virginia, sometime in the 1930's. Based on the direction of the trolley pole, the car is heading away from the photographer towards the destination of the Richmond Terminal at 814 W Broad Street. The railway's main trolley barn and storage facility are located directly behind the photographer with the car barn surviving to this day. Also, note the circular structure on the right. This is a very primitive oil refinery and was once common in most cities during the 1930's and 1940's. Those with keen eyes may also notice the railroad tracks beneath the viaduct. These are of the Seaboard Air Line Railway and connected the Seaboard's mainline with the Richmond, Fredericksburg, & Potomac Railroad's Acca Yard located about half a mile behind the photographer.

1918 J. G. Brill car #316 is seen along the line north of Richmond, Virginia, on October 31st, 1937. Unfortunately, the lack of details in the image limits trying to find exactly where this photo was taken but if I were to guess I would say this was taken just south of Ashland, Virginia, where the Richmond-Ashland mainline parallels the Richmond, Fredericksburg, & Potomac Railroad. If this theory is true, that would make this car preparing to continue north as the trolley pole position indicates the car will soon head towards the photographer. The Richmond-Ashland did have a small interchange yard just south of Ashland which could be where that hopper car is sitting. The lack of buildings also supports the hypothesis that this is not Richmond.

1917 Jewett car #112 is caught awaiting passengers at the Richmond Terminal at 814 W Broad Street on October 31st, 1937. Like many of the cars on the roster, #112 was purchased second hand after the voltage was decreased from 6,600 Volts to 600 Volts and was originally owned by the neighboring Petersburg, Hopewell, & City Point Railway. Interestingly, #112 was one of the first cars produced by Jewett and was part of the 4th ever order received by the trolley manufacturing company. #112 was also one of the final cars utilized by the Richmond-Ashland and may have actually pulled the final train.

1917 Jewett car #112 is seen in motion heading southbound along Brook Road just north of Richmond, Virginia, in 1937. For about three miles north of the Richmond Viaduct, the Richmond-Ashland's mainline paralleled Brook Road until reaching the outer limits of Richmond. Once out of the city, the railway followed its own private right of way the rest of the way to Ashland. During the timeframe of this photograph, North Richmond was one of the nicer areas of the city and the trimmed hedges and extravagant houses demonstrate this areas wealth.

Southbound 1917 Jewett car #112 meets northbound sister #110 at a passing siding off of Brook Road in the northern region of Richmond, Virginia, sometime during the 1930s. Note the passenger waiting station further down the tracks and the well spaced, ornate houses. The only remaining object featured in this photograph is presumably Brook Road.

1917 Jewett car #112 is caught awaiting passengers at the Cedar Lane Highway stop south of Ashland, Virginia, sometime in the mid 1930's. Adjacent to the passenger waiting shack is a small substation which helped distribute power on this portion of the line. Today, nothing here is left except for the powerlines that once held up the catenary wire. The car departed Ashland not too long ago heading south to the Richmond Terminal which still stands as of 2021.

The year is 1934 and 1918 Brill car #316 rests with 1917 Jewett car #112 between assignments in the Richmond-Ashland Railway car barn just north of the Richmond Viaduct. Both cars are long scrapped but the car barn lives on as a nicely refurbished business that reportedly still has the rails embedded in the concrete floor. Note the maintenance of way car sporting a very primitive link and pin coupler system. This car was probably hauled throughout the system by work car #96 which operated out of the car barn until the end of service in 1938.