Later in the decade, several small football clubs were formed among the employees of different major companies and services, including the public transport services, police and armed regiments, competing at what would later be considered a junior level.
[1] The club was largely based around Richmond, and its home games and scratch matches were played on the Lonsdale Cricket Ground.
[2] Railway's earliest reported match was played at odds against South Melbourne in August 1867, resulting in a 0–2 defeat.
[7] However, its season was most notable for a match it didn't play: in a match arranged for the Challenge Cup against Albert-park on 11 June, Railway declined to play when only fourteen of its players arrived; but rather than cancelling the game, Albert-park controversially claimed a walkover victory – literally taking to the field and scoring two unopposed goals – and counted it towards the four consecutive matches it was required to win to claim permanent ownership of the cup, a position disputed by all of the other clubs.
[8][9] There are no reports of the Hobson's Bay Railway club continuing in senior or junior level football beyond the end of the 1870 season.