If one were to ride Amtrak through the Appalachian region is there a route that is more scenic than another? According to the service map there are routes between:
Atlanta and Washington D.C.
Charleston, WV and Charlottesville, VA
Pittsburgh and D.C.
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
routes thru New York and Connecticut
Which would you recommend? Or are they all good?
Also, what tourist railroads are in the Appalachian region that you know of and can recommend? (doesn’t have to necessarily be accessible by Amtrak)
I can only recommend the one I’ve been on, which is the route of the Cardinal, from Washington, D.C, through Charlottesville, Charleston, and Cincinnati to Chicago. I believe they still traverse the New River Gorge during daylight hours. The scenery is great, the railroad itself is (or was) great, and I think they have National Park Service guides on board to explain it all. Not sure about whether the old PRR route (Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, via Horseshoe Curve) or the old B&O route (Pittsburgh to DC) have daylight runs, but if so, they’d probably also be worth a shot.
Most of these trains are on overnite runs from Chicago to the East. I think Cardinal has the longest route & best chance of daylight run from Ky thru Washington. Another candidate might be to take the Lake Shore Ltd to Boston. Should be some scenic rides east of Albany. Go to the Amtrak site & look at the timetable. I see they still have the section for the defunct Kentucky Cardinal. But that train took 12 hours to get from Chicago to Louisville. On the way back, it had a 4 hour layover in Indianapolis waiting for the regular triweekly Cardinal. No way to run a railroad, I’d say!
Try the Cass Scenic Railroad in Cass WV. This is a restored logging railroad from Cass to Bald Knob. Cass is a restored logging camp and is worth the trip by itself. My wife’s roommate in college was the daughter of thew general superintendant of the WV Pulp and Paper operation in Cass, which ran the company town, saw mill, and railroad. There used to be a rail connection at Cass on the C&O on their abandoned line from Durbin to Lewisburg. This line connected to the Western Marlyand at Durbin. After CSX it was abandoned along with the C&O segment. There is a tourist line from Durbin plus a couple others (same owner) in the same area. Check the Durbin WV web page as all 4 tourist lines are covered there.
By a former West Virginian who got lost in Texas and misses the hills.
http://www.mountainrail.com/ This train ride is an inredible trip up Cheat Mountain to the Great Falls of the Cheat River.I feel sorry for ya wrwatkins,i got lost for a few years myself but im back in Wv for good.
50 and 51, the Cardinal offer the best view of the Appalachians. Both trains traverse the New River Gorge in daylight in the summer. In the winter, eastbound is the way you want to go. You cover the heart of the C&O between Huntington, WV and Gordonsville, VA.
The Pennsylvanian trains (43, 45, 42 and 44 let you traverse Horshoe Curve in daylight hours. The eastbound Three Rivers (40) also gives you this opportunity. This route, of course, covers the old PRR.
29, the westbound Capitol Limited crosses the mountains in the dark. You can see the B&O’s Appalahican trackage eastbound on #30. Don’t forgt the WM Scein RR, either.
Trains 448 and 449 are the Boston section of the Lakeshore Limited. They operate between Albany and Boston. Both cross the Berkshires (namesake of the locomotive) in the daylight. This is an interesting ride which is a lot less frantic than 48 and 49.
19 and 20, the Crescent cover the southern part of the Appalachians. To see this you need to ride between Atlanta and Birmingham. A stretch of tough railroad which gets very little notice.
Regretably, there’s no service to Asheville anymore and there is no service through WV on the N&W. Both of these were interesting rides in the day…
BTW, the New River Train is well worth the trip, but pricy.
If one were to ride Amtrak through the Appalachian region is there a route that is more scenic than another? According to the service map there are routes between:
Atlanta and Washington D.C.
Charleston, WV and Charlottesville, VA
Pittsburgh and D.C.
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
routes thru New York and Connecticut
Which would you recommend? Or are they all good?
Also, what tourist railroads are in the Appalachian region that you know of and can recommend? (doesn’t have to necessarily be accessible by Amtrak)
I can only recommend the one I’ve been on, which is the route of the Cardinal, from Washington, D.C, through Charlottesville, Charleston, and Cincinnati to Chicago. I believe they still traverse the New River Gorge during daylight hours. The scenery is great, the railroad itself is (or was) great, and I think they have National Park Service guides on board to explain it all. Not sure about whether the old PRR route (Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, via Horseshoe Curve) or the old B&O route (Pittsburgh to DC) have daylight runs, but if so, they’d probably also be worth a shot.
Most of these trains are on overnite runs from Chicago to the East. I think Cardinal has the longest route & best chance of daylight run from Ky thru Washington. Another candidate might be to take the Lake Shore Ltd to Boston. Should be some scenic rides east of Albany. Go to the Amtrak site & look at the timetable. I see they still have the section for the defunct Kentucky Cardinal. But that train took 12 hours to get from Chicago to Louisville. On the way back, it had a 4 hour layover in Indianapolis waiting for the regular triweekly Cardinal. No way to run a railroad, I’d say!
Try the Cass Scenic Railroad in Cass WV. This is a restored logging railroad from Cass to Bald Knob. Cass is a restored logging camp and is worth the trip by itself. My wife’s roommate in college was the daughter of thew general superintendant of the WV Pulp and Paper operation in Cass, which ran the company town, saw mill, and railroad. There used to be a rail connection at Cass on the C&O on their abandoned line from Durbin to Lewisburg. This line connected to the Western Marlyand at Durbin. After CSX it was abandoned along with the C&O segment. There is a tourist line from Durbin plus a couple others (same owner) in the same area. Check the Durbin WV web page as all 4 tourist lines are covered there.
By a former West Virginian who got lost in Texas and misses the hills.
http://www.mountainrail.com/ This train ride is an inredible trip up Cheat Mountain to the Great Falls of the Cheat River.I feel sorry for ya wrwatkins,i got lost for a few years myself but im back in Wv for good.
50 and 51, the Cardinal offer the best view of the Appalachians. Both trains traverse the New River Gorge in daylight in the summer. In the winter, eastbound is the way you want to go. You cover the heart of the C&O between Huntington, WV and Gordonsville, VA.
The Pennsylvanian trains (43, 45, 42 and 44 let you traverse Horshoe Curve in daylight hours. The eastbound Three Rivers (40) also gives you this opportunity. This route, of course, covers the old PRR.
29, the westbound Capitol Limited crosses the mountains in the dark. You can see the B&O’s Appalahican trackage eastbound on #30. Don’t forgt the WM Scein RR, either.
Trains 448 and 449 are the Boston section of the Lakeshore Limited. They operate between Albany and Boston. Both cross the Berkshires (namesake of the locomotive) in the daylight. This is an interesting ride which is a lot less frantic than 48 and 49.
19 and 20, the Crescent cover the southern part of the Appalachians. To see this you need to ride between Atlanta and Birmingham. A stretch of tough railroad which gets very little notice.
Regretably, there’s no service to Asheville anymore and there is no service through WV on the N&W. Both of these were interesting rides in the day…
BTW, the New River Train is well worth the trip, but pricy.