Mountain Highlands Rail Extravaganza
By West Virginia Mountain Highlands
08/11/2008
See all the sights of West Virginia by rail. From Mountain stops, various shops and even an observatory your bound to get angle of West Virginia unknown to most.
Contact Information:
t: view phone 877-982-6867
e: view email info@mountainhighlands.com
w: view URL http://www.TrailstoRails.com
- West Virginia's Mountain Destination
- Ride two, three, four or more Heritage Trains –Seneca Rocks is a sight to see!
- Century-old Shops and Inns
- Logging History and Historic Towns
- Catch the Wave to See the Stars
Tour Dates:
Number of Days: 4
DAY 1:
Begin in the quaint town of Romney, which changed hands 56 times
during the Civil War. The Indian Mound Cemetery is the first
Confederate Memorial dedicated by local citizens in the United States.
Stroll the nearby Fort Mill Ridge Civil War encampment for more Civil
War history. Romney is home to the Potomac Eagle Excursion Train.
Enjoy a three-hour narrated excursion past historic farms and into “The
Trough,” a spectacular narrow mountain valley cut by the Potomac
River and home to the American bald eagle. This train includes passenger
cars, a dining and snack bar area, and open-air cars. End the day
with Mountain entertainment at the Bottling Works, an original
CocaCola bottling plant. Lodge and dine at the new South Branch Inn.
DAY 2:
A drive south takes you into the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks
National Recreation Area. The world-famous sandstone face of
Seneca Rocks juts 1,000 feet skyward. Make two stops here: One at
the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center to learn about the area and its
forest; and another at Harper’s Old Country Store, one of the longest
continually run businesses in West Virginia. Opened in 1902, it offers a
unique shopping experience. Then it’s on to Elkins, home to the
Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad. Settle in at the Days Inn and Suites
before a great dinner at the Elkins Motor Lodge and an evening at the
American Mountain Theater, a new two-hour country, gospel, and
variety show. The 500-seat theater is home to some of the best-staged
entertainment in the region.
DAY 3:
Board the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad’s New Tygart Flyer in
the morning for breakfast and a four-hour excursion into the West
Virginia Highlands that includes two mountain grades, an “S” curve
tunnel, and a crossing over the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River.
Destination: High Falls of Cheat. The New Tygart Flyer is a climatecontrolled
passenger train with many options from which to choose.
After debarking, then it’s a sightseeing trip through nearby historic
Beverly, the original county seat and a village steeped in Civil War history.
Then, dinner at Graceland, a Victorian mansion built in 1893
overlooking the town of Elkins. Renovated to its original elegance in
the mid-1990s, Graceland is an integral part of the tourism and hospitality
program at Davis & Elkins College and has been designated a
National Historic Landmark.
DAY 4:
If a longer trip is on the agenda, a journey through our southern-most
county, Pocahontas, brings you to the Cass Scenic Railroad State
Park. The Cass train is an authentic remnant of the turn-of-the-century
logging trains. This early 1900s Shay-and-Heisler-type steam locomotive
takes passengers to the summit of Bald Knob, the second highest
peak in the state. Trips vary from 1.5 hours to 4.5 hours. While in Cass,
explore the Cass Country Store and relive the days of the old logging
towns. Near Cass, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory offers
tours of the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, the largest fully
steerable telescope on earth.
