Whether it’s aboard the Alleghany Special or the Blue Ridge Flyer, a Virginia Scenic Railway ride can transform your day, regally.
Photo Above: Alleghany Special approaches from the west beneath an iron truss bridge built in 1905.
Photos Courtesy of Kate Simon.
Here’s the thing: A ride on a train—especially in a fully staffed, historically reminiscent dining car that’s swerving through beautiful countryside—can kind of change your life for a day. Or two, if you are lucky. I am lucky. My first ride is on the westbound Alleghany Special. For the second, I am escorted aboard the eastbound Blue Ridge Flyer. Both are on the Virginia Scenic Railway, hosted by the Buckingham Branch, and originate in the Queen City—Staunton, Virginia.
Of course a train ride that starts in the Queen City begins with a red carpet. Then, I learn that the train whistle singing out two longs, a short, and a long stands for the letter “Q” and was once used to signal that the Queen of England was aboard. So, I accept my duties and wave royally at the people waiting for the train to pass. I am Queen for a Day!
The waitstaff takes my drink order and, before the train has left the city limits, there is a glass of iced tea in front of me on the polished wooden table. And things just continue to improve from there. On my trip west I am served a sandwich piled high with sublimely smoked chicken—almost too big to hold, let alone bite. Sides are crunchy greens and a creamy red potato salad. As soon as the last china plate is cleared away, cheesecake and coffee appear! Really Queen for a Day.
And the meal on my eastbound trip is even better. This time the chicken is hot, smothered in gravy, and accompanied by buttery mashed potatoes with a small shredded salad on the side. Dessert? A decadent tiramisu, which is rumored to be based on a similar dessert created for The Grand Duke Cosimo de’ Medici III. See what I mean about the royal treatment?
The fresh-baked breads are toasted, and my meal is just one of five offerings. In addition to chicken, there’s homemade tomato soup, pulled pork, Italian subs and a Greek chef’s salad. The menu changes every season.
All of this gustatory pleasure is provided by my personal chef for the day: Tom Marchese of Lil’ Guss’ in Grottoes, Virginia. He tells me that serving delicious meals to 34 passengers on a moving train is quite an undertaking. Although there is a tiny galley tucked at the back of the dining car, Marchese and his staff smoke the meats the day before and prep a good bit of each meal at their restaurant before packing it up and bringing it the 18 miles to the train station.
While Sydney Greer, my waitress, doesn’t bow or call me “Your Majesty,” she does lavish me with service which is not easy on a moving train. She shares that the biggest challenge is the danger of carrying more than one plate or drink at a time up and down the swaying aisle. We estimate that she makes over 200 trips back and forth, and when she leaves at the end of the day her legs feel like noodles. What Greer loves most about being part of the dining car experience, besides serving me, of course, is the scenery outside the windows as she works.
I agree with her. That scenery is magnificent. On my first ride, aboard the Alleghany Special, the train heads west towards North Mountain. The landscape gets more rugged as we travel. First, we pass a neighborhood of Sears and Roebuck kit houses on the south side of Staunton which gives way to large generational farms. These shrink in size as we approach the dark mountains and we turn around in a tiny town tucked at the edge of the looming wilderness.
On the second ride aboard the Blue Ridge Flyer, we chug east across the Shenandoah Valley to the Blue Ridge Mountains. We climb to the top of Afton Mountain and rumble through two tunnels emerging into the foggy middle of a cloud before turning around and heading back.
On both excursions, I take my royal duty to learn about my subjects and country seriously.
- Traveling west, I learn about a clever fence that transmits messages about dangerous rock falls to the engineer. I learn that there is an abandoned African American community once known as Jonesboro subsiding into oblivion just out of view of the tracks. I learn that I have just crossed over the highest point on the C & O track.
- Traveling east, I am told stories about the labor needed to construct the tunnels that cut through the mountains. Another relates the tale of a terrible circus train wreck that involves stowaways, loose animal cages and the tragic death of a young boy and a tiger. When we reach the longest tunnel, I stand outside on the veranda as the train roars through. The experience is both spooky and thrilling, and I have a greater appreciation for the hard and sometimes deadly work that went into its construction.
- My vocabulary is enriched with words about trains coupling and decoupling. I practice sentences that use fun words like “runaround,” and “glad hand.” I am rocked vigorously by the extreme wind of a passing train. I hear the satisfying cha-chink as the engineer carefully couples the engine to the backside (now the front-side) of our car.
At the end of our three-hour trip, all of us in the dining car are friends. We’ve exchanged stories about family, far flung travels and all the special reasons we are on this train. Royalty all-round!
Then, our attendant, Kristen Decker, announces that the trip is over, and we groan and then applaud the cook and staff. I leave with a special gift: an engraved souvenir glass to remind me of a day that had all the fun of being a queen with none of the hard work.
Ready to Ride?
If you choose to go for the royal treatment, here are six things to know:
- There is limited parking at the station, but a parking garage and a large parking area are only a block away.
- Passengers must book a table for two or four.
- The bathroom on the train is spacious, clean and handicap accessible.
- The view from the iron truss bridge on the west edge of the Staunton station is a great spot for selfies.
- Wind whips through the train platform so it can be a bit chilly in early spring or fall.
- All expenses are included, so there is no need for gratuities.
You can book your own experience at virginiascenicrailway.com or call 434-391-9772. Trains depart the Staunton Amtrack station twice a day, Thursday thru Sunday.
Since tickets sell out quickly, the best way to ensure a ride is to join their email list.
Can You Find ‘Em All?
On the Alleghany Special (headed west) Can you spot…
- • The place where the streams switch from flowing east to flowing west?
- • A silhouette of Big Foot hiding behind a big blue house?
- • At least seven different farm animals?
On the Blue Ridge Flyer (headed east) Can you spot…
- • A llama guarding a flock of turkeys?
- • A mural of a girl playing the violin?
- • At least five different colors of cows?
The story above first appeared in our May / June 2023 issue.
