Our contributing photographers capture the drama and splendor of mountain excursions.
WALTER SCRIPTUNAS II
The Dollywood Express steam locomotive #192 sits at the station before departing on a 2.5 mile journey through the popular amusement park in Tennessee.
WALTER SCRIPTUNAS II
Two of West Virginia’s Cass Scenic Railroad State Park’s Shay steam locomotives sit by the water tower at sunset.
WALTER SCRIPTUNAS II
The recently restored Norfolk & Western #611 rolls through Blue Ridge, Virginia, pulling an excursion sponsored by the Virginia Museum of Transportation.
Grady McKinley
Great Smoky Mountain Railroad’s 2-8-0 Consolidation steam locomotive leads the westbound Nantahala Gorge excursion along the banks of the Nantahala River near Wesser, North Carolina.
Chase Gunnoe/Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad
The Cheat Mountain Salamander arrives at Spruce, West Virginia, from Elkins, amid some of the state’s most beautiful fall colors.
Jerry Mucklow
Blue Ridge Scenic Railway is headquartered in Blue Ridge, Georgia, and makes its way along the Toccoa River.
kentuckytourism.com
Locomotive 106 of The Big South Fork Scenic Railway in Stearns takes visitors on a picturesque 14-mile trip through the Daniel Boone National Forest and Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area. The ride makes a stop at Blue Heron Coal Mining Camp, a National Park Service outdoor interpretive site, which houses the largest interpretive collection of historic coal mining in America.
Walter Scriptunas II
The family-owned Locust Heights & Western Railroad’s Mason Climax locomotive operates on a short stretch of track on Wednesdays, June through October, in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
The story above appears in our March/April 2019 issue. For more like it, subscribe today or log in to the digital edition with your active digital subscription.