All aboard for a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
On March 24, the Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society and Museum will host an epic one-day-only train ride through the breathtaking Great Smoky Mountains. The journey will take you over bridges, through forests, and alongside rivers on the old 1891 Murphy Branch line through western North Carolina.
This spring event will be the first time passengers will be able to ride all the working tracks in one jaunt. The 11-hour adventure will kick-off in Johnson City, TN at 9:15 a.m. aboard a motor coach, which will be followed by several more stops to pick up passengers: Greeneville, TN, Morristown, TN, and Asheville/Weaverville, NC. Around mid-day, the motor coach will stop in Sylva, NC for lunch (you can purchase food there or bring a small cooler with you on board).
Once the bus reaches Dillsboro, NC everyone will have the chance to explore the town—check out the location where the famous train wreckage scene from the Harrison Ford movie, The Fugitive, was filmed!—before boarding the vintage diesel train at 1:45 p.m. to travel the complete operating route of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad.
On board, you'll be able to sit back and relax in the restored vintage cars while gazing out the large picture windows to take in the views along the way to end of the line at Nantahala Gorge, NC. The day's journey will wrap up when the busses arrive to pick up passengers and return them to Weaverville, Morristown, Greeneville, and, finally, Johnson City around 8:30 p.m.
Tickets usually go fast (take note: 2018's journey is already sold out!), so you have to move quickly once they become available each year. Fares start at $85 for adults and $69 for kids, while Crown Class seats cost $97 for adults and $79 for kids. You can also opt for first class tickets, which go for $156 and include dinner, but you must be over 21.
Learn more at the Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society and Museum's website.
(h/t The Greeneville Sun)
