Steam & Excursion > Virginia train rides?

Headed to the VA coast (Williamsburg)  this summer and have time on the way to and from to incorporate some railroad attractions into the trip.  I've been all over the state and note that there are several static sites or museums, but when I tried to seek out a scenic train ride somewhere in the state, the only one I could come up with is the Virginia Scenic in Staunton (which operates on the same trackage as Amtrak - and I have ridden numerous times).  

I was somewhat suprised that such a beautiful and populous state is devoid of any hertiage railroads.  Am I missing them?  

Unfortunately that's the list. 
IMO politics and lack of cooperation seems to be the stumbling block for tourist rail in VA.
There's been periodic threads on here about the conversion of an x-SOU branch in the Shenandoah Valley to either a rail with trail or a trail only, with the 2 factions locked in another uncivil war.
Meanwhile a scenic line goes west from Winchester with no traffic, anyone know someone at Omnitrax?
There should be some sort of train ride in Roanoke, but even the fire engine museum got chased out of Roanoke.

Well, there's always the Busch Gardens Railway!  I rode those propane fueled steam trains quite a few times when I was escaping grad school life at William & Mary.

BigSavage summed it up well. One other idea is to ride the Amtrak Regional in/out of Roanoke assuming you haven’t done that before. You could take it to Charlottesville, Culpeper, Alexandria, etc if there’s a place you wouldn’t mind spending a few hours.

Another thought is the Virginia Scenic has a dome car now so that would be a somewhat different experience though you’ve already seen the line.

Steve Gass
Linden, VA
B-LineRailfan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/28/25 15:15 by B-LineRailfan.

Busch Gardens 3 propane fired Crowns is about it. Take lots of money, its about $40 to park, then comes admission, then maybe a $6 soda.

Pokey Smokey in Portsmouth has a blank page on the city web site. Its a CP Huntington.

Maybe take a harbor tour by boat and see the coal piers. (Newport News i think is gone, Norfolk's ship burned, may have been replaced by now)

Nearest train rides are

Potomac Eagle - great ride, great food, good equipment.

Western Maryland Scenic - lots of controversy, but running with a B40-8 or big steam

Cass/West Va Central - good rides, shays, heisler, diesels.

Same distance from Williamsburg as Western Maryland (about 4 hours) is Aberdeen Carolina & Western if you happen to be around on one of the weekends they run dinner (and apparently soon breakfast) trains. And if you golf (I know, God forbid a rail fan has OTHER interests), there are over 40 courses within 20 mile radius of the Engineroom 87 Bar of all skill ranges and prices.

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