The Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society & Museum is once again pleased to announce another Autumn Leaf Rail Excursion through the scenic Hiwassee River Gorge of East Tennessee. The excursion date is set for Saturday, October 15th, 2022 and will offer an opportunity to ride the rails through the one of the most beautiful river gorges in the United States as the railroad tracks travel along the Hiwassee River. An added feature is traversing the famous, spiral "Hiwassee Loop".
Hiwassee Loop
Your excursion train will travel through the Narrows, where the Hiwassee River flows through rock channels, and the Bald Mountain, or "Hiwassee Loop". The track actually passes over itself on a high trestle during a corkscrew climb up the mountain near Farner. Tracks along this route parallel the river for most of its length, providing views of the lower gorge. The trip is approximately 4.5 hours long.
Hiwassee Gorge
General Deluxe Coach seating is offered on this excursion, providing passengers with comfortable cushioned seats with large windows. Historic 1950's-era diesel locomotives will pull the vintage enclosed climate-controlled coaches with rest rooms in each car of the passing scenery. Experience the "glory days" of rail travel in the United States.
Deluxe Coach Seating
The boarding location is 9406 US Highway 411 Delano, TN (5.2 miles south of Etowah, TN). Free parking is available at the train loading site. A map will be provided to the boarding location in Delano. TN.
NOTE: After passenger’s order tickets online, they will receive confirmation of their purchase. A map will be e-mailed to you with your confirmation form. Another confirmation will be emailed approximately two weeks after the ticket purchase and will include more information and a map to the boarding location selected.
Snack items are available for sale on the train including soft drinks, coffee, water, chips, crackers, and candy bars. Souvenirs are also sold onboard including t-shirts, caps, and books.
Passengers will start boarding the train in Delano, TN at 11:30 a.m. for a 12:01 p.m. departure. Please arrive at the boarding site parking lot no later than 11:30 a.m. The train will arrive in Farner, TN at 2:30 p.m. for a short layover, leaving Farner at 2:45 p.m. Upon arrival back at Delano, TN at 4:45 p.m. A loading ramp is available at train boarding location. A loading ramp is available at train boarding location.
[IMPORTANT NOTE: THOSE ORDERING TICKETS SEPARATELY, BUT WISHING TO BE SEATED TOGETHER, MUST SPECIFY THIS ON THE ORDER FORM]
The railroad line was originally built to haul ore from the copper basin in Copperhill, TN. Regularly scheduled passenger trains operated over this line until 1968; the last freight train traveled the "Old Line" in 2001. The Tennessee Overhill Association took over ownership of the rail line in 2004. This will be a unique opportunity to ride on this historic railroad line.
Please email wataugavalley@gmail.com for quicker answers if you have questions concerning this trip.
Trip will run rain or shine.
There will be no motor coach out of the Johnson City are for this trip.
FOR YOUR SAFETY:
The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, in accordance with federal, state, and local government guidelines is safely operating all Passenger Scenic Rail Excursions departing from Bryson City.
Some Safety Rules:
Our train is a SMOKING/VAPOR-FREE train, which means, nowhere on the train, at all, is there a place to smoke/vapor. Once you board the train, you will not be able to smoke again to the end of the train trip back in Bryson City. Please do NOT wear any high heel, or open-toe shoes on board the train. When the train moves, high heel shoes may cause someone to lose their balance and open-toe shoes are unsafe to wear on the train due to gaps between railroad cars. Appropriate clothing is strongly suggested. Safety is our number-one concern.
Disclaimer:
**This trip will be handicap accessible. On-board restrooms may not accommodate all passengers. We will make all reasonable efforts to accommodate differently abled passengers who desire to ride this train. Please email us with your request if needed.
The Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society and its representatives act only as agents for the passengers with respect to rail transportation, food service, and other services offered, and as such hold themselves free of any liability for any injury, delay, loss, equipment failure, substitution, or damage from any cause whatsoever. This includes schedule changes due to weather problems or any other factor. Railroad equipment may be substituted at anytime for some unforeseen reason.
The sponsoring organization is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and is operating the train trip to help fund restoration of railroad equipment, maintain its museum, and associated railroad historical projects. No part of the ticket cost is tax deductible. No refunds are allowed, but we will attempt to connect you with someone on the waiting list wanting to purchase tickets.