Train travel was once a major part of life in Kentucky for travel within the state and to other parts of the country. While most of the train tracks have been replaced by modern highways, the legacy of Kentucky's rail history is alive and well at various train museums throughout the state. Some offer excursions through Kentucky's most picturesque areas on vintage diesel and steam engine trains that take you back to simpler times.
The Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven, Kentucky, offers a 22-mile train ride through the Rolling Fork River Valley to Boston, Kentucky and back. Passengers will ride on vintage passenger trains from the 1950s. Limited rides are available on steam engine trains built in the1920s. The scenery along the way includes farmland, forests and the Rolling Fork River. The museum also hosts themed train excursions including a mystery theater train, where passengers must figure out "whodunnit," a Western train robbery that includes a staged Wild West showdown, and a Day out with Thomas, a children's train ride pulled by Thomas the Tank Engine. You can also explore the museum itself, which includes model trains, a dining car exhibit, a train ticket office and old trains and boxcars on display. Tickets are available for purchase online or from the ticket office, but purchasing them in advance is strongly recommended.
The Big Southfork Scenic Railway in Stearns, Kentucky, takes passengers on a 14-mile ride through the Daniel Boone National Forest and the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area. Enjoy the panoramic views of the mountains, streams and forests from the open-air, covered train cars of this diesel-electric train. There are two fully enclosed cab cars you can ride in, but they typically cost extra. The train stops at the Blue Heron Mining Camp, a historic coal mining site where you can take a self-guided tour during the train layover. Specialty train experiences include a Trick-or-Treat Train for Tots during the Halloween season, the Banjo Boogie Express, a country-style dinner and live music experience, and the South Fork Santa Express during the holiday season. Tickets are available for purchase online, over the phone, or at the ticket counter at the train station. Online ticket sales end at midnight the day before departure.
Head to Versailles, Kentucky, to ride vintage trains from the 1920s and 1930s at the Bluegrass Scenic Railroad & Museum. The 90-minute round trip ride takes passengers through the countryside of Central Kentucky, where you'll see mostly farms, horses and agricultural fields. The train offers both coach and first-class seating, which you can purchase in advance online or inside the museum. Coach class seats are simple but comfortable and the car has no air conditioning. Plush first class seats recline and the car has both heat and air conditioning. Before or after the train ride, explore the exhibits inside and outside of the museum, such as the Kentucky railroad artifacts, a watchman's shanty, old train cars and the original stones from the first railroad in Kentucky. The Bluegrass Scenic Railroad also regularly hosts special train experiences, such as its Civil War train, the Easter Bunny train, pumpkin patch trains and a haunted Halloween train ride.
The My Old Kentucky Dinner Train has two locations -- one in Lexington, and one in Bardstown, Kentucky. Both offer a full course, upscale dinner service reminiscent of dining car service during the golden years of train travel. Dinner trains are 2 to 2 -1/2 hours long. Both locations also offer a breakfast train ride, which are about 1-1/2 hours. In Lexington, the train travels past horse farms, a small town, the Keenland Race Course, to the small town of Versailles and back. In Bardstown, the train travels through the Bernheim Forest, past the Jim Bean distillery, to the Limestone Springs and back. Passengers do not get off the train for this round-trip experience. Dinner menu options include classic pasta and steak dishes, as well as local specialties like the Kentucky Hot Brown, an open-faced roasted turkey sandwich smothered in Mornay cheese sauce, broiled, then topped with tomatoes and bacon. Purchase tickets, including add-on features such as a private table, online.
