CHARLESTON — Day-long round-trip rail excursions in restored vintage passenger cars are scheduled to operate between Huntington and Hinton, with a passenger stop in Charleston, on Oct. 20-23 when the Autumn Colors Express returns to West Virginia’s New River Gorge country.
After 3,200 passengers from 20 states rode Autumn Colors Express trains between Huntington and Hinton during the excursion’s October 2019 season debut, trips in 2020 and 2021 were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. As a result, “demand for this event is at an all-time high,” said Adam Auxier, CEO of Rail Excursion Management Co., which operates the fall excursion series.
This year, Autumn Colors Express trains will depart Huntington at 8 a.m., and after picking up additional passengers in Charleston, arrive in Hinton at about 11:30 a.m. for a three-hour layover in Hinton to take part in that city’s annual Railroad Days festival before beginning the return trip.
The excursion passes through a 53-mile section of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, America’s newest national park, providing up-close views of whitewater rapids, sheer cliffs, waterfalls and long-abandoned mining and railroad towns.
The COVID-canceled excursions and Railroad Days festival were “certainly missed by many, but we are excited and determined to hold the events this year,” said Hinton Mayor Jack Scott.
Passengers on the excursions ride in privately owned, painstakingly restored vintage coach, lounge, dome and private suite cars pulled by Amtrak locomotives. Each car is unique, but all feature comfortable seating, large windows and restroom access, and light food and refreshments will be available.
This year’s excursion series will be operated in partnership with Amtrak, Explore Summers County, Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp., Railroading Heritage of Midwest America and the C&O Historical Society.
Tickets start at $179 and are on sale online at www.acewva.com, where additional information on the excursions is available.
“I’m excited that visitors to America’s newest national park will have such a unique way to experience fall colors in the New River Gorge,” said state Department of Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby.
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March 12, 2022 at 12:05PM
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Autumn Colors Express trains set to return to New River Gorge in October - Huntington Herald Dispatch
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