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Kentucky Train Rides and Excursion Trains

Kentucky train rides offer visitors an incredible selection in services from the upscale My Old Kentucky Dinner Train to the bucolic and laid back Big South Fork Scenic Railway. All of the state's excursion trains offer splendid views of Kentucky's Appalachian Mountains and foothills (depending on where and which train you are riding). If you plan to visit the popular Kentucky Railway Museum (KRM), they also host short excursions on a short branch line they purchased. Additionally, you can catch operational steam locomotives there as well, which is definitely worth seeing! Regarding the KRM, if you may be wondering about all of the railroads museums located in Kentucky please click here.

Kentucky's history with trains began in 1830 when the Lexington & Ohio was chartered. Since then railroads have tapped the state's lucrative coal resources, which continues even today. The KRM, mentioned above, does a very nice job of preserving Kentucky's history with trains although it only offers short excursions. The Blue Grass Scenic Railroad & Museum is perhaps the state's hidden treasure, running trains between May and October through the beautiful north-central Kentucky foothills. It may not offer luxurious accommodations but folks can take quite a long train ride for a very reasonable price. If you have the money, however, the elegance of the My Old Kentucky Dinner Train offers a trip to remember. In any event, a little more about all Kentucky train rides can be found below.

Kentucky Train Rides and Excursion Trains

Big South Fork Scenic Railway

The Big South Fork Scenic Railway, based in Stearns, Kentucky operates a 16-mile round-trip tourist train through the Daniel Boone National Forest and Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area on ex-Kentucky & Tennessee Railway trackage. The normal operating season is April through October and the railroad offers a number of different ways to enjoy your trip as well as hosting special events throughout the year. For more information about visiting the railroad please click here.

Blue Grass Scenic Railroad & Museum

The Blue Grass Scenic Railroad & Museum based in Versailles looks to tell the story of Kentucky's history with railroads and does so with both static displays at its facility as well as offering visitors train rides on a 7-mile round trip during the operating season between May and October. For more information about visiting the railroad please click here.

Kentucky Railway Museum

The Kentucky Railway Museum, based in New Haven has a history that dates as far back as the late 1940s and has its true beginnings in 1954, in no small part thanks to the efforts of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad! Since that time the museum has grown steadily and today features large collection of rolling stock and even features excursion trains which are pulled by the most famous locomotive on the grounds, ex-L&N 4-6-2 Pacific Type #152 (which was originally donated by the L&N back in the 1950s). The museum was also able to purchase a former L&N branch some years ago from CSX enabling it to offer excursion train rides powered by restored equipment on the property. Today, they offer numerous specials throughout the year including train robberies, dinner trains, murder mysteries, and host "A Day Out With Thomas" the tank engine. For more information about visiting the railroad please click here.

My Old Kentucky Dinner Train

The My Old Kentucky Dinner Train has become one of the most popular such operations in the country and is operated by the RJ Corman Railroad, a short line railroad which oversees several routes in Kentucky. The dinner train covers a distance of about eighteen miles between Bardstown and Limestone Springs Junction, Kentucky (thirty-seven miles round trip) over an ex-Louisville & Nashville Railway branch. The train was started the 1980s and over the last 20 years has become increasingly popular with its fine dining and beautiful scenery of the passing Kentucky countryside. For more information about riding the train please click here.

Please Click Here To Return To The Main Tourist Railroads Section

If you might be interested in reading a general history of Kentucky's railroads please click here. Also, for more information about Kentucky train rides you might want to consider the book Tourist Trains Guidebook, which is put together by the editors of Kalmbach Publishing's Trains magazine. The guide below is the latest, released in just April, 2011 that now includes more than 470 museums and tourist trains (it also lists all of Alabama's rail museums). In any event, if you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit the link below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.

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