Riding the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

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We got up early and headed out to Blue Ridge, Georgia, to ride the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway is an excursion train that runs from Blue Ridge to McCaysville, Ga – Copperhill, Tn.  It’s a 13-mile, one-hour ride each way with a two-hour stop in McCaysville-Copperhill. 

Our train was leaving at 11:00 a.m. and we arrived in plenty of time to board.  

Looking for our car so we could board. A-man brought along a case full of video games "just in case" it was terribly boring. Hint: it wasn't!

Everyone on the railway except the engineer and concessions staff are volunteers. They’re an exceptionally nice, helpful group of folks.  

Our car host, Lynn

While everyone was settling in for the ride, our car host, Lynn, talked to us about safety and a few things we might expect during our ride. Lynn was very entertaining and extremely knowledgeable about the railway’s history and all the sights along the way. We couldn’t have asked for a better host! Thanks, Lynn!  

The railway offers a choice of either open-air or climate controlled cars. We chose the open-air car and, even though it was a hot day, I think that was the best way to travel. We wouldn’t have seen nearly as much in one of the closed cars and I couldn’t have gotten photos through those windows!  

Blue Ridge Scenic Railway open-air car interior.

 The cars are comfortable and all the seats face outward so everyone gets a good view. Lynn pointed out to us the wallpaper on the ceiling of our car which was covered with the seal of the state of New York. That’s because our car used to belong to the Long Island Rail Road. The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway purchased the car and refitted it but they kept the wallpaper intact.  

The A-man playing a DS game while waiting to depart.

Our A was still just slightly skeptical that it wouldn’t be boring at this point, so the video games came out. That lasted until the train started rolling and we never saw the games again the rest of the day.  

Mag is ready to ride!

Mag is ready to roll!  

One of the first sights we saw as we departed from Blue Ridge was a large horse farm. The lush pastures and traditional white fencing were quite beautiful.  

A beautiful horse farm just outside Blue Ridge.

 The train quickly passes from rolling pastures into more rugged territory. You find yourself surrounded by rocky mountain sides covered in thick foliage on one side of the train and the beautiful Toccoa River on the other side. I was surprised to see rhododendron still blooming so late in the year. Ours have been out of bloom for several months.  

Rhododendron blooming along the Toccoa River.

This is the old junction that formerly led to Murphy, North Carolina. All along the way I kept thinking how our ancestors must have felt traveling these rails back in their day. They didn’t have the option of driving anywhere they wanted like we do now and depended on the trains to get them from place to place. I honestly can’t say that it would have been a bad way to live.  

Murphy Spur on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway.

All along the route, the tracks follow the lovely Toccoa River. When the river reaches the Tennessee state line it becomes the Ocoee River. The Georgia part of the river is shallow and slow running.  

The Toccoa River seen from the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

We saw lots of people fishing from boats or just wading in the river to fly fish. In most places the water was just about to an adult’s knee.  

Fishermen on the Toccoa River.

The view of the serene river is one of the most pleasurable aspects of the entire trip. There’s always something different to see around the next bend in the tracks. 

Another view of the river from the train.

About halfway through the trip is one of the most interesting historical points – the fish trap. The fish trap was constructed more than 500 years ago by Native Americans who pre-dated the Cherokee. After all this time it is still in pristine condition. The trap is formed by rocks laid in the shape of a “V” with an opening at the narrow end. The children would be sent upstream to splash and stomp and scare the fish into swimming toward the V where the women would scoop them up in baskets. Ingenious!

An ancient fish trap on the Toccoa River.

As the tracks twist and turn along the way, there are several curves where you can see the entire train from your car.  

Rounding a curve. You can look backward and foward to see the entire train at once.

Along the tracks you occasionally see another relic of days gone by – telegraph poles!  

Telegraph poles used to line the route.

As we were nearing McCaysville, our car host asked everyone to be sure their heads and hands were inside the car. We soon found out why! There is very little clearance between the train and the trestle while crossing the final bridge!  

Close clearance on the last bridge before McCaysville.

After a very pleasant hour of riding, we arrived in McCaysville, Ga – Copperhill, Tn. McCaysville-Copperhill is divided right through by the Georgia-Tennessee state line. You can literally stand with one foot in Georgia and one in Tennessee.  

A-man and Mag standing in two states at the same time.

McCaysville-Copperhill is a pretty little town and we had a two-hour stop there. Since it was noon, we headed out to find some lunch first. All the restaurants and shops in town are listed on a nice walking tour map provided by the railway. We were looking over our choices and settled on El Rio Mexican Restaurant. I tried to steer our crew in a different direction as I was thinking, “Mexican food in the north Georgia mountains? Really?” But, let me tell you, it was delicious!  

While we were eating, I gave A a 5-minute lesson on photography and he snapped the photos below at the table.  

BeeBop at lunch. Taken by our A-man.

Mag at lunch. Taken by A.

Pretty good for his first try, huh?  

After lunch we did a little shopping at Nature’s Collectables. Lots of interesting things to explore there, but what we left with was this handmade fudge.  

Fudge from Nature's Collectables in Copperhill, Tennessee.

We brought home a quarter pound each of plain chocolate, cookies and cream, butterfinger and coconut cream. That coconut cream is outstanding! I tried to get the candy maker to tell me how she makes it, but she just kept shaking her head and saying no. Oh, well, I gave it my best try. I did leave her one of my blog cards so maybe she’ll see this post and leave me a comment.  

When we heard the train whistle at 1:50 we knew it was time to head back to re-board. Our car host had made a point to tell us several times that the train leaves on time with or without everyone on board. After all, it’s 13 miles back to our car and no public transportation between us and there.  

Re-boarding the train for the return trip to Blue Ridge.

On the ride back you get a little different perspective on the sights you saw on the first leg of the trip.  Just outside McCaysville there’s a tubing place. We stopped to let several people leave the train to go tubing on the river. The tubing people would transport them back to Blue Ridge later in the day.  

Just outside McCaysville. Welcome back to Georgia!

All along the way cars and trucks wait for the train to pass at gated crossings. Everybody waves to the train’s passengers. 

Cars and trucks waiting for the train to pass at a gated crossing.

This is one of the original mile markers for the railroad. This one told the engineer that they were 390 miles from the origin of the railroad in Louisville, Kentucky. Many of the markers have been destroyed or vandalized. This is one of the few remaining. 

Mile marker 390 on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway.

The train winds its way back along the same route toward Blue Ridge. 

Making our way back to Blue Ridge.

The Toccoa River on the way back to Blue Ridge.

 Nearly back to Blue Ridge, you get a good view of the homestead of one of the early workers on the railway. The man raised eleven children working on the railroad and two of them still live on the old homestead. It was one of the neatest, most well-kept properties I’ve seen in a long while. 

Original railroad homestead near Blue Ridge.

We all had such a great time riding the train. The sights and sounds make you think back to simpler times. I kept thinking about my grandparents and great-grandparents and whether they’d traveled like this. I feel sure they probably did. And they probably enjoyed as much as we did! 

There were at least two tuckered-out passengers on this train yesterday. 

Mag all tired out from the train.

A sleepy A-man snuggles up to BeeBop.

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