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If you have never ridden the Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad, put it on your list. We climbed aboard in Romney, West Virginia, on a bright fall day for a three-hour round trip through the Trough, a canyon you can only reach by train, by boat or on foot.
The ride is less than two hours from Deep Creek Lake, and it is about as relaxing as a day trip gets. No hiking boots, no parking at overlooks, no one stuck behind the wheel missing the view. You just sit back and let the mountains roll by.
We booked the Superior Dining car, and it set the tone right away. White tablecloths, gold flatware on Potomac Eagle placemats, little vases of mums and baby’s breath, and a window seat at every table. Lunch came out course by course while the South Branch of the Potomac slid by outside: shrimp cocktail, a wedge salad, cornbread and biscuits, then the entree and dessert. Lunch with a moving view of fall color is hard to beat.
The narrator keeps you company the whole way, and the stories start with the railroad itself. The South Branch Valley Railroad once linked Green Spring to Romney and later to Petersburg, carrying both passengers and freight, and it was tied into the B&O. It even carried local students to school at one time. Regular passenger service ended in 1939 but the line came back to life for tourists in 1991.
It is also an open-range railroad, which means livestock can occasionally have the right of way! Keep an eye out for cows on the tracks.
The trip begins at Wapocoma Station, beside a house that dates to 1774. Its bricks came over from England as ship ballast. The house later gained a stone addition and a ballroom, and visitors had a tradition of writing their names in the mortar.
From there, the narration ties the history of the whole valley to the homes, farms and mountains outside your window. George Washington knew this ground. He surveyed here for Lord Fairfax as a young man, came through on his 1748 survey expedition near the Trough, and later served in the region during the French and Indian War. Long before that, Native Americans used the valley, and German and Dutch settlers built forts and homes along the river.
Romney was so strategic during the Civil War that it changed hands numerous times. You’ll pass Mill Mountain, where Union soldiers dug defensive trenches, and homes tied to Confederate soldiers and local families.
Some of the best stories are the small ones. In the former community of Sector, students once crossed the river by boat to get to school. And the devastating 1985 flood washed the ground out from under sections of track, leaving the rails hanging. Rebuilding the line took about two years, and the flood also uncovered an archaeological site along the way.
Then the valley closes in and you’re in the Trough, a roughly six-mile stretch of the South Branch between steep mountain ridges. There’s no road through it, which is why it has stayed so quiet and wild. The narrator points out Camp Wickham, Eagle Rock and Sycamore Bridge as you go, and the open-air car is the place to be for this part. Step outside, feel the air and look straight up at the cliffs.
And yes, there are eagles. Bald eagles nest in the Trough, and they’re wild birds, not part of a release program. The narrator explains how pairs stay together for years and return to the same nests, and how young eagles take a few years to grow in their white heads and tails. Watch the riverbanks, the treetops and the sky. We spotted them from the open-air car near the end of the ride.
Ready to go? Leaf peeping trains are still running this year, with a ride on November 14, and the railroad has holiday trips coming up after that. The Trough Canyon excursion is a three-hour round trip starting from $74, and the Holiday Trough dining trip starts from $114. Trains leave from 149 Eagle Drive in Romney, WV. See the full schedule and book at potomaceagle.com.
My tips: book the dining car if you can, dress in layers to enjoy the open-air car, and bring a pair of binoculars and fully charged phone with a good zoom to appreciate the eagles up close.