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The 35th annual AAPRCO convention will be held in the beautiful and historic Southern city of Chattanooga, Tennessee from September 27th to September 29th. Some of the most historic battles during the Civil War took place around Chattanooga and the surrounding area. The year 2012 is a part of the 4 year span of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
The Cincinnati Railway Co. is offering a special excursion from Cincinnati, OH to Chattanooga, TN and back. The excursion will traverse through the scenic and winding mountains of Virginia and North Carolina on the route of Southern Railway’s premier passenger train, the “Southern Crescent”. Passengers will be able to visit various attractions such as the Historic Spencer Shops (now known as the North Carolina Transportation Museum), the Vanderbilt Estate, and the lookout Mountain Incline Railway. In addition, passengers are also invited to join us for events and dinners exclusive to those on the Chattanooga Limited!
Chattanooga Limited Schedule (subject to change)
- Thursday, September 20
- 9:00pm: Board railcars at McCullough Yard and enjoy Bon Voyage cotails
- Approx. 11:00pm: Depart for Cincinnati Union Terminal. This time is subject to vary by small increments.
- Friday, September 21
- 3:27am: Depart Cincinnati behind Amtrak’s Cardinal
- 6:06pm: Arrive in Washington, D.C. The evening is yours to spend as you like.
- Saturday, September 22
– Sunday, September 23
- Layover in Washington, D.C. – on your own.
Continental breakfast will be provided each day
- Monday, September 24
- 9:00am: Depart Washington, D.C. behind Amtrak Crescent route
Breakfast and Lunch will be served onboard.
4:00pm: Arrive Spencer, NC
- Tuesday, September 25
- 9:00am: Depart Spencer, NC via NS
Breakfast and Lunch will be served onboard
- 2:00pm: Arrive Asheville, NC East Yard Rail Highway track.
Passengers partake in tour and dinner at Biltmore House
- Wednesday, September 26
- 7:00am: Depart Ashville, NC via NS thru Morristown
Breakfast and lunch will be served onboard
- 11:30am: Arrive Knoxville, TN
3:30pm: Arrive Chattanooga, TN
- Thursday, September 27
– Saturday, September 29
- Convention
Continental Breakfast will be provided each day
- Sunday, September 30
- 7:00am: Depart Chattanooga, TN via NS Bristol Line
Breakfast and Lunch will be served onboard
- 11:00am: Arrive Knoxville, TN
- 3:00pm: Arrive Bristol, VA
- 7:00pm: Arrive Roanoke, VA
Park train at Former N&W Station
O. Wilson Link Museum
- Monday, October 1
- 1:00pm: Depart Roanoke, VA via NS Hagerstown Line
Breakfast and Lunch will be served onboard
- 6:00pm: Arrive Fort Royal, VA
- 8:00pm: Arrive Manassas, VA
- 9:30pm: Arrive Washington, D.C.
- Tuesday, October 2
- Layover in Washington, D.C. – the day is yours to spend in the city.
Continental breakfast will be served onboard.
- Wednesday, October 3
- 11:05am: Depart Washington, D.C. – Amtrak Cardinal Route
Continental breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be served onboard.
- Thursday, October 4
- 1:13am: Arrive Cincinnati Union Terminal
Continental breakfast will be served.
All passengers must disembark by 10:30am
The 35th annual AAPRCO convention will be held in the beautiful and historic Southern city of Chattanooga, Tennessee from September 27th to September 29th. Some of the most historic battles during the Civil War took place around Chattanooga and the surrounding area. The year 2012 is a part of the 4 year span of the150th anniversary of the Civil War.
Monday, September 24th
The Chattanooga Limited will depart Washington, DC in the morning to travel through the scenic states of Virginia and North Carolina. Watch the beautiful scenery pass by your window as you travel along the route of the Southern Railway’s premier passenger train, the “Southern Crescent”. The Chattanooga Limited will arrive in Spencer, NC during the afternoon, and will park overnight at the site of the former Southern Railway’s Spencer Shops. Our passengers will have the opportunity to tour the Spencer Shops (now known as the North Carolina Transportation Museum) as well as downtown Spencer. A bar-b-que dinner will be held in the roundhouse only for Chattanooga Limited passengers.
Tuesday, September 25th
The Chattanooga Limited will depart Spencer in the morning and proceed west through scenic North Carolina. Heading into the Appalachian Mountains, the train will traverse the historic and scenic Old Fort Loops to arrive in Asheville, NC in the early afternoon. Passengers will then be able to explore the downtown Asheville area prior to our evening’s special event. In the late afternoon, our passengers will take a short motor coach ride to the historic Vanderbilt Estate, “The Biltmore House”. This was the home of the Vanderbilt family noted for the construction and operation of the New York Central Railroad. The Biltmore House estate is the largest private home and grounds in the United States.
Upon arrival at the Biltmore House our passengers will be treated to a private sunset tour hosted by the estate staff. Upon completion of the tour a cocktail reception will be held in the Biltmore courtyard followed by a private dinner at the Biltmore. This event is only available for passengers riding on our special train.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012, we will depart Asheville and proceed through the scenic Appalachian Mountains. Our route will take us through the mountains along the banks of the scenic French Broad River, passing just north of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and into Tennessee. We will travel through Knoxville, TN and on to our convention destination of Chattanooga, TN. Our train will be parked at the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel which is the site of the Chattanooga Terminal Station. The name of this magnificent railroad theme hotel was derived from the famous Glen Miller song of the 1940’s “The Chattanooga Choo Choo”. On Wednesday evening our special guest Mr. Wick Moorman, Chairman, President and CEO of Norfolk Southern hopes to be in attendance to address the membership.
While in Chattanooga we will have our usual convention activities of meetings, car parties and our banquet which will take place at the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel. A cocktail reception is planned to be held in their beautiful trackside courtyard. We also have some spectacular special events planned including a Civil War battlefield steam train special operated by the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum that will operate on Friday, September 28, 2012. We expect that newly-restored steam locomotive #630 will be powering this trip which will depart from the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel. The train will be crossing the state line in Rossville, and traveling past the historic Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park. Vintage heavyweight cars such as business car “Eden Isle”, Pullman “Clover Colony” and diner "Travelers Fare" are planned to be included on this train. An optional tour to Lookout Mountain that will include a ride on the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway and a visit to Rock City on top of Lookout Mountain are also planned.
Following the convention activities, the special train will depart Chattanooga on Sunday, September 30, 2012 and travel on the former Southern Railway back through Knoxville, TN and into Bristol, VA. We will then continue on the former Norfolk & Western Railway through historic Abington, Virginia along the Blue Ridge Mountains arriving in downtown Roanoke, Virginia in the evening. We will be parked at the former Norfolk & Western station now the O. Wilson Link Museum just a short distance from the historic Hotel Roanoke.
Monday, October 1, 2012, we will delay our departure until early afternoon to allow passengers the opportunity to visit the O. Wilson Link Museum, Virginia transportation Museum or the Hotel Roanoke. All of these locations are within walking distance from our train. Following our departure from Roanoke we will travel the Former Norfolk & Western Railway’s Scenic Hagerstown Line. We will follow the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive to Front Royal, Virginia, and then some rare mileage to Manassas, Virginia and back to Washington, DC. The special train will terminate and PV’s will proceed home from Washington on regular scheduled Amtrak trains.
Space on this extravagant excursion is limited and will sell fast, so please consider joining us for a truly spectacular scenic trip.
To reserve your space please call: 513-791-RAIL(7245) or send an email to: info@CincinnatiRailway.com
Pictures of the above luxury railcars can be found on
our website at www.cincinnatirailway.com under
the tab OUR CARS.
The Cincinnati Railway Company reserves the right to cancel this trip should it not reach 80% occupancy 30 days prior to trip departure date.
