The Tygart Flyer

50 this morning, overcast after a rainy, stormy day yesterday. We got out early yesterday morning to weed, hoe and till before the rains arrived about 10am. The way corn is up but only a few beans have sprouted. I may have to replant. Everything else looks great, just very  wet. 

So, the Tygart Flyer. What is it? It's a train trip that follows the Cheat River to its High Falls, through some beautiful mountain country. Larry had never been on a passenger train, so this trip was his first experience of train travel outside of hitching rides on coal trains when he was a boy.

We spent the night at the Iron Road Inn, a railroad themed motel in Elkins, WV. This wasn't our first choice. I first booked a room at a museum in Beverly , WV that was the home of the state's most famous covered bridge builder. But due to an error in their calender, that was canceled.  Then I booked a little cabin on a lake, and the day before we were to leave, that had to be canceled due to some plumbing issue. Both were through airbnb, so I was pretty frustrated. The Iron Road Inn was okay, not special except for all the railroad decor.

But the train ride went without a hitch. We upgraded to the parlor car which offered nicer seats, individual tables, a nice cold cuts and salads buffet, a glass of wine and dessert. 

So enough with the talk. Here is some of what we saw.

Thr inside of our car.

On the rear platform.

The phone has loaded my photos on reverse order for some reason, but oh well. The below photo was taken when some of us went out on the platform while the train was crossing this trestle. It was so great to be out there, but soon the conductor came out and told us we weren't to be out there at that time. Made us come in and locked the door. Bad children.

We saw 2 log cabins being rebuilt from old logs. There were a lot of camps along the way, as well as two small communities, remainders of the region's timberline heyday.

The High Falls of the Cheat. The only way in besides the train is a 4.5 mile hike. We could have walked down to the water's edge but with my current back issue that didn't seem like a good idea.

Larry stayed glued to the window most of the time. Well, so did I

! 

The conductor heard us say how so.e of us wanted to be on the platform when we went through the S-curve tunnel. He was so nice to take us out there! 

And finally, back in Elkins.

It was a fun day and a nice break from routine. I hope we can go back to take the Greenbrier Express, another interesting trip that begins in Elkins.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.