Ride country star Merle Haggard's vintage dome train through Virginia
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Image: Courtesy of Kate Simon via Virginia Scenic Railway
Virginians can now hop aboard a vintage dome train car for a three-hour sightseeing excursion through the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah Valley.
Why it matters: Passengers can take in 360-degree views while sipping local wines and beers — all aboard a train car once owned by country music legend Merle Haggard.
The big picture: Virginia Scenic Railway, which has been running sightseeing train rides out of Staunton for decades, this month added a Vista-Dome car to its collection.
- Vista-Dome cars are deluxe coaches that have a glass compartment rising out of the roof, which allows riders to take in panoramic views while riding in style.
- This one was built nearly 80 years ago for Western Pacific Railroad's California Zephyr route, which runs between Chicago and San Francisco.
The intrigue: Haggard, who had a "lifelong love affair with trains," bought the train car in the mid-1980s and added a bed and shower, per the news release.
- Sadly, Haggard's bed and shower are gone, but you can still see the outline of the fold-down bed in the lower-level lounge area, even after a full renovation of the interior.
- And in its place, there's a walk-up bar, plus lounge and cafe seating.
Zoom in: But the best seat in the house is on the upper deck and inside the dome for those 360-degree views through the region, including into rock cuts and dark tunnels.
- Just 24 seats are available in the dome on the railway's Thursday-Sunday trips, and the section is for adults only.
- Riders can buy and sip Virginia-made wine and beer (King Family Vineyards and Basic City Beer Co.) from the first-floor bar and/or sign up for a boxed lunch or charcuterie box.
If you go: Virginia Scenic Railway runs two routes twice daily Thursday- Sunday departing from downtown Staunton.
- The Blue Ridge Flyer runs east, the Alleghany Special, west.
- Dome car tickets are $110 per person. It's $90 to sit on the lower level.
- All-ages train rides, including a meal, are $120 per person.