Blue Ridge & Bayou

Itinerary

1. New Orleans, LA
   Day 1 | Board in New Orleans

   Settle into your private railcar at Union Passenger Terminal, a short drive from the French Quarter. Breakfast is served as the train eases out of the city and into the marsh.

   Breakfast

2. Lake Pontchartrain
   Day 1 | The Long Crossing

   The train crosses the eastern edge of Lake Pontchartrain on a long causeway, the water stretching to the horizon on both sides and the morning light on it. Near Slidell the lake gives way to cypress swamp and solid ground.

3. Meridian, MS
   Day 1 | The Piney Woods

   After a morning of longleaf pine and slow, tea-colored rivers, the train pauses in Meridian, birthplace of country music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers. Lunch is served as the land begins to rise.

   Lunch

4. Tuscaloosa, AL
   Day 1 | The Black Warrior River

   The train follows the Black Warrior River through Alabama's pine and hardwood forests, passing small towns and long, quiet stretches of farmland.

5. Birmingham, AL
   Day 1 | The Magic City

   Once the steel capital of the South, Birmingham sits beneath Red Mountain, its iron-ore ridge crowned by the statue of Vulcan. Beyond it, the train climbs into the first ridgelines of the Appalachians.

6. Anniston, AL
   Day 1 | Appalachian Dusk

   The ridges of the Talladega foothills darken against the evening sky. Enjoy a formal dinner as the train crosses into Georgia and the clocks move ahead an hour.

   Dinner

7. Atlanta, GA
   Day 1 | Capital of the New South

   A late-evening stop in Atlanta, where the lit skyline rises above the Georgia pines. Perfect for a nightcap in the lounge before turning in.

8. Greenville, SC
   Day 1 | Through the Night

   Somewhere past the Georgia line, the world goes dark and the train rocks you to sleep. Greenville and the Carolina foothills pass in the small hours while you rest in your bedroom.

   Sleep Onboard

9. Greensboro, NC
   Day 2 | Carolina Daybreak

   Wake in the Piedmont of North Carolina, with mist in the low fields and tobacco barns catching the first light. Coffee and breakfast are waiting in your railcar.

   Breakfast

10. Lynchburg, VA
    Day 2 | Blue Ridge Morning

    The James River comes into view as the train climbs toward the heart of Virginia. To the west, the Blue Ridge Mountains run along the horizon in full morning light, the highlight of the journey.

11. Charlottesville, VA
    Day 2 | Jefferson Country

    This is the country of Monticello and the University of Virginia. Lunch is served as the train rolls north past horse farms, stone walls, and vineyards in the Blue Ridge foothills.

    Lunch

12. Washington, D.C.
    Day 2 | The Capital by Day

    The train crosses the Potomac with views of the Washington Monument and pauses at Union Station, a 1907 Beaux-Arts landmark just steps from the Capitol dome.

13. New York, NY
    Day 2 | Arrive in Manhattan

    Raise a farewell glass as the Manhattan skyline appears across the Meadowlands. Arrive in Midtown in the early evening, and your car is waiting to take you to your hotel or wherever the evening should begin.