My Old Kentucky Dinner Train Travels to Scenic and Historic Sights
Lovers of fine spirits and the scenic Bluegrass will delight in My Old Kentucky Dinner Train, a nostalgic attraction 40 miles south of Louisville in Bardstown. Aboard My Old Kentucky Dinner Train, passengers share a meal in a 1940s vintage dining car while enjoying the rolling countryside, lush farmlands, bourbon distilleries and storage warehouses that can be seen on the two-hour excursion.
Located near My Old Kentucky Home State Park, the inspiration behind Stephen Foster’s famous ballad, My Old Kentucky Dinner Train travels north from Bardstown through Bernheim Forest and the Jim Beam distillery property to Limestone Springs, and back.
Another site along the route is the Nazareth community, which serves as a "motherhouse" for the Sisters of Charity. Built in 1820, Nazareth now serves mainly as a retirement home for sisters and as the corporate headquarters for the order.
The dinner train also travels through a portion of Bernheim Forest, a 14,000-acre nature preserve. Passing through the forest, the train crosses Jackson Hollow Trestle, an all-timber structure built by the Bardstown and Louisville Railroad in 1860. The trestle towers 60 feet over the hollow and extends 310 feet across. R.J. Corman Railroad Co., which owns the dinner train and the 20-mile branch on which it operates, has conducted major rehabilitation on the bridge, leaving it a totally timber structure.
Two refurbished depots exist along the route — one at Deatsville and the other at Limestone Springs Junction, where the train stops and prepares for its return trip to Bardstown. Owned by Jim Beam, this Old English-style depot reportedly housed numerous famous and wealthy passengers on the second floor of its overnight facilities.
The dinner train made its inaugural run in 1988 and provides freight service to local industries when not operating as a tourist attraction. Excursions are offered Tuesdays through Sundays, and themed trips, such as the Bourbon Tasting Dinner Excursion, are also scheduled throughout the week.
Schedules change seasonally. See the dinner train's calendar for details.
Posted on May 27, 2011 by Bobbi Buchanan
