Steam Into History

Boring ass ride! Nothing along the way to enjoy you already don’t see while driving down the highway. I love trains so I’ve seen my share. This had to be the first train I wanted to jump off from asap. I would never reckoned this trip to anyone else.

Went up for the 1pm Railfan special in late August. It was the first of two they were doing for the day and the first time they ever held the event. Sadly, this trip was not separate from the rides the general public take. Sadly, this caused problems.
Just to back up a little and explain. Typically excursion railroads usually have a run (trip) for the general public, which is almost always parents and small children. There’s nothing wrong of course with.
However, Railfan specials are as stated special trips geared toward railfans (railroad buffs) and as such usually include additional stops where all the train buffs get off the train, line up. The train then backs up and does «photo run-​bys for the fans to photograph or video
During said run-​byes, there are pretty well observed rules and procedures quite known to railfans, such as you do not walk in front of the photo line (the line where all the fans line up to take pictures and video).
Sadly, because the railfan special was shared with the general public. The public would alight with their kids at the special runbye spots, resulting in delays as kids would either jump in from of the photo line; ruining photographers’ and videographers’ run-​bye shots, or would stop and stand in front of the train for mom and dad pictures, again ruiningthe staged poses for the railfans that paid for the special privilege to shoot the train.
Typically excursion railroads do not mix general public boarding with railfan specials, and are always two separate events to keep this from happening. In fact, it’s the first one I have ever encountered this mixing. I’m not mad at SIH as this was their first time running a railfan special, I can only hope to suggest in the future they do not mix the two boarding together in the future if they choose to do another railfan special.

For a still relatively new startup, they are doing quite well. Maybe a few bumps in the road initially, but overall I’m very impressed and wish them the best of luck as they continue to offer a wide range of variety with their themes. It’s definitely bringing a boost to the local economy here. Very friendly staff and great service! Can’t wait to see how they will continue to grow over the years to come.

We went for the Easter ride and it was fun. The egg hunt at the end was fun too. It was hard to hear the guy talking about the history of the train, but the lady reading the Easter books was a hit with my little one.

My family and I arrived at 2:26pm for the 2:30 train to Hanover Junction and the employees were nice enough to stop the train so we could board. The narrators were friendly and seemed very knowledgable about the history of the area. The steam train itself was very nice and nostalgic. The entire train ride was about 2.5 hours with a 20 minute stop in Hanover Junction station where a ice cream/​Italian ice truck met the train. The coconut crème ice was very good as was the rainbow flavor. I suggest opening the windows on the train for a nice breeze and a chance to see local kids swimming in the creeks. I enjoyed myself and it was nice to go back in time and get a break from the high tech world we live in.

Unorganized! Stood in line at the counter for 10+ minutes while three employees tried to figure out how to use the credit card machine. When I finally got to the counter the employee stated there were no more rides for the day and started to walk away. I asked what the schedule was which he responded I needed to check the website. I asked how long the different train rides were which he responded he was unsure. Seriously, the ticket salesman could not tell me what the train schedule was or how long I would be on the train. I am definitely not returning. This was basic information that any employee behind the ticket counter should know and furthermore some information about the train rides should be posted in the building.