Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad

We did the Murder Mystery Wine Tour. It was very nice, I am so happy that the cars were air-conditioned. We had a lovely ride, we were seated with another couple and they were a lot of fun. I wasn’t really impressed with the murder mystery part of it, it wasn’t very interactive & I was expecting the theme of the murder mystery to be historic, like the train, and not woke. Oh, and the wine was warm. But the train itself was fabulous and we stopped at High Cheat Falls, and they were glorious.

I didn't have the opportunity to do one of the rail tours, but they look like a lot of fun. The historic trains are quite unique, a step back in time.

Yes, it is amazing!!! The ride is super fun!!! The area is breathtaking with beauty. Durbin, West Virginia is an extremely small town without much other than the railroad. The train travels along The Greenbriar River and comes to a stop at a Caboose hotel. You can move all around the train cars and enjoy the views from every angle. At the stop, everyone is allowed to get off of the train and check out the river and all of the surroundings. The very best part is the engineer, he gave us all an entertaining history of the railroad and the area.

Rode the New Tygart Flyer up to High Falls at Shavers Fork. We were in the parlor car and our host, tour guide and server was Beth, who was wonderful. Beth provided and served all the food and beverages with a kind and friendly smile. The trip took a couple hours to the top to see the falls. At the top of the end there is a 33° bend in the track the train could not travel over. In fact, according to tour guide Mary this is the sharpest RR curve east of the Sierra Nevada. We had absolutely wonderful weather, the leaves were changing and couldn’t have asked for a better day. The trip was really enjoyable, I highly recommend taking the tour. Free parking is available at the station. Parlor car cost is $110/person.

While camping at Five Rivers Campground in Parsons, WV, we planned a train ride and thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience. The only downside was the lack of a vegetarian option for lunch. We would still do it again packing our own lunch the next time. The staff was delightful. We cannot say enough good things about everyone hosting the train.

Enjoyed riding the train up to the waterfall. Just over a 4 hr round-trip, with some time to admire the Falls. Would have been way better in an open air car, but overall a good trip

Great day trip, definitely recommend you get Tix early. Rode the Tygart flyer, great views and scenery along the way, staff was super friendly and knew some history of the rails. The trip ends at high falls of the cheat river, spend some time there taking pictures and just relax, listening to the falls and take in the beautiful view.

Decided to take a train ride last minute, glad we did! We chose the 2 hour Durbin Rocket ride for $47 an adult. For the best view for this ride, sit on the side furthest away from the road. But you are able to walk around/stand/move to other rooms while moving. You travel in one direction for an hour, have a 30 minute break to get out and take some pictures, then head back the same way for the last hour. You are allowed to bring food and drinks for the ride! Ice-cream and souvenirs across the street for after! For the record, the website said you need a printed ticket, but no one ever asked for one, so I don’t think they’re needed while checking in!

Fantastic experience! Good for train buffs and the neophyte rider, especially in the fall. Met the lovely Mary before our trip; little did I know that she was the narrator. Sat in the Parlor Car and had the pleasure to be served by Chase: very attentive, personable and went above and beyond for a few of our requests. The trains themselves were restored beautifully and quite comfortable and little did I know we would have the best seat in the house: right behind the diesel that got repositioned ( hubby is the train expert; forgive my probable incorrect recall and terminology!) Views were absolutely stunning, and exactly why these trips book up months in advance, particularly for the fall colors. Great narration by Mary as stated above, with lots of interesting information, not just related to trains. The highlight was the stop at the Falls- gorgeous and lucky there was rain recently so there just wasn't just a trickle! Lots of time to check it out before our return trip back. Met Stretch and Terry as well-- outstanding employees who truly care about giving the passengers an excellent experience. Food on our car was a make your own sandwich spread: roast beef was excellent but my one request is that they offer non red meat choices (like chicken) as my husband does not eat red meat (thank you to Chase for going to another car so my husband could have chicken for his sandwich). Gift shop as well at the depot. This being our fifth train ride in as many days, this was definitely THE BEST all around.

We had reserved our tickets in advance in the Parlor Car for the New Tygart Flyer train ride to visit the High Falls of the Cheat. The lady at the counter in the museum was helpful and pleasant. Beth was our Parlor Car hostess. She attended to our every need and more. Her descriptions of the scenery were helpful. The lunch she served was beyond our expectations. The announcements over the loud speaker for all the cars regarding scenery were helpful. The High Falls stop was beautiful. If you don't have children under the age of 12 and can reserve the Parlor Car, I highly recommend it. The décor was great. The restroom was convenient in the same car. Our return trip allowed us to watch the back of the train move through the tunnel and around the bends. We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Elkins which was a great hotel with a wonderful view. Dinner at Maggies in downtown Elkins made our whole experience memorable.

Pending review We booked the New Tygert Flyer. It was supposed to go over a high bridge through an s tunnel and up to the falls for 75 bucks a head. Well the track was out up there and they informed us of this 10 minutes before boarding. Not offered a refund, voucher or an opportunity to reschedule. They took us on straight boring 4 hour trip up the tygert river. Boring would never have paid 75 for that. We traveled clear from northern Pa for this ride I know it is not their fault but should have been offered options, just beware.....you may not get what you paid for!!

Tygart Flyer - this excursion was like stepping back in time. There was dinner and entertainment along the way. The scenery was beautiful. Truly a wild and wonderful experience.

Don't miss the wonderful sights of WV, seen from the Parlor car!! The train ride is about 1:30 up the mountain and 1:15 back with a 15 min stop at the falls. The entire area is just gorgeous! If you are able to splurge on the the parlor car, you will experience limited seating, individual tables, a private bathroom, a private buffet, one free glass of wine (no beer or spirits) each glass after is $5, and an extremely funny server! Our server Dillan had us in stitches up the mountain. One hilarious story after another. We throughly enjoyed our ride and our service.

We've visited two years now for the polar express and have absolutely adored it. The gift shop when you arrive is loaded with toys and goodies to choose before or after your trip. We especially loved the light up train wand and the picture frames. The train ride itself is warm and comfortable. The train cars do have bathrooms so no worries if your child has to go during the trip. The hobo is a fun way to start off your trip. The conductor even punches your ticket! And the chefs are SO MUCH FUN!!! They dance and sing as a group and then two chefs will stay in your car to entertain you during your trip to the North Pole! Your train trip will include cookies and hot chocolate of course. They also have water available if you need more than hot chocolate! The lights for the North Pole are adorable and the best part is that Santa comes through each car speaking to every child and giving every visitor a silver bell! So don't buy one I. The gift shop before your trip as you will receive on during it! The cars are cutely decorated and music from the movie plays throughout the trip. There's even a reading of the polar express book! They really try so hard to cover every detail they can and we really loved it. The chefs were so entertaining (don't forget to take some cash to tip them, they work hard to keep the magic alive). Don't forget your matching pjs!!! And make sure to book WAY in advance as this magical train ride fills up REALLY far in advance (9 months to a year in advance!) Pro-tip: request to sit on the North Pole side of the train so your kiddos have a good view of Santa and if you aren't able to snag tickets, stonewall resort offers package deals with an overnight stay.

Polar Express - Nice if you live nearby. Tickets were a bit expressive. For 2 adults and one child, it was ~$165. (I think that's too expensive, but my wife really want to go.) NOT worth traveling over an hour to get there if you're coming from out of the area. We came from DC and the drive was windy and long. It was too much for small children. You also don't want to break down on any of those roads. You're in the middle of nowhere, and it would be unsafe to break down (no shoulders for many of those little roads). Plus, I didn't see a single patrol car, and cell phone coverage is non-existent for much of the drive (although GPS kept track and got us there just fine). As for the experience itself, they do a good job. I wish the train had shocks; we rocked back and forth for a good chunk of the trip and it was difficult walking in the cart (I think they use an old train just for this purpose). There's also no AC/fresh air, which would have been nice, but given the Polar Express is in the Fall/Winter, it was fine. You get hot chocolate and a bell on board (that's it). Otherwise, throughout the ~1.5 hour train ride, they have 2 girls dressed in pajamas entertaining everyone with little skits, and then they have the conductor come through to validate the pretend tickets, and hobo (from the movies), and of course old St. Nick. 1/2 way through the trip, you see the north pole, xmas lights, and Santa outside. The train station is downtown Elkins, which seemed like a really nice town (and EVERYONE in WV was really nice). The Holiday Inn Express is right across the parking lot, so if you're staying there, you can easily walk (it literally wouldn't make sense not to walk). There's a really good restaurant (Maggies) 1.5 blocks away (I ordered take-out, but it's a normal restaurant inside if you want to eat there).

The Cheat Mountain Salamander I recently visited Elkins and was super excited after a previous AMAZING experience on the Cass Scenic Railroad (before it was owned by DGVR) and after learning that there was a back mountain-train ride that was a 9hr. trip I was stoked to be able to hopefully get to hear about some more local history about the WM Railroad and the logging operations in Spruce. We arrived at the station and 7094 was the lead engine pulling the train that day. We boarded the train and pulled out of the station shortly after 8:50am. And after hearing the train horn i though, Man!... 7094's horn is hideous sounding! At first I though a container ship was pulling out of the station as it sounded more like a boat than a train horn. It wasn't til later on the return trip that the other engine had a waayy better sounding horn. Anyway, the first hour of the train ride was super informational and then it all when down hill from here, like the staff no longer cared. They briefly talked about the Kelly Mountain Tunnel as we were going through it and gave some cool facts and history about it and then touched on the town of Bemis and how it had become more of a camping town with all of the trailers and RV's that had taken over the town and then for the last 8hrs of the trip NOTHING was ever said again about the other towns, track sidings, local history or even Spruce. It then became a SUPER BORING ride. I mean C'mon DVGR how do you expect to run tourist railroad and turn a profit if you don't talk about some history to keep people's minds engaged in local history and want to talk and invite friends to ride again. The train did stop at the town of Spruce long enough to swap the engines over to the other end of the train and allow a brief self guided walking tour of Spruce and then it was back on the train again. We did stop at Cheat Falls and it was cool to be able to see the falls in such a remote location. I briefly commented under my breath upon leaving the train,"I wonder who's going to be the first one to fall into the water?" No sooner than I said it an older gentleman need up wiping out a falling over into the river at the falls.LoL It wasn't until after the train ride on the Salamander that I got home and found a lot of info on the internet and Topo maps about the area. I didn't even know about a former mine ran by Enviro Energy off the mainline and that there was a coal washing plant at Cheat Bridge. It's random things like this that could be talked about on the long 9hr. trip that would be interesting to learn about other than radio silence. **Overall I was SUPER bummed about the non informative 9hr. ride out to Spruce and back. I won't be returning again sadly and won't recommend it to others I know.

On our latest family vacation we went on two trains from this line, the New Tygart Flyer and the Durbin Rocket. We wanted to do the dinner train which is $75-85/person and they wanted to charge us for our 5mos old (who doesn't eat from a menu) and our 20mos old who would eat off of our plates. I found this to be a bit ridiculous since even DisneyWorld doesn't charge for small children and they have way more to offer! Nevertheless we still took two train rides. The first was on the Durbin Rocket which leaves from the small town of Durbin. Cost is $22/person, they don't charge for kids under 3, and total mileage is around 11 miles. The train goes about 5-6mph (rocket speed eh?) backwards up a track, stops and lets you get out by the river for 30min, then goes back to the depot. The Rocket is an antique Climax steam train which was neat. Total time is about 2 hours. Bathroom facilities at the station are horrible (only 1 for everyone) and a the picnic location they are outhouses. The cars are open air and one is covered...so be warned if it rains. Overall I would skip this train due to the high price, short trip, poor facilities, and remote location...the ride wasn't that scenic as well. If you are a train junky I would just stop by and take a look at the train between it's 10am and 2:30pm runs. The steam engine is the only thing worth seeing. The second train we took was the New Tygart Flyer lunch train out of Elkins. It leaves at 11am, goes about 46 miles round trip, and has a layover at the High Falls of the Cheat River. There are no open air cars and a buffet style lunch and dessert are served on this train. Cars are air conditioned and have adequate bathrooms. Cost was $45/person and they did not charge for small children. This is the train I would take again. The High Falls are beautiful and the train covers a bit of distance and the history of each area is narrated by a worker. I would get there early so you can be first in line to get a table in your car, we had to split up our family of 4 and sit on two different tables. Staff was friendly and courteous and everything was clean. The 4 hour ride is relaxing and a nice quiet way to spend most of the day with your family or friends.

Bought a couple tickets on the Tygart Flyer for my Dad and I for fathers day. We drove about 4 hours on a Sunday morning and arrived in Elkins, WV. The train station was easy to find, and modern and clean. The train itself was a lot of fun to observe, and really takes you back. The ride itself was up the mountain and stopped at the High Falls of Cheat, on the Cheat River. The falls were cool, and we stayed up there about 45 minutes walking around and observing the falls and surrounding area. We also had a buffet style lunch on the way up that consisted of picnic style sandwiches, chips, salad, etc. It was nothing special. The seating was at tables, and the chairs were not that comfortable. Sit on the right side of the train when you get on for the best views. The neat factor + views made up for the basic and underwhelming experience of the train itself.

They do a great job with the Polar Express every year. We had a great time taking out kids on the train this past Christmas. I felt like it was a great price for the event. Everyone got souvenir mugs. Santa was so nice and kind to my kids. The kids who did the service were wonderful sand did a great job interacting with my 2 boys. Thank you for a wonderful experience for my kids!

I took my wife on a weekend get away into the mountains of West Virginia to see the fall colors. I made plans to take a train ride, which is something she has never done. We rode the Durbin Rocket fall special today. It was a cool steam train. The ride started out well, even though the ride was not the most exciting. We made it to the stopping point and started our voyage back. This time the open air car was directly behind the engine. When the train started to take leave it blew black wet soot all over all of the passengers. We all were covered in black soot, our hair, clothes, everything.... Not one person mentioned that this was going to happen. When we finally returned to the Durbin station we all had to wash what we could off so we could drive back to our hotels and homes to take a shower. After washing off, my wife had to buy a t-shirt at the gift store because her shirt was ruined. We mentioned that this happened and the girl that checked us in gave us attitude. I have no plans on returning to do another train ride and will not recommend it to anyone. I guess this is how they get people to buy t-shirts!

We enjoyed The Polar Express train ride, this past Friday evening. It was a fantastic experience, and I highly recommend it to anyone who may be considering this adventure!!! Click the link below, for my video of The Polar Express train ride- Elkins WV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDuFuPUwdP4