Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad

What a wonderful experience! We took the train into The Trough and chose the Superior dining option. The service was top-notch and the food was fabulous. The decor felt like traveling back in time. Then there was the magic of the scenery, especially the bald eagles. There were 15 sightings on our trip. My husband and I are already planning to do it again this Winter. Highly recommend.

I had the pleasure of going on the Trough Canyon tour in June, and it was truly an unforgettable experience from start to finish. We opted for the **Superior Dining** option, which included a **4-course meal**, and I must say, the food rivaled anything you’d expect from a high-end restaurant. Every dish was expertly prepared and beautifully presented. Our server, **Kaleb**, made the experience even more enjoyable. He was incredibly **attentive, courteous, and knowledgeable**, ensuring we were comfortable and well-informed throughout the ride. It was also a pleasant surprise when the **chef personally stopped by** our table to check on how we were enjoying the meal—a nice touch that made the dining feel extra special. The tour itself was just as impressive. The train goes through the stunning **Trough Canyon** twice. During the first pass, we enjoyed the first three courses of our meal while listening to a knowledgeable guide over the **PA system**, who shared **historical facts** and pointed out **eagle nests** along the way. On the second pass, we took advantage of the **open-air gondola**, which gave us a completely different and more immersive view of the canyon. The highlight for me was capturing a photo of a **bald eagle perched in a tree right next to the rail**—an absolutely breathtaking moment. Overall, I can’t recommend this tour enough. The combination of **scenic beauty, top-tier dining, and exceptional service** made it a standout experience that I would happily do again.

We had a wonderful time on our all day train ride to Petersburg. We decided to go with the Club Service and did not regret it. The seats were so comfortable and we appreciated the climate controlled car on the hot day. The dining experience was tremendous with excellent dishes and the very attentive attendant in our car. Tara made sure our glasses were always full and served our food in a very professional manner. We saw bald eagles on the trip on both passes through the "Trough." The staff did a stupendous job of sighting and pointing out the eagles. I highly recommend this trip

First time to experience this and it was excellent! My daughter had a blast looking at the mountains, river, and best of all eagles! We saw 6 eagles and 3 nests. The food was awesome, service was fantastic, everyone was super friendly and very caring how our experience was. I would definitely do this again. :)

The only complaint was that we couldn’t buy a bottle of water while waiting to board the train. It was in the high 80’s standing in line and they were a few minutes behind getting people boarded. The gift shop needs to sell water! Kaleb, our server was very nice. The food was delicious! We did see a few bald eagles and a nest, cows and a few deer. Overall we enjoyed our ride and glad we booked our seats on the river side.

First time riding this train. Selected the trough sunset tour. There was a bad thunderstorm coming, but they boarded us quickly but safely a little early to avoid the downpour. Right away, we felt comfortable in the car we chose-Premium. The seats were cushioned booth style with a window at the table. If the windows weren't tinted, we could have had a better view. The Superior and Club cars each pictured here had a different menu and at each level up, the bathrooms got much nicer! Our car was climate controlled a/c (it was cold), the lower priced cars are open with no windows. The narration of the history of the area of what we were passing was very interesting, rich with history and informative! Unfortunately, we couldn't hear most of it. Evidently, each car has a volume control we found out at the end, so be to ask for it to be turned up. With each car type, there is a set menu. We chose Premium due to the menu options. We had a garden salad, New York strip steak ($5 upcharge), green beans, and 1/4 of a baked potato, all topped with a garlic butter and a chocolate chocolate mousse filled cake. It was all very good! The steak needed to be a thicker or bigger cut, and the potato should have been a whole one for the price we paid. The food was served in courses timed out nicely. We were served biscuits and corn bread to start. There was a very nice wine selection with paring suggestions on each description on the drink menu. Nice touch. We chose the Earthquake cabernet, it was perfect with our steak. Having wine available is a new option for the train. Great addition! After dinner we went to an open air car (gondola) to look for the bald eagles! This was so exciting and a not to miss! There were 14 confirmed sightings on the trip! We saw eagles and a nest! The attendee of this car was Very knowledgeable about eagles, gave us facts along the way, and notice of where to look for the eagles as we were getting to pass! Overall, it was a good trip, great for a date night!

Very nice scenic route we had 6 bald eagle sightings and the cows had right of way while crossing over into the fields I nature so seeing all this gave me peace along with watching all the kayakers up and down the river…. Will definitely do it again, Lauren was a great host in our car

We had a lovely time on the August 2, 2025 Saturday 1pm ride. We purchased Club car fares, and celebrated our 30th anniversary. Staff were polite. We enjoyed the narration about the history of the area along the trip. We saw lots of eagles, 10 or more ( I cant remember). The food was good, our club car was very nice. We were lucky to have a nice sunny day, and really got to enjoy the Gondola car. I would definitely do this train ride again.