In promoting goodwill and community support by R. J. Corman Railroad Group, My Old Kentucky Dinner Train operates in 1940s dining cars on 16 miles of the former Louisville & Nashville track between Bardstown and Limestone Springs. The passenger waiting room is located in Bardstown’s former limestone freight house, which dates from 1860 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Choices
The train offers both 2-hour lunch and dinner trips, as well as a murder mystery, bourbon tasting, Valentine’s Day, North Pole, and other special event trains. Trains are pulled by two ex-Southern FP7s. The Budd-built lightweight cars are of AT&SF, C&O, and PRR ancestry, including the former C&O No. 1921 that operated on President Dwight Eisenhower’s funeral train. Two restored depots, Deatsville and Limestone Springs, can be seen on the line.
When to go
The train operates year-round, and the scenery is especially nice in spring and fall, with temperatures in the 70s and low 80s.
Good to know
Founded in 1780, Bardstown is Kentucky’s second-oldest city and features a mix of old and new inns, restaurants, and shops. Several local distilleries give tours, and the Kentucky Railway Museum is 15 minutes away.
Worth doing
The area is rich in history and includes Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace and his boyhood home. The Civil War Museum at Old Bardstown Village is dedicated to the war’s Western theater. The village also contains 11 historic log cabins. The Women of the Civil War Museum and several other museums are also nearby.
Don’t miss
The train passes through part of the Bernheim Forest, a private 14,000-acre nature preserve, a habitat for a variety of trees, vegetation, and wildlife. While in the forest, the train passes slowly over the 310-foot-long, 60-foot-high Jackson Hollow timber trestle built for the predecessor Bardstown & Louisville Railroad in 1860.
Getting there
Bardstown is about 40 miles south of Louisville and 55 miles southwest of Lexington. When driving from Louisville, take I-65 south to Exit 112 and then Route 245 east. From Lexington, take Route 60 west and then the Martha Layne Collins Parkway.
Location: 602 North 3rd Street, Bardstown, KY
Phone: 502-348-7300
Website: kydinnertrain.com
E-mail: reservations@kydinnertrain.com
