Whitewater Valley Railroad

Our family rode this excursion train on October first this year, and had a wonderful time. This railroad is a thriving concern with 200 volunteers, and this shows in the number of projects being undertaken and in the quality of the work being done. Our caboose was authentic in every detail, & all present had a very good time. I will recommend this outfit to our friends.

No Christmas spirit, website described way better experience than what was given. Look like teenagers doing everything and didn’t seem happy to be there! Hot chocolate was drug across the floor in a cooler, no happiness or dancing as promised, couldn’t hear the audio book, views of junkyards,, overall experience was nothing like it was described and not worth the drive or cost!

Took my family here last night & wasn’t too impressed. We were so excited about this trip (it’s located 2 hours away from us) just to be kinda bummed. We got to central station early as suggested. Grabbed some souvenirs & waited for the train to arrive everything states that the train will board promptly at time but standing out on the platform you can’t hear any directions or announcements as only one speaker somewhat works. We got boarded after finding out where we needed to go as a group of 7 or more. The decorations are bare but cute for what it was (not what I expected for the price) the train ride finally started around 5:30, the town is pretty disgusting loads of abandoned looking properties, trash, & wreckage yards. Most of the kids in our area seemed like they were forced to be there rather than wanted to be there. It was definitely a downer to see an elf cry, & “dancing” chefs having sad/unhappy looks on their faces. Plus the “conductor” sounded like jigsaw over the intercom. The cookies & hot chocolate were great & there were a couple chefs/hobos that did wonderfully but for the price, drive, & theme it definitely wasn’t worth it.

Rode the train to Metamora today with a 4 hour layover! Had an absolute blast! Was part of a large group of 19 and they accomodated us very well! Everyone we had contact with was nice, polite and very knowledgeable. While the train is in motion it's hard to hear the announcements, over the train and the chatter, so snag a seat close to the speaker if you can, or just do what I did and verify what you thought you heard when they come back to get you. LOL! (NOT ADVISED, bit it did work) The scenery is rural Indiana, so most of it is gorgeous, some is junky backyards, ALL of it is fantastic! Best hour and 20 minutes of the day for sure, and you get to do it twice! Our coach was #1, originally built in 1934 and was in great shape! It was awesome to think this was once THE way to travel in style! Would definitely recommend!