Colebrookdale Railroad

Let me start by saying that the train and station are absolutely beautiful and were a wonderful experience on their own. Staff was very friendly. I probably would have given it 5 stars if I had booked just a coach ticket at $35 per person (maybe). The reason for the low stars is the overall experience to price point.

The meal was so awful and nowhere near the additional $100 the excursion cost. What is advertised was a brunch with an undetermined exact menu but would include fruit, eggs, sausage, french toast bake or pancakes, and oatmeal. No order was taken. No option to indicate food restrictions/preferences was given. No oatmeal was provided or offered. What was received was a small cup of unripe oranges with sour cantaloupe/honey dew, then an hour into the ride two low quality FROZEN blueberry pancakes, a to-go packet of syrup, two pieces of partly raw, mostly under cooked bacon, and a chunk of egg casserole, which had peppers and onions baked in. No peppers and onions were indicated in the potential menu. It's on me for assuming my eggs would be separate from the sausage and not include flavors I don't care for, but it also seems like the "potential" menu could have been more honest and accurate. Also, I was technically supposed to receive two plates, as my companion couldn't attend, but tickets are not refundable so both tickets were checked in and punched. No second meal was brought out (which means the extra $50 paid for that ticket wasn't honored), but I held back my complaint because there was no amount of lost money that would have me try to choke down any more of what was served.

Which brings me to my second point. What was advertised was fall colors and flavors through the most scenic views. They certainly can't help that the leaves hadn't turned yet (10/6/24) but I do wish they had been more honest about how the ride was conducted. We rode an hour in on direction, at a very slow pace, passing lots of ravines and backyards, parking lots, and commercial truck storage centers. Then sat idle for a half hour before driving backwards to return to the station sooner than anyone expected. The views were very nice, but not quiet as envisioned, based on the website description. No announcement we had arrived at the station and were to disembark was made. Several riders were very confused and unsure if we should sit or leave. In the beginning of the ride the voice over was so loud you couldn't hear the staff, then got very quiet, and never returned to a listenable volume, so much of the history of the area shared was inaudible, which is a shame because I think it would have added to the experience.

If you chose the Beaver car, know that is gorgeous, and they are very concerned that you are careful to not ruin the seats and respect the restoration. And rightly so, they did a great job! What they don't seem to care about is the bathroom and side glass doors SLAMMING at full force into the wall with every bump, so that it constantly sounds as if the car is exploding. Also note that the seating chart appears to be inaccurate, as I chose table 1 which was to have much better views. However, I was placed on the opposite side with less viewing advantage. I'm not sure if their chart is inaccurate, if it was a mistake on the part of whomever set up the tables (as the tables are only numbered with a paper card with your name), or if I just don't know how to read a map (didn't seem to be the case but is always a possibility) but that added to the disappointment. Also know that if you book the Beaver car, which again, is gorgeous but not worth the food cost, it fits two people per table and I would avoid tables 1 and 2 as they were close enough to the bathrooms that it was obvious in both sound and smell when someone was using one. Not the fault of the train at all, did not affect my review, just worth noting for potential riders in the future.

Overall, at $70 I probably would have felt it was worth the trip. At $180 absolutely not. Stick with just the viewing cars or donuts and cider, but don't waste your time on brunch.