Watauga Valley Railroad Dining Experience

The Watauga Valley Railroad Museum will host a special dining experience on restored vintage railroad dining cars on Saturday, June 25 at 5 p.m., 5:45 p.m., 7 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. at the Watauga Valley Historic Railroad yard.

The nostalgia of a bygone era will be relieved in these beautifully decorated railroad dining cars.  The Watauga Valley Railroad Museum will provide a unique opportunity for fine dining and entertainment on the restored Clinchfield 100 and Moultrie dining cars.

The highlight of the evening will be a dinner followed by storytelling by an authentic Railroad Storyteller.  Guests will be greeted by railroad songs by the band called the Trunk Monkeys.

Tickets are $56 each per setting. Please specify time and menu option when purchasing tickets. All tickets must be purchased in advance of the event, and there are no refunds. Diners may choose a table for two or four. Tickets are available by calling the Jonesborough Visitors Center at 423.753.1010 or visiting Jonesborough.com/tickets.

Due to limited parking at the rail yard in Jonesborough, all patrons will park at the Jonesborough Senior Center at 307 E Main Street and will be shuttled a short distance to the dining cars at no extra cost. The dining cars will be in the rail yard on static display and will not move.

Please note that both vintage heritage passenger cars were built before the American with Disabilities Act. Due to their historic significance and age, they are exempt from ADA Compliance requirements. Please consider suitability when ordering tickets.

This event is a fundraiser for the Chuckey Depot Museum in Historic Jonesborough.

The Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society & Museum (WVRHS&M), the town of Jonesborough, Tn. and the Heritage Alliance have partnered to preserve the former Southern Railway train depot from Chuckey, Tn. It was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1979 for its historic architectural significance. Built by Southern Railway in 1906, the depot had been privately leased since 1959, but was situated on land owned by Southern successor Norfolk Southern, who notified the building’s owners of its plans to demolish the historic structure because the lease had expired. The owners of the building gifted it to the town of Jonesborough, and it was moved from Chuckey to Jonesborough. It now serves as a museum. Although the railroad is still prominent in Jonesborough, the town’s depot was razed in the 1970s.

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About the Chuckey Depot Museum: The mission of the Chuckey Depot Museum focuses on regional railroads in its exhibits, like the Southern, Clinchfield, and East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad. This exhibit gives the Museum a chance to showcase items that come from all over the country, including a map of railroads in Ohio and a stock certificate for the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Company. The Chuckey Depot’s original home was just down the road in Chuckey, Tennessee, and now sits within WC Rowe Park in Jonesborough. In an effort to preserve the building, it was dismantled and re-erected in Jonesborough, where it opened as a museum in October 2017. The Chuckey Depot Museum is located at 110 South 2nd Avenue. For more information, please call 423.753.1010. The Depot’s regular hours are Thursday-Sunday, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. This project is brought to you by the Town of Jonesborough, Heritage Alliance of NE TN and SW VA and Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society.

About the Town of Jonesborough: A unique 18th century town nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of Northeast Tennessee, Jonesborough’s natural beauty, charming architecture, and storytelling heritage have attracted visitors worldwide. Stay a day, a week or forever, and create your own stories in beautiful Historic Jonesborough. Visit www.jonesborough.com for more information.