Private Varnish
“Private Varnish” is a term applied to privately owned railroad passenger cars. In the past, they were typically owned by wealthy businessmen, or government officials. Nowadays, many are owned by hobbyists and excursion groups, who organize trips by hitching their cars to the rear of Amtrak trains. PVs are one of my favorite pieces of railroading to photograph, and I do my best to get trackside every time one comes through my area! Click on the pictures below for an enlarged view.
New River Train 2018
After 52 years, the curtain finally fell on the New River Train, an annual fall foliage excursion between Huntington and Hinton, West Virginia, organized by the Collis P. Huntington chapter of the NRHS. Changes to Amtrak policies regarding private car movements made operating the trip difficult and costly, and the chapter announced they would be unable to host the excursion in 2019 after losing so much money on the 2018 trip. I made the trip to photograph the train in 2018, as many of us feared it may be the last run, but thankfully another group has revived and rebranded the train as the “Autumn Colors Express.” The group plans to run the train again in 2020 after a successful 2019 season, and perhaps I will make the trip again to view 29 private cars through the beautiful New River Gorge!
