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Everyone is excited in the city as the date of the Amtrak excursion train from Roanoke, Va, to Bluefield draws nearer. Food vendors are stocked and ready to serve as many as 750-800 passengers while musicians are in tune and attractions — some new and some established — are prepared to greet visitors.
Live in an apartment in Roanoke, VA and looking for an adventure? All aboard the Amtrak excursion, relive the days of old.
Kennedy recalled taking the train to Hampton, Va., to visit her brothers. Her aunt packed a lunch for her to eat on the way, and put a surprise in it” Kennedy said. “Back in those days, I dressed up in a black & plaid dress and high heels. Boy, how times have changed!”
Ball remembered taking day-long train trips to Delbarton in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
“I was only 7 or 8 years old back then,” Ball said. “Our whole family went on the train, it seems like it took 7 or 8 hours to get there. We rode in the coach car”
Ball said her grandfather was a locomotive engineer and used to operate the old Norfolk & Western Seven Spot, now in Lotito Park. Her father also worked on the railroad, and as a “perk,” he and his family could travel on the train for free.
Ball and Kennedy will be selling long-sleeve t-shirts at the event. “We plan to donate a portion of the profits to the Mercer County Humane Society,” Ball said.
The Mercer County Convention & Visitors Bureau has been planning for the event since learning that the excursion was returning to Bluefield again.
“Our maps with all of the restaurants and venues that will be open will be printed soon,” Marie Blackwell, executive director of the Mercer County CVB said.
“The city of Bluefield stands ready to welcome visitors.” The Amtrak excursion train is sponsored by the Roanoke Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.
Entertainers Dan Turner, Melissa McKinney and Doc Greenberg will be performing music at various downtown locations while DJ Kevin Pennington will welcome visitors to the city.
New businesses, new attractions and well-established firms will be open. The weather is supposed to be sunny and clear.
“We hope that a lot of people from the area will also come to town and enjoy everything that will be going on,” she said.
Original article – Bluefield Daily Telegraph
