Patriot Rail to launch Gettysburg excursion service this month

Editor's note: This story has been updated.

Patriot Rail yesterday announced it will launch later this month the Gettysburg Railway, an excursion passenger service over a revitalized 25-mile rail line between Gettysburg and Mount Holly Springs, Pennsylvania.

It is the fourth rail line in Patriot Rail's newly formed excursion division and will be open to the public later this month.

The Gettysburg Railway features 1950s-era Budd passenger coaches renovated into first-class passenger railcars. The train departs from the 1884 Gettysburg and Harrisburg Hotel and Conference Center and traverses Adams County, Patriot Rail officials said in a press release.

Highlights of the experience include views of the Eternal Light Peace Memorial and Gettysburg countryside, narration about Adams County and Civil War history, themed rides for holidays, private event space and a gift shop at the 1884 depot.

Patriot Rail entered the excursion rail business 10 years ago with the Blue Ridge Scenic Excursion Railway based in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

In 2023, the company launched two excursion routes in New Hampshire in Lincoln and Meredith. Patriot Rail also owns a custom rail-bike route in Laconia, New Hampshire, where visitors can use custom-made bikes to traverse a 1848-era rail line.

To learn more about Patriot Rail's expansion of its excursion business, read this RailPrime feature article.