Part of the line that originally went from Marietta to Knoxville, the Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad takes passengers from Blue Ridge up to McCaysville and back.  It meets the Toccoa River and crosses it, with plenty of beautiful scenery along the way. (Look in particular, for the Fish Trap in the river. It is a series of rocks along the bed of the river in a v-shape that channeled fish into the waiting hands of the Native Americans who built it centuries ago.) The trip takes several hours, but stops long enough in McCaysville for people to eat and see the town’s sights. In the IGA parking lot (a walking distance part of town) there is a blue line painted to indicate the Georgia/Tennessee border – so you can straddle the line and have your picture made in both states.

The track was originally built in the 1880s and was “small gauge” meaning the rails were three feet apart rather than four. There were advantages in maneuverability but disadvantages in the ability to haul heavier loads, so the standard gauge became the norm. The track that remains from Blue Ridge to McCaysville was converted to standard gauge some time after its beginning to be competitive. It ceased passenger service to Blue Ridge in 1948.

A group of citizens organized with the idea of utilizing the tracks for a tourist train in the 1980s. There were plenty of hoops to jump through and a number of people contributed to the effort. The train began its run from Blue Ridge to McCaysville in 1997, celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2007. Check the website for the schedule – different trips have different rates, and plan on making reservations for those peak leaf-viewing weeks.