15-05-2025
Restaurant Road Trip: Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad
ROMNEY, (WBOY) — For this week's Restaurant Road Trip, 12 News is returning to Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad in Hampshire County for an in-depth look at its food offerings.
There are five different levels of dining service that are available to passengers who sign up for an excursion with Potomac Eagle:
Club Service – a lounge-style, relaxed type of setting, where passengers are served five courses of heavy appetizers
Superior Dining – an upscale, fine dining environment with four courses in a table-and-chair setting
Premium Dining – a three-course meal that has family-friendly, booth seating
Standard Dining – choice of a hot and cold food item
Concession meal service – available for coach passengers
Gretta Ramsey, Food and Beverage Manager for the Potomac Eagle, told 12 News that although people come on the train rides to enjoy nature, the food service makes the trip more enjoyable.
'It is nice being able to have different levels of service, and different price points for our guests because they get to choose,' said Ramsey.
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12 News reporter Jordan Massey tried the Superior Dining option, and there were many choices on the menu. Meal service begins as soon as the train ride begins at 1 p.m., with biscuits and cornbread to start things off and the first course options of the day were shrimp cocktail, mini beef wellington puff pastries, or hummus with a vegetable crudité for an appetizer.
'We start early in the morning,' said Ramsey, regarding food prep for each day. 'We have storage off-site—not on the train. We begin everything on board and we start prepping immediately.'
Ramsey said that the kitchen staff starts with prepping vegetables, saving meat prep and salad preparations until the very end of the process. She added that once everything is prepped and set aside, the staff holds it to begin serving things out once the train leaves the station.
For the main course, options included a slow-braised pork chop, seared sea bass, or chicken scaloppini with mushroom sauce, served with fresh green beans and over-roasted potatoes. Dessert options for the day included chocolate torte cake with raspberry drizzle, or an alternative chocolate-free option.
According to Ramsey, one of the biggest challenges that the kitchen staff faces on Potomac Eagle is trying to navigate being on a moving train.
'We're always trying to find ways to do things as fresh as possible, and be unique with our plating,' she said. 'You eat with your eyes first,' Ramsey added. 'So I think when folks see a different way of food being presented, then that gets them excited to try it.'
Ramsey said that the staff tries to be efficient with their footsteps and their hand movements because they work in very narrow spaces and don't have the luxury of walking back and forth multiple times unnecessarily.
'We try to optimize every square inch of footage that we have, have systems and processes in place,' said Ramsey. 'So that we work very well—very tight-knit machine to… wait and give our guests the best, freshest possible product at the end.'
Ramsey had an opportunity to be a chef with another railroad before, and she had about half of the space there that she has at Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad. She told 12 News that she's been cooking professionally since 2010 with a background in catering, so she wasn't initially used to working in moving environments with limited space.
'It has been wonderful and interesting, and overwhelming all at the same time to transition into this, because we have grown. Just since 2010, I would panic and try to figure out how in the world I was gonna feed 70 people,' Ramsey stated, adding that now in 2025, feeding around 150 people per day is 'a piece of cake.'
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Ramsey describes Potomac Eagles as a 'little hidden nugget' in Hampshire County, adding that they've slowly been getting more exposure, but they're still trying to expand their reach.
'So to get to meet those people and interact with those people, see what brought them to our little corner of West Virginia, it's wonderful,' said Ramsey. 'We have some guests that are repeat riders, that this is their monthly date night and they come… instead of going to a fancy restaurant or whatever, they come here and this is how they celebrate.'
'So just to be able to share this vintage railroad, a unique dining experience with our guests is a true pleasure,' she added.
You can book your trip on the Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad online here.
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