The ''Greenbrier Presidential Express'' was a proposed luxury

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

that was planned to operate between

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, United States, and the train station at

the Greenbrier The Greenbrier is a luxury resort located in the Allegheny Mountains near White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in the United States. Since 1778, visitors have traveled to this part of the state to "take the waters" of t ...

resort in White Sulphur Springs,

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. The project was initiated in June 2011 but canceled in May 2012 due to numerous issues, among which were capacity constraints on the

Buckingham Branch Railroad Buckingham Branch Railroad is a Class III short-line railroad operating over 275 miles (443 km) of historic and strategic trackage in Central Virginia. Sharing overhead traffic with CSX and Amtrak, the company's headquarters are in Dill ...

and Federal approval of the train's engineering.

History

Following his purchase of The Greenbrier resort in his native

, billionaire coal entrepreneur

Jim Justice James Conley Justice II (born April 27, 1951) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from West Virginia. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2017 to 2025 as the 36th gover ...

launched a number of new initiatives aimed at reinvigorating the struggling property, including significant renovations, the

Greenbrier Classic The Greenbrier Classic was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held from 2010 to 2019 at The Old White at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. For its final two editions, the tournament was titled A Military Tribute at the Gree ...

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

event, and the construction of a casino. He unveiled concept drawings for the ''Greenbrier Presidential Express'', designed to bring guests to and from the resort, at a June 2011 launch party in Washington, D.C. Efforts to prepare for the new train began with a $15 million investment by Justice to purchase and rehabilitate 15 passenger cars at a plant in Pennsylvania. The train's consist was to have been made up of baggage cars, club cars, and dining cars offering Greenbrier-style luxury. Most cars were to be named after

presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *''Præsidenten ...

who summered at the resort. The decor for these cars was being supervised by interior designer

Carleton Varney Carleton Bates Varney (January 23, 1937 – July 14, 2022) was an American decorator, designer, lecturer, and author. Known as Mr. Color, his work was based on the use of bright, vivid, multicolors and patterns. His design philosophy "stresses ...

, the student of the woman behind the Greenbrier's signature style,

Dorothy Draper Dorothy Draper (November 22, 1889 – March 11, 1969) was an American interior decorator. Stylistically very anti-minimalist, she used bright, exuberant colors and large prints that encompassed whole walls. She incorporated black and white tile ...

. Deluxe cocktails would have been served during the 6-hour journey, and plans called for a registered nurse to be on hand to serve the passengers and plan treatments at the resort's spa and medical facilities. Upon arrival, guests would be met by horse-drawn carriages at the station and conveyed across the street to the resort's main building. 4-8-4 steam locomotive No. 614, formerly used by the

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis Potter Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Rich ...

was painted in ''Greenbrier Presidential Express'' livery intended to eventually serve as the power for the train, it was displayed at

Clifton Forge, VA Clifton Forge is a town in Alleghany County, Virginia, United States which is part of the greater Roanoke Region. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census. The Jackson River flows through the town, which as a result was once known as Jac ...

to promote the train. ''Trains'' magazine reported in January 2012 that the future of the ''Presidential Express'' was in doubt due to capacity problems on the Buckingham Branch Railroad, a problem also affecting plans to make Amtrak's ''

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

'' (which also serves White Sulphur Springs) a daily train. As of May 2012, the ''Greenbrier Presidential Express'' project was canceled. Most employees were laid off, and numerous rail cars and locomotives were placed for sale, with the rolling stock scheduled for auction on September 18, 2014.

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Greenbrier Resort
The Greenbrier Passenger rail transportation in Virginia Passenger rail transportation in Washington, D.C. Passenger rail transportation in West Virginia