THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9503310093
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: TRAVEL-WISE
SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN
LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
THE BUCKINGHAM Train will be pulling out of Dillwyn soon for a series of spring runs. If you're crazy about trains, as a lot of us are, you should be on board. The beautiful springtime scenery of central Virginia is a bonus.
This is the only remaining standard-gauge passenger excursion train operating in Virginia, and it's a showcase of preserved railroad equipment. Passenger cars from the 1920s and open-air sightseeing cars are featured on each trip, pulled by one of the railroad's diesel locomotives from the 1950s.
On May 6 and 27 there will be two trips each day: one at 9 a.m. and another at 1:15 p.m., each a 3 1/2-hour round-trip excursion to New Canton on the James River.
On June 3, Dillwyn Heritage Day, there will be three trips: 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. for a 1 1/2-hour round-trip to Johnson; 1:15 p.m. for a 3 1/2-hour round-trip to New Canton.
Fares for the New Canton trip are $16 for adults, $9 for children 2-12; the trip to Johnson is $8 for adults, $5 for ages 2-12. Advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended.
Dillwyn is about 1 1/2 hours west of Richmond on U.S. 60. Info: (800) 451-6318 Sunday through Thursday, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Or write National Railway Historical Society, P.O. Box 8583, Richmond, VA 23226. MORE DAFFODILS
There is another daffodil show coming up in case you missed yesterday's at Gloucester. It's the 61st annual Daffodil Show, Wednesday and Thursday, sponsored by the Garden Club of Virginia. This year's host is the Best Western Hanover House at Ashland, just off Interstate 95 north of Richmond. Hours are 3-7 on Wednesday, 9-1 on Thursday. Free, but donations are welcomed. Info: (804) 746-2377. EASTERN SHORE BECKONS
The new Eastern Shore Travel Guide is out. If you South Hampton Roadies have been thinking of venturing across the Chesapeake Bay bridge-tunnel (U.S.13) to a very different place, order your guide - it's free - and make some plans. Info: (804) 878-2460. FROM HERE TO THERE
The Virginia Marine Science Museum of Virginia Beach and Society Expeditions is sponsoring a 21-day cruise in June to explore the Lost Atolls of the South Pacific. For a brochure, complete ininerary and prices, call the museum, (804) 437-4949, 9-5 Monday-Friday. BEST IN SHOW
The Williamsburg Sampler Bed and Breakfast has been recognized by Gov. George Allen as 1995 Inn of the Year, selected by voters of the Complete Guide to B&B Inns and Guesthouses in the U.S. and Canada. The proprietors are Helen and Ike Sisane. Info: (800) 722-1169. V-E DAY IN EUROPE
A special V-E Day tour (May 3-10) commemorating the end of World War II will be led by retired Staff Sgt. Barkev Sagatelian. He is one of the few people still living who participated in the surrender ceremony, which took place in a schoolhouse in Reims, France. Sagatelian worked with Gen. Dwight Eisenhower's staff, compiling operational data. Participants will join with Sagatelian on the anniversary in the room where the signing took place 50 years ago. It will include a stop in London for ceremonies there. For more information on the program, call Galaxy Tours (800) 523-7287.
May 8, marking the 50th anniversary of victory in Europe in World War II, will be a public holiday in Britain. The focus of events in London will come on the weekend of May 6 to 8 in Hyde Park, with a variety of exhibitions, performances and entertainment. At 8 p.m. May 8, Queen Elizabeth II will light a beacon in the park, to be followed by the lighting of many similar beacons across the country. Vice President Al Gore will represent the United States. Info: The British Tourist Authority, 551 Fifth Ave., Suite 701, New York, N.Y. 10176-0799, has a free London Planner, updated monthly, full of events and ideas. Ask also for a London map. The BTA now has a toll-free information line, (800) 462-2748, staffed weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. THE SOUNDS OF MUSIC
The Spoleto Festival U.S.A. in Charleston, S.C., will be May 26 to June 11 this year, returning to a full 17-day schedule after last year's shorter program. About 50 programs of opera, symphonic music, choral music, chamber music, jazz, cabaret, theater, dance and literary and visual arts are on the schedule - including the American premiere of Hans Werner Henze's opera, ``The Prince of Homburg,'' and the U.S. debut of Kiev's National Ballet of the Ukraine (``Swan Lake''). Individual tickets, which start at $10 and go up to about $65, are now on sale. Info: (800) 255-4659. MEMO: Travel-wise is compiled from wire-service reports, news releases, trade
journals, books, magazines and the deepest recesses of the writer's
mind. Send comments and questions to Travel-wise, The
Virginian-Pilot/The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, Va. 23501-0449; phone (804)
446-2904.
by CNB