A week ago we drove to Bryson City where the Great Smoky Mountain Rail Road is located.  I heard about this mountain train ride some years ago and was looking forward to the ride and being able to take photographs along the way.  It was a bit of a disappointing journey. The open air cars, particularly good for photographers, was not being used as they thought it too cold although it was a pleasant 70 or so when we rode the train.  And our seats faced backwards, hence I couldn't see what was coming and had to stand up and face forward against the window so i could be ready for whatever I might want to photography.  While I don't think we ever went of 45mph and often at 20-25mph - still, nothing close to the train could be photographed as it was just a blur.  Still, I did get a few photos that I liked:

Our train engine seen as it went around a corner and was visible from our window.

And this footbridge ... I was excited when I realized we'd see a footbridge that we had stopped at two years ago and walked across it.  At the time we questioned if the rail road tracks that the footbridge ended at were in use.  And then we saw the footbridge approaching and knew that was the one we'd walked on a couple years earlier.

We were following the Nantahala River which was shockingly low.  The guide said a dam had been opened a couple weeks earlier and the water would rise to the water line you can see in the photos - it would take 2-3 weeks.

Had the river and lake been full to its water line, it would have been a very different view out the coach window with the water being close to the edge of the train.

The brush along the side of the tracks was heavy and probably half the time if not more, i couldn't see anything other than the blur of the bushes.  And we were lucky as the brushes and trees had not leafed out ... I think once they had it would be quick difficult to see for more than a third of the ride. 

We did pass along the edge of small towns which were also hard to see but this one had an open view with a nice picturesque scene.

I have thought of returning when the river is full and sitting in an open air coach will see what the summer brings.  It is usually packed with tourists and ... well, you know.