Bardstown, KY
My Old KY Dinner Train
4.6· 1,424 Google reviews
At a Glance
Source checked 2026-08-15- TypeR.J. Corman dinner train with meals prepared and served aboard restored 1940s dining cars
- LocationBardstown, KY
- Rating4.6 ★1,424 Google reviews
About My Old KY Dinner Train
My Old Kentucky Dinner Train is R.J. Corman's year-round Bardstown dining excursion. Guests check in at the historic depot, board restored 1940s dining cars, and receive a multi-course meal prepared and served during a roughly 32- to 35-mile countryside round trip. The operator currently lists lunch, dinner, bourbon, murder-mystery, family, and holiday formats. Dates, menus, prices, ages, consist, and availability remain live-booking controls, so choose the excursion first and treat its checkout page as the final authority.
Choose the Dinner-Train Format That Fits Your Group
Choose the visit that fits your groupFirst-time riders, couples, families with children age 5+, and travelers prioritizing the meal-and-rail experience
Book the core lunch or dinner train
Choose the two-hour lunch or 2.5-hour dinner, then let live checkout control the exact departure, menu, price, and seating inventory.
Adults seeking a tasting format, repeat riders, mystery groups, and visitors building around a named theme
Use a themed dining excursion
Bourbon is 21+; murder mystery is age 5+; trivia, wine, and other specialty formats can carry different age and menu rules.
Families, holiday travelers, multigenerational groups, and guests who need an explicitly all-ages product
Plan a family or holiday departure
North Pole Express and Princess Tea welcome younger children under their own rules; Thanksgiving, Valentine's, and other holiday products remain live-inventory controlled.
Guests using wheelchairs, walkers, power chairs, medical equipment, service animals, or extra boarding time
Arrange accessible boarding before purchase
Tell reservations about wheelchair width, power-chair storage, transfer ability, mobility aids, medical outlets, service animals, and priority boarding.
Upcoming Events
Complete official date check
2026 special-event calendar
Mapped every public ride product visible in the current official ride, calendar, and holiday catalogs. The operator says regular excursions run Fridays and Saturdays year-round, but the public catalog does not expose a safely exhaustive independent occurrence set. One New Year's page still pairs Dec. 31 with a stale Wednesday label, demonstrating why no 2026 occurrence date is manufactured here. Every product is therefore represented as currently listed with live checkout controlling exact dates, times, fares, menus, ages, capacity, and availability. Gift cards, group inquiry forms, depot-only festival classes, and retail offers are excluded. The synchronized freshness sweep remains paused until the build cohort is complete. Check the live official calendar ↗
Plan Your Visit
- AccessibilityThe depot has a ramp and one train car is wheelchair-accessible for chairs up to 25 inches wide. Power chairs cannot board; contact the operator when booking for the transport-chair option, accessible seating, priority boarding, and medical-equipment outlets
- Operating PatternRegularly scheduled Friday and Saturday excursions throughout the year in Eastern Time, with specialty and group departures on other days
- Live CalendarThe current public calendar is a product catalog rather than a safely exhaustive occurrence list; use live checkout for the exact date, time, fare, and capacity
- LunchAbout 2 hours and 35 miles round trip with a three-course meal; current posted adult price $96 and child price $63.50 before optional add-ons
- DinnerAbout 2.5 hours and 35 miles round trip with a four-course meal; current posted adult price $116 and child price $76.50 before optional add-ons
- Check InCheck-in and ticket pickup begin one hour before departure at 602 North Third Street; trains depart promptly
- SeatingTraditional tables seat four. Parties of two may share unless they buy the private-table product; uneven groups may be split across adjacent tables
- IncludedThe published final ticket price includes the meal, non-alcoholic beverages, excursion, and tax; gratuity and cocktails are not included for ordinary individual bookings
- AgesRegular lunch, dinner, and murder-mystery products allow ages 5+; 21+ products exclude younger guests; named family excursions may welcome all ages
- EnvironmentDining cars are climate-controlled and have restrooms; the operator recommends a light layer because cars may feel cool
- ReservationsAdvance reservation and payment are required. Standard refunds are available through 14 calendar days before departure; review trip protection and current terms before purchase
Find the Depot
The Trains
R.J. Corman's current corporate overview consistently identifies restored 1940s dining cars, and the customer site describes climate-controlled cars with restrooms and one accessible car. Current ride pages do not agree on motive power: some still describe two 1950s F-units, while the dinner page describes two 50th Anniversary R.J. Corman EMD GP locomotives. This guide therefore does not promise a locomotive class or fixed consist. The excursion normally runs south on the active Bardstown Line, with passengers remaining aboard while the locomotives change ends or bookend the consist for the return.
History
Richard J. Corman began the railroad-services company that became R.J. Corman Railroad Group.
R.J. Corman acquired the Bardstown Line, its first short-line railroad.
My Old Kentucky Dinner Train was established and began its Bardstown excursion era.
The dinner train completed its post-pandemic public grand reopening on Aug. 21.
The current catalog continues year-round meal trains plus bourbon, mystery, family, and holiday formats.
See full history
R.J. Corman began in 1973 and acquired its first short line, the Bardstown Line, in 1987. The company established My Old Kentucky Dinner Train in 1988 and used the historic Bardstown depot as the passenger anchor for a meal service aboard restored mid-century dining cars. The excursion became a distinct R.J. Corman subsidiary and expanded beyond its core meal train into bourbon, murder-mystery, family, and holiday programs. Operations paused during the COVID-19 disruption and resumed with a public grand reopening on Aug. 21, 2021. The active Bardstown Line still supports both railroad service and the passenger experience.
Around the Depot
My Old Kentucky Home State Park ranks first despite being about 0.9 straight-line mile away because Federal Hill supplies the name, song, and historical context most directly connected to the dinner train. The Oscar Getz Museum of Bourbon History ranks second at about 0.5 straight-line mile as the closer, free, accessible indoor museum that extends Bardstown's bourbon and local-history story. Both are independent of R.J. Corman.


Getting There & Staying Nearby
Optional trip extras from our travel partners.
Rent a Car
Compare the attraction location with your airport or lodging before deciding whether a rental car fits the trip.
Compare rentals on Discover Cars →Bookings made through this link support usatrainrides at no extra cost to you.
Tours & Activities near Bardstown
Tours
Guided tours, day trips, and things to do around the area, bookable in advance through Viator.
Browse nearby tours →Bookings made through this link support usatrainrides at no extra cost to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does My Old Kentucky Dinner Train run?
The operator says regularly scheduled excursions run Fridays and Saturdays year-round in Eastern Time, with specialty and group trips on other days. Live checkout controls the actual schedule.
How long is the ride?
The current lunch is about two hours; dinner, bourbon, and murder-mystery formats are generally about 2.5 hours. Product pages identify roughly 32- to 35-mile round trips.
What does the ticket include?
The ordinary individual ticket includes the selected meal, non-alcoholic beverages, excursion, and tax. Cocktails, gratuity, and optional upgrades are additional unless a specific product states otherwise.
Will my party share a table?
Tables seat four. A party of two may share with another party of two unless the private-table product is purchased. Larger uneven parties may be divided across adjacent tables.
Can children ride?
Regular lunch, dinner, and murder-mystery products allow ages 5+. Some products are 21+ only, while named family trips such as North Pole Express and Princess Tea have all-ages rules.
Is the dinner train wheelchair-accessible?
One car accepts wheelchairs up to 25 inches wide. Power chairs cannot board, though staff describe a transport-chair option. Contact reservations during booking so the correct car, seat, boarding assistance, and storage plan are assigned.
Which locomotive will pull the train?
Do not choose a trip based on a promised locomotive. Current official pages conflict between 1950s F-units and newer R.J. Corman EMD GP power, so the assignment is operator-controlled.
Where do I board?
Check in and pick up tickets at the historic depot, 602 North Third Street in Bardstown. Check-in begins one hour before the listed departure.
Sources & Verification
Source-checked August 15, 2026. This free profile has not yet been claimed or confirmed by the operator.
- Official ride catalog for current core and specialty excursion products
- Official lunch page for duration, route, fares, meal, check-in, depot, and one current equipment description
- Official dinner page for duration, route, fares, meal, check-in, and the conflicting current locomotive description
- Official FAQ for hours pattern, seating, inclusions, ages, reservation, cancellation, route, and boarding rules
- Official accommodations page for ramp, accessible-car, wheelchair-width, power-chair, priority-boarding, restroom, and service-animal details
- Current calendar catalog for public product status without manufacturing occurrence dates
- R.J. Corman company overview for ownership, 1988 establishment, restored dining cars, route, and themes
- R.J. Corman corporate history for the 1987 Bardstown Line acquisition and inaugural excursion era
- Official 2021 grand-reopening release for the operating interruption and Aug. 21 public reopening
- Exact licensed Bardstown depot image evidence