All aboard for leaf peeping

REGION — With fall foliage season approaching its peak, the next few weeks will be a great time to get out and view the local landscape. But hopping in an automobile is not the only way to do so. Several area rail lines offer the opportunity to relax and enjoy the scenery without fretting about traffic, deer or gas prices.

The Stourbridge Line’s Fall Foliage Special departs from a terminal in Honesdale, PA, at 32 Commercial Street, on the site of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company’s boat basin. The scenic journey runs along the Lackawaxen River, and the train is pulled by one of the nation’s few remaining diesel locomotives. The Fall Foliage Special will depart from Honesdale at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 7, 14 and 21 and on Sunday, October 22. Tickets for adults cost $15, for seniors $14 and for children age 12 and under $10. For more information call 570/253-1960.

For those willing to go further afield, you can get a jump on the season by venturing into the northern reaches of the Catskills. The Catskill Mountain Railroad’s annual Leaf Peeper Special operates on Saturdays and Sundays from mid September through October 29, and travels along the Esopus Creek. It stops at the historic Phoenicia 1900 railroad depot, where passengers can visit the Empire State Railway Museum. Passengers may board at Mt. Pleasant Station on Route 28, 22 miles west of Kingston (Thruway Exit 19) at 11:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. or at the railway museum in Phoenicia at 11:15 a.m., 1:15 p.m., and 3:15 p.m. Adult fares are $14.00 round trip, children aged four through 11 ride for $8.00, and children under four ride free.

For more information call 845/688-7400.