The sun setting through the train car windows, allows folks a relaxing atmosphere that reminds one of the good ol' days. The swaying of the cars adds to the whizzing of the outside world to allow the old to remember and the young to imagine of past times.

Waitressing on this train is unlike any other serving job. Mary Catherine McGirk, left, and Donna Howe have mastered the art of bump-free passing in close quarters. Howe invented a fruity cocktail she named "Kentucky Lady" for an annual bourbon recipe competition ?it's on track to be added to the train's menu.

Perched on a step outside the engine room, Gary Spalding watches his brother Ed guide the dinner train to a smooth stop. Linked by walkie-talkies and years of working together on the R. J. Corman train, the pair measure distances in car lengths, and are happy to indulge riders in the legend of a locomotive ghost.

Teasing and laughing, Jackie and Larry Sumrall of Laurel, Miss., share a red-rose romance moment aboard the My Old Kentucky Dinner Train. "All my life I've been crazy about him," Jackie said. "I was 14 years old when Larry came walking into my Bible study class, and I remember telling my best friend Linda Brown 'I'm gonna marry him.'"