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HUNTSVILLE — “The response has been very good; everybody seems to have really enjoyed themselves.”

Those were the words of James Taylor, executive director of Friends of the Big South Fork, as he strolled through the two passenger cars of the New River Scenic Railway during the railway’s inaugural run Friday afternoon.

Aboard were nearly 100 invited guests for the “getting acquainted run” — including representatives of local government, tourism boards, chambers of commerce and the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area — one day before the railway officially opened for business.

If the purpose of the trip was to gauge interest in the region’s latest tourism concessionary, it was a success; interest was quite high.

As the sound of the diesel engine’s air horn echoed through the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains, an idea that first discussed six years ago came to fruition for the railway’s co-owners, Scotty Phillips and Jimmy Byrge.

Phillips and Byrge had long dreamed of an excursion train that would take passengers along the historic rails of the former Tennessee Railroad, into a part of Appalachia seldom seen by outsiders. The history of the area was deep — from the railroad itself to the coal mining and logging industries that had once flourished (and are now making a comeback) along the route — and the culture was rich. Add to that a scenic backdrop that locals feel will rival any this side of the Mississippi River — the Great Smoky Mountains not withstanding — and it just made sense to share it with others . . . others who will, community leaders hope, spend a few dollars locally.

When Norfolk-Southern inked an agreement with National Coal Company to sell the railroad line, Phillips’ and Byrge’s dream took a big leap towards reality.

Soon after National Coal had finalized its deal with Norfolk-Southern, Phillips and Byrge had founded the New River Railway Co. They also formed a partnership with Friends of the Big South Fork to market the excursion train.

“This will give us something to get people out of the park and enjoying something else that the region has to offer,” Taylor said as the train rolled around a few of the 260 curves along the 31-mile route from New River Railway’s depot at Newtown to the end of the line near Devonia.

Taylor, whose organization was founded to promote tourism and the park’s best interests, said that the railway adds to the experience offered by the Big South Fork.

“Where else can you go and ride two different excursion trains in the same region?” he asked. “We want to make this an area where you can come and spend five days and do something different every day.”

Scott County Mayor Rick Keeton echoed Taylor’s thoughts.

“You now have the opportunity to spend four or five days here at a time and not do the same thing twice,” Keeton said. “[The railway] is a shot in the arm to the economy of Scott County.”

The scenic beauty along the route often had guests aboard the train off their seats as they snapped photos through the windows of the passenger cars. Spring was evident all along the route, from the blooming redbud trees that were hanging over the tracks — at times brushing the side of the cars — to farmers working the fields in the bottoms along New River.

Keeton, who along with County Commission has made tourism development a key priority during his first term as county mayor, said the railway is another opportunity to tap an as-of-yet largely untapped resource here at home.

“There are very few passenger trains left in this country, and this is an opportunity for people to come in and see the natural beauty our county has to offer,” Keeton said.

Keeton said the railway — which features a partnership between the New River Railway Co. and Friends of the Big South Fork — is an example of the partnerships needed to grow tourism.

“We as a community and we as citizens have to work together to find other means of economic development [in light of declining industry],” he said. “Scott County may not be completely ready for tourism, but we’re closer than a lot of counties are. We may be more ready for tourism traffic now than Sevier County was 25 years ago.”

Taylor stressed that Friday’s trip and the first trip for paying customers on Saturday did not mark the railroad’s grand opening; that will come in the following weeks, when the railway becomes a national first: The first excursion train to be fueled by biodiesel fuel. The alternative fuel will be supplied by a new biodiesel plant that is currently preparing to open in Morgan County.

From Newtown, the railway travels along New River into Anderson County. By the time the train has reached its destination and passengers are disembarking for lunch before the return trip to Huntsville, the railroad has traveled to New River’s headwaters. Passengers have caught glimpses of farmers tooling the old-fashioned way — using horses instead of tractors to pull their plows — of wildlife and even of “moonshiners” practicing their trade along the train’s route.

Taylor said that more will be added in the months to come. A partnership with Brimstone Recreation — which manages several thousand acres nearby and is also playing a big role in expanding tourism in Scott County — will allow “combination packages,” he said. Passengers will be able to ride the train into the hills with their ATVs carried on a flat car, and can then ride the trails back to Huntsville. Another idea is to transport longhunters seeking a unique hunting adventure into the mountains to a base camp, where they can hunt for deer or turkey.

“What we have to offer here is not being offered anywhere else in the country,” Taylor said.

[For more information, including a schedule and rates, visit the railway’s website at www.newriverscenicrailway.com.]