Back in the 90s, there was a dinner train operation on the Northern Central. I recently came across a Youtube video of the operation in action. It nicely demonstrates why the NCR is so charming.

While the nature of the line would’ve been somewhat different in my scenario (lacking a hiking trail, and with a bit more vegetation control), it’s still a great stretch of railroad.

More about the dinner train itself can be found on their website (that still exists): http://www.classicrail.com/ncry/