More than a thousand people came to Dillwyn and participated in the Bringing the Love to Buckingham event hosted by Buckingham Branch Railroad (BBR) on Saturday afternoon.

The event featured the unveiling of an appropriately railroad-themed Love sign next to the train station, along with train rides, food and vendors.

To view more photos of the event, click here.

BBR Human Resources Manager Carrie Brown, who helped organize the event, said that probably around 1,500 people showed up, “because I know on the train we had at least a thousand.”

Two rides were offered during the course of the event, each offering a scenic tour of Buckingham and the Heart of Virginia that lasted about two-and-a-half hours.

People came from hours away to participate. A common theme among those who took the ride was that they enjoyed the extraordinary view of the James River.

The ride was also a good fit for families with small children as they were able to move about the train, and food was also served on board.

“I thought the event went extremely well, and I was very pleased with the participation and with the community support that we received,” Brown said.

She communicated excitement about the event putting a spotlight on Buckingham.

“The Love campaign is about bringing tourism and things to the area, as we all know that from a statewide campaign for the state of Virginia, but then I also wanted to just highlight the different businesses and the talent that we have in this county,” she said. “I know that Buckingham County was doing a tourism video this year anyway, and so they made sure to have the videographer out here so that they could also highlight the Love sign and the event as something to just showcase what Buckingham has to offer.”