Southern Railroad Train and Location Identification Needed

I was looking at the photos for a locomotive which someone asked me to make an episode for my locomotive documentary series (Remarkable Engines [on YouTube]) on, and I came across an interesting photo. It consists of a Southern Railroad FP7 with a combine car and a dining car on the top of a hill making a curve. rrpicturearchives claims that the photo was taken on April 1st, 1971 (a month before A-Day) and is in an unknown location in Virginia. I am very intrigued by this image and does anyone happen to know what train this FP7 was pulling and where it was taken?
After doing some research, could this be the Asheville Special at Old Fort, NC?

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=5274860

I would assume yes?

With everybody looking out the vestibules and cab, they obviously stopped somewhere for one last picture. Company photographer maybe? Crew just said screw it, it's our last chance, let's do it? Does the engine number help you to narrow i down - based on other pics of the same train elsewhere?

There is not any signal lines. It could be they went cross country for the old fort district . The mountains and vegetation certainly looks like the mountains of NC.