Educational American Luxury Train Trips
Hundreds of for-profit and nonprofit organizations operate excursion railroads in the U.S., and most of their routes include educational features, by running historic trains or running to historic, culturally significant, or natural areas. Looking for luxury narrows the list somewhat, though most of the operators schedule dinner or re-enactment excursions for additional fares. A few offered extra-luxurious options as of 2011, with extended trips, exotic destinations, or fine accommodations.
Other People Are Reading
-
Great Trains of the American West Tour, Vacations By Rail
-
An 11-day tour begins in Denver, Colorado, and winds up in Sacramento, California, taking in five of railfans' favorite excursion railroads but requiring only one night on a train. Admission fees to national parks and other attractions are included, along with hotels and many meals, at a double-occupancy cost of $2,795 per person. The tour is scheduled once each in June, July, and August.
Deluxe Alaska Sampler, Alaska Railroad Vacations
-
Beginning and ending in Anchorage, a seven-day, seven-night tour also visits Seward, Talkeetna, Denali and Fairbanks and features visits to Kenal Fjords and Denali National Parks, Resurrection Bay and Spencer Glacier. All overnights are in hotels or cabins. The tour is available from mid-May to mid-September at a cost starting at $2,349 per person.
-
Durango & Silverton Narrow-Gauge Railroad
-
One of the excursion roads best known to railfans, the Durango & Silverton in Colorado offers three classes of service on the 45.4-mile route it runs from May through October. The most luxurious class, Presidential, offers accommodations in one of two private rail cars, built in the last quarter of the 19th century, exclusively for passengers 21 and over, for $179. The trip takes 3 1/2 hours each way, with a layover in Silverton of more than two hours.
Castaway Caboose, Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad
-
While a number of excursion railroads offer an option to ride in a caboose, the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley in the mountains of West Virginia offers to leave a party of up to six people at the end of the line overnight in a caboose with room for six adults to sleep, cooking and bathroom facilities, heat, linens and a DVD player. Costs for up to four adventurers start at $260 for the first night, $180 for the second and $150 for a third; a fifth or sixth person incurs an additional cost of $30 per night.
Secret City Scenic Excursion Train
-
The nonprofit organization that operates an excursion train through the "secret city" that was the U.S. Government's Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee offers chartered runs of its one-hour, 13-mile route for up to 10 passengers in the caboose attached to a regularly scheduled run for $100 or up to 108 riders for an exclusive special run at a cost of $1,300. Catering can be arranged at additional cost, or the charter customer can arrange or bring their own refreshments.
Rent-A-Train
-
The nonprofit organization Railroad Heritage of Midwest America, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, runs an irregular excursion schedule, but charters its collection of historic rolling stock by individual cars or the whole 10-car train, seating from 25 people to more than 600. All of the cars have been refurbished to meet current Amtrak operational and safety standards. Rates are variable, depending on the cars and services required.
Cincinnati Railway Company
-
This Ohio-based owner of rail cars rather than engines rents single cars, including historic stock, but also organizes excursions, such as one from Cincinnati to Washington, D.C., for the Cherry Blossom Festival. Travel is arranged by linking to scheduled Amtrak routes. The Thursday-to-Monday Cherry Blossom tour includes sleeping accommodations and all meals en route for fares ranging from $1,350 to $1,850 per person.
-
References
Resources
- Vacations By Rail: Great Trains of the American West Tour
- Alaska Railroad Vacations: Deluxe Alaska Sampler
- Durango & Silverton Narrow-Gauge Railroad and Museum: Presidential Class
- Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad: Castaway Caboose
- Southern Appalachia Railway Museum: Secret City Excursion Charters
- Railroading Heritage of Midwest America, Inc.: Rent-A-Train
- Cincinnati Railway Company: Cherry Blossom Excursion
- Photo Credit Train image by Bailey from Fotolia.com
