I like rail travel!

[Bubba1235]

Learned what "old school" rail travel was like. Well, what it was like for the well to do anyhow. This weekend the wife wanted to do something different. I read an article a month or so ago about a train that runs in the evening with a dinning car, actually three dining cars and one car for the kitchen. I made the reservations and we drove down (Columbia MO) and took the trip and we both loved it. Cost was $70 a person and that included rail ticket, supper, drinks, music, pretty much every thing. It was a four hour round trip at maybe 40ish and went through open country and the colors were magnificent as we relaxed and ate and watched the scenery go by and talked about nothing and everything from the comfort of our booth.

All in all I'll say that in our quest to get there faster we sure lost something in the process. Others have said it before but its not the destination, its the trip and it should be enjoyed. If AMTrak was anything like this train I think I'd be a regular customer. What a great way to see our land.

 

[angus63]

Re: I like rail travel!

It is all about the service. I have been treated like cattle and pampered like royalty on different rail services. The latter is a real enjoyable mode of travel.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: I like rail travel!

We are going on this Oct.4th. . http://adirondackrr.com/

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: I like rail travel!

It'll be our first time ever riding on a train.

That's not a bad idea about going with another couple.

I'll make a few phone calls to see who can go with us.


Thanks Bubba for bringing that up.

 

[rbh]

Re: I like rail travel!

That sounded like an awesome trip!
Back in the day they used to run VIA trains (CPR) across Canada Daily, but in the last 10-15 ?? years have let the Calgary to Vancouver service go to a private concern for tourists (Rockey mountainaire?)
Back in the 70-80s Every couple of months I would take the train from Calgary home to the interior of BC.
You would head out west of the city of Calgary, hit the foot hills next would be the rockies and Banff national park, Lake louis, Field, the kicking horse valley, Golden, YOHO, The bugaboos MT range, the Selkirk MT range, Revelstoke, Sicamous then the straight streach into Salmon Arm.

I miss the Food in the dining cars 5 star, I miss the bar car with the live music most of the time, I miss the amount of relaxation you got because thats all you could do.

 

[JB]

Re: I like rail travel!

Back in the 30s and 40s my siblings and I traveled from NC to NJ every Summer, and back in the Fall. We usually had a compartment in a Pullman car for the overnight trip.

The degree of service was without peer. We had our own Porter who looked after us like a nanny, escorting us to and from the dining car and converting our compartment to and from a sleeper while we dined and had breakfast.

I never cruised on a Luxury Liner or rode any transport that approached that degree of luxury, though a week in The Halekulani on Waikiki in 2006 came close, but I was 71 then, not 4 to 14.

Just a caveat about the "good old days". We usually only remember the good parts and even then "good" was a relative term.

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: I like rail travel!

I am still not sure why but rail service is about 4times more costly than air up here. I always wanted to go by rail but the costs keeps me doing other forms of transportation.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: I like rail travel!

WOW !!, That train ride was awesome. .

We're booked for another trip in November on the Christmas Train.

http://adirondackrr.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=204

 

[Silverbullet555]

Re: I like rail travel!

About 25 years ago, when I was 13, I did Amtrack from Oakland, CA, to Indianapolis. 2 1/2 days to make that trip. It was a lot of fun. No cheaper than flying, but a different experience. I don't know what kids would do today on that long of a trip. We played cards, watched a few movies that were shown in the observation car and actually talked.