Don't Miss the Party Train
Modern-day excursions from drinking trains to gourmet meals on wheels.
By: Jana Bommersbach 02/01/2007
We know the train was a major player in the settling of the Old West. We know it’s a romantic and wonderful way to travel—just ask anyone why they like to take the train, and you’ll predictably get a rhapsodic answer about the beauty of the scenery, the friendliness of the fellow passengers, the feeling of being in-the-moment and, best of all, the hypnotic lull of the rails.
But it’s time to admit that riding trains through the West these days can be plain old fun! Party trains, we call them, and they’re everywhere. As though the spectacular scenery most of them traverse isn’t enough, they’ve added everything from soup to nuts to bring people on board to shake, rattle and rail.
These are “tourist trains” that have been lovingly restored and saved by those special people among us who know and understand trains. We thank them every day that they didn’t look at those overgrown ribbons of rails and walk away; that they didn’t see rusted diesels and shabby Pullmans and think, “It’s too bad, but I’ll pass.” No, these train owners have created an entire culture that must be celebrated.
We found fun and imaginative party trains in 17 states, as well as more in Canada, that give an extra reason to ride the rails. We found delicious dinner trains and happy holiday trains; we found rowdy rodeo trains and wild wedding trains; we found ghastly ghost trains and rip-roaring robbery trains; and we found some meant only for adults—drinking trains. Of course, many of these trains offer different excursions during the year, but the ones included here are some that turned us on.
Ales on Rails
Take the Great Alaska Beer Train, which gives a new definition to “chug, chug.”
Yes, pardner, this is exactly what it says it is: a great ride on the Alaska Railroad while downing some sudsy hops. Running out of Anchorage every fall, this annual event lets you celebrate Oktoberfest while surrounded by the changing leaves along the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet. The Great Alaska Brewhouse provides the food and brew as the beauty of fall dances by. This train makes German beer tents seem confined and boring! (800-321-6518 • akrr.com)
As it turns out, Oktoberfest is a good excuse—we mean reason—to answer the train whistle in several states. Nevada’s Northern Railway in Ely, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2006 and was named that same year as a National Historic Landmark, decided to celebrate by adding to its September offerings an Oktoberfest train patterned after the Munich party. Authentic German-style beers from the White Pine Brewing Co. and German food are enjoyed by all as the Adverse diesel climbs on the old high line to McGill. (866-40STEAM • nnry.com)
In Arizona, the Verde Canyon Railroad out of Clarkdale calls its Oktoberfest train Ales on Rails. The beer keeps flowing during the four-hour ride that goes through the nesting places of bald and golden eagles, Sinagua Indian ruins and a 680-foot tunnel. (800-320-0718 • verdecanyonrr.com)
New Mexico’s Santa Fe Southern offers the High Desert Highball Train on Fridays from May through October. This two-hour night excursion travels southeast and literally stops in its tracks to enjoy the kinds of sunsets that kept Georgia O’Keeffe in New Mexico all those years.
(888-989-8600 • sfsr.com)
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