The
Railcars


Southern Pacific
Club Lounge


Union Pacific
10-6 Sleeper


Boston & Maine
6-4-6 Sleeper


Canadian National
Business Car


CB&Q Vista Dome
Diner Lounge

  
 

The Vintage Railcars of Los Angeles

Midwest Circle Trip

Join us on a great circle journey to Chicago. We will journey northward on our private cars from Los Angeles to Oakland, pause for a day to visit the Bay Area, and then travel eastward to Chicago attached to the famous California Zephyr. Our return will be on the “Southwest Chief”.


July 4

Today we are attached to the end of the “Coast Starlight” departing at 10:15 am. We will have the “Silver Splendor” dome diner lounge along with our sleeping cars. A buffet lunch will be available as well as a light buffet dinner. Arrival is at 9:30 pm in Oakland. We will stay aboard our cars for the night in the Oakland Amtrak yard.


July 5

On day two, you will be on your own. A convenient way to go to San Francisco is to take a BART rapid transit train about a ¼ mile away. A continental breakfast will be available, although lunch and dinner will be on your own. Since we are leaving early the next day, you should plan to return to the cars in the daylight hours. Relax, enjoy the atmosphere of a comfortable lounge and then turn in for the night in your comfortable Pullman berth.

July 6

Departure this morning is scheduled for 9:50 a.m. attached to the front end of the “California Zephyr” to allow us access to the diner and the rest of the train. We will be climbing out of the Sacramento Valley into the Sierra Mountains, following the original route of the Transcontinental Railroad. This evening we arrive in Reno. Lunch and dinner are on your own in the Amtrak diner.

July 7

The morning finds us in Utah and Colorado. A continental breakfast will be available (as it will every day) or you may wish to enjoy a breakfast in the Amtrak diner. All meals for the rest of the trip are a la carte. Enjoy our arrival in Denver, scheduled for 7:15 p.m.. Tonight we will cross Nebraska, arriving in Iowa at breakfast time.

July 8

We cross the flatlands and rolling hills of Iowa and then enter Illinois shortly after noon. Our arrival in Chicago Union Station is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.. The train will be parked for about an hour and then will be taken to the Amtrak Yard to be serviced. The cars will be switched to a storage track where we have easy access to public transportation, taxis, and to downtown Chicago. Tonight, and for the next three nights, we will have the convenience of our Pullman cars to sleep and relax. The dome diner lounge will be temporarily separated from us to run on some charters to Michigan.

July 9 and 10

Enjoy the many museums, the Navy Pier, the Sears Tower and a host of attractions that are available in the Chicago area.

July 11

Our cars this evening will be switched to the head end of the “Southwest Chief” due to depart the next day. There is still plenty of time to enjoy Chicago.

July 12

We will depart from Chicago Union Station at 3:15 pm. Enjoy the comfort of the dome as the miles melt away. This evening we will dim the lights in the dome, and weather permitting, we will enjoy stars. Settle into your Pullman berth and enjoy a comfortable sleep as we head toward Colorado and the Rocky Mountains.

July 13

We continue our westward journey through Colorado and New Mexico. This afternoon we will reach Albuquerque.

July 14

Shortly after midnight, we enter California, and, at approximately 8:15 am we pull into Los Angeles Union Station. Our circular journey comes to an end, but the memories of the Rockies, the Plains, and the Southwest are fresh in our minds as well as the many friendships that will endure.

Per person: $1,895

 

This page was last edited on 8/20/11