Luxury railcars roll into Spokane
In the salon of the restored railcar named City of Spokane, included in a lineup of private cars traveling through the region Monday is filled with passengers riding from Denver to Spokane. The privately owned car has a rounded stern with observation windows. (Jesse Tinsley/SR photo)
T he sleeper cars and lounge cars are all sleek and fine, but there’s no better way to take in dramatic western landscapes than from the light-filled dome of the Sierra Hotel.
The restored 1948 railcar and 20 others arrived Monday evening in Spokane in a rolling museum celebrating the splendor and elegance of vintage passenger trains.
“The whole thing is a cruise on land, and it’s supposed to be luxury living and a civilized way to travel,” said Borden Black, executive director of the American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners , which arranged the trip from Denver and holds its annual convention this week in Spokane.
“If you’re not in a hurry, why not do this, right?” Black said.
The owners of the private railcars charter Amtrak locomotives and crews to take them around the country. Most bring along their own chefs and stewards.
The 21 cars parked at a BNSF yard east of downtown range from a 1911 Pullman Co. car that carried two presidents on their travels, to a 1959 Canadian-built car designed for railroad executives.
Brothers Robert and Jim Donnelley of the Chicago-based commercial printers RR Donnelley, a Fortune 500 company, are part-owners of the Sierra Hotel and another dome sleeper, the Puget Sound, that also made the weeklong trip/Scott Maben, SR. More here (subscription).
Question: When did you last ride on a train?
* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Huckleberries Online." Read all stories from this blog