Our Vintage Private Railcars

Our 'train within a train' will consist of Colonial Crafts, a former Pennsylvania sleeper-lounge; Silver Rapids, a roomette bedroom sleeper from the California Zephyr; Silver Lariat, a vista-dome diner lounge, also from the California Zephyr; and Silver Solarium, a vista-dome sleeper-lounge-observation car from the California Zephyr. Accommodations aboard the train include roomettes, each sleeping 1 person; bedrooms, accommodating 2 people, and drawing rooms, accommodating up to 3 people. Each sleeper is equipped with one or more guest showers. All guests will have sleeping car accommodations. Meals aboard the train will be prepared fresh by our chefs in our kitchen, and served on fine monogram china on California Zephyr table linens. Bars will be open until Midnight each night we're on the road. Our combination of cars provides an exceptional amount of public space, and our professional staff will see to it that your on-board experience is an outstanding one.

Friday May 16: (L-D) We will board our private cars, located at the rear of Amtrak's Coast Starlight, in time for a 10:15 AM departure. Tour guests will meet at Union Station's North Patio, and will be greeted by a member of our staff. Our staff will make arrangements with the Redcaps to take guest luggage to the private cars, where it will be stowed in the rooms. Guests may also board at any Amtrak station served by this train to and including Sacramento. Our route takes us along the Pacific Ocean from just north of Oxnard for 103 miles to a point just past Surf, near Lompoc. There we turn inland towards San Luis Obispo, then over Cueata Pass to the Salinas Valley toward San Jose and Oakland. We indulge in some late night vistas of San Francisco Bay as we head toward a midnight arrival in Sacramento.

Saturday May 17: (B-L-D) Morning finds us near beautiful Mount Shasta and traveling through volcanic rangeland on our way to Klamath Falls, OR. Departing Klamath Falls, we begin our ascent of the Cascade Range as we wind ever higher through the dense conifer forests and lakes of the region. We emerge in the valley of the Willamette River, home of Oregon's finest vineyards, and some of its most important cities, from Eugene to Portland. Between Portland and Vancouver, WA we cross the Willamette and the Columbia Rivers on a series of massive bridges, then we enter the high-speed line that will take us on into Seattle. Our cars will be removed from the train and parked in King St Station for the night.

Sunday May 18: (B-L) After breakfast aboard the train we embark on a tour of Seattle's highlights. During the tour luggage will be transferred to our hotel and placed in our rooms. We'll have lunch atop the Space Needle in its rotating restaurant, where the views of the entire Seattle area and of Elliott Bay are spectacular. We'll also have time for the Experience Music Project of Paul Allen, then it's on to the Boeing Museum of Flight, which we passed on the way into town last night. This world-class museum includes a Concorde and one of the Air Force 1 aircraft in its collection, along with an impressive collection of military aircraft and spacecraft. Hotel check-in and the rest of the afternoon is yours to enjoy.

Monday May 19: (L) Today we catch an early Victoria Clipper for a thrilling ride to Victoria's inner harbor. From there we'll embark on a short sightseeing tour of Victoria, then on to world-famous Butchart Gardens, which were once an old stone quarry. We'll have lunch at the Gardens, then stroll through them before returning to Victoria and Tea at the Empress Hotel. After Tea we'll catch a Clipper that will take us back to Seattle. Please note: The Empress enforces a 'smart casual' (business casual) dress code in its Tea Lobby.

Tuesday May 20: (L) On our way to Tacoma and the Museum of Glass we'll detour for a trip through Mt. Rainier National Park. This giant volcano, just outside the city limits of Seattle, is over 14,000 ft high and is still considered to be active. Lunch will be in the park, then on to the Museum of Glass, which highlights the art of shaping glass, and features some of the world's most outstanding examples of this art form. One of the highlights of the tour is a working glassworks where you can watch glassblowers and other artisans ply their ancient trade. The afternoon and evening are yours to enjoy as you wish.

Wednesday May 21: (L-D) Check out at the hotel is 8:30AM. Shuttles will bring us and our luggage to King Street Station where our staff will see to it that it gets stowed in the rooms. At 9:45 AM we wave goodbye to Seattle and begin our journey back to California. After stopping in Klamath Falls, which will be our last chance to stretch our legs before turning in for the night, the train reenters California. Through the night we stop at Dunsmuir, Redding, Red Bluff, and Chico.