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The Dinner Train ExperienceHave you ever had a meal on a dinner train? And I’m not talking about a parked dining car. I mean a real live moving train, where the scenery goes by and there’s the clackety clack clack clack of the train going down the rails. That’s when you really get to take a cool ride back in time, a time when rails ruled the world. Before the age of automobiles, and way before jets, the way to cross the country in luxury was by train. An important part of those old passenger trains was the dining car. Yep, people had to eat!
The traditional dining car featured a table at each window. There were 4 seats to a table. The dining experience was sumptuous and elegant.
Tables were covered with crisp white linen tablecloths. They were set with china and silver. Wine was drunk from crystal wine glasses that gave out a melodious ting when you tapped it with your fork. Life was good. Life was rich and prosperous. Traveling by railroad was a style fit for a king. Or anyone who could afford it. And then, over time, railroad travel waned. More and more people bought automobiles. More and more highways were built crossing the nation, bisecting America, running from coast to coast, border to border. Freeways were invented. One by one, the faithful old passenger trains quit running. Rail cars turned into junk, left to rust and ruin, forgotten and useless. And then…There is light at the end of the tunnel! People in various states got together to preserve those old trains. Different organizations acquired a steam locomotive from this place, a Pullman sleeper from that place. A baggage car from here. A caboose from there. Passenger cars from here and there. And from somewhere else, a dining car. Yes, a dining car. Some things never change. People still have to eat! Over the years, old train cars have been refurbished and clickety clacking down the rails as tourist attractions. It’s a chance for people to experience an era that is long gone, a trip into the past. Rides are usually fairly short, just a jaunt to maybe the next town, or a ride through the countryside.
Some of the old trains are strictly dinner trains. They make a round trip excursion for the joy of eating on a train. Most of the dinner trains have special dinners also, like a mystery dinner or dinner with Jesse James and the Gang. There are quite a few dinner trains across the US. Some are pulled by old steam locomotives. Others are pulled by retired diesel engines. Either way, steam or diesel, eating in an old dining car is a unique trip back in time to the luxury and elegance of the age of railways. Sometimes trying something new means trying something old - a cool ride on a vintage dinner train!
WashingtonNot only is this a dinner train it's also a steam train ride, too!
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Besides their regular runs, many of these vintage trains offer dinner runs. It’s a chance to experience not only a ride in an old train car, but eating in an old dining car, too.
