5,200 Miles in THREE Private Rail Cars! [S3: E01]

[@Grahamrobinsonvt802]

Rail is the only way to travel ❤

[@RailWeekly]

Couldn’t agree more!

[@tombiggs4687]

What a great idea. Thanks for filming, I enjoyed the ride-along.

[@RailWeekly]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much!

[@katherandefy]

Love this. Will watch all you publish! Excellent.

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you so much! :-)

[@caseyvillemodelrailroad3877]

Great vidio, love the ride.Thanks for the morning coffee...

[@RailWeekly]

So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!

[@danmarkis3785]

Great Video!!!!

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed.

[@JohnDoe-jq5wy]

All aboard America 1986. Fabulous experience... West to East and South out of Chicago to Dallas and then West to LA, then north to complete the journey. Thank for your powerful creating 🙏🙏🙏❤️

[@Bill_Gray-Pullman_Travels]

Nicely done! Such beautiful scenery!

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you, Bill!

[@nicklenk]

Yes!! What a trip!

[@billbruff9613]

Great to have one more source for rail enthusiasts. Keep it up please. Anyone wanting the open section experience the CNN in Canada offers sections on all their trains of the wonderful TransCanada route.

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you! Yes, I have often considered riding an open section on via, but then reconsidered at the last minute. I’m so glad I got to experience them on this trip!

[@billbruff9613]

Thanks for opening another venue for the lgbtq community. And I would appreciate any other info. as gay railfan opportunities present themselves.

[@billbruff9613]

@@RailWeekly VIA rail experience is wonderful. Have done it three times BC to Toronto. Most memorable leaving BC on Christmas eve and spent first evening in the dome with courtesy champagne and an incredible display of the northern lights. A very empty train with plenty of opportunities to meet other travellers in the diner and dome observation. Roomette for two each trip

[@RailWeekly]

If you’re on Facebook, there are several groups. This trip was organized by members of a Facebook group called Amtrak’s Pride for GLBTIQA+ Members. Look it up and join!

[@davidjackson7281]

Enjoyed the scenic footage coming into SLO. Those PV cars are really the only way to go.

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you! If only that could be how travel always was! Haha

[@seanpacificrailroad3700]

Wow this would be my dream just to take the trip. Great video i totally enjoyed it, and im totally enjoying your channel. I’m totally new and I can’t believe I just found your channel

[@RailWeekly]

Welcome aboard!

[@maxster_8989]

Great trip thanks for sharing

[@stevencooper1771]

Excellent video!

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you, Steven!

[@stevenbenstead6342]

Sounds wonderful. The only thing I noticed was that the food service was only lightly touched upon. Dining in the diner, whether it be VIA or Amtrak, has always been a highlight for me.

[@RailWeekly]

Correct. This was a private group, so one of the members of our group offered to do all the cooking for us free of charge! It was quite a unique situation.

[@MikeLoveBuns]

Love train video! Mike from Missouri

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you for watching, Mike!

[@2quintly]

This came out very professional. Must have been a "crew" doing the filming as it couldn't have been very relaxing otherwise. Timing seemed just right, even catching Nevada with greenery. I enjoyed the narration, which was presented accurately. Great job and very lucky to have had the opportunity of the trip of a life time.

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you for the kind words! I definitely prioritized enjoyment of the trip over filming, but with 8 days there was still plenty of time! I’m very grateful to have taken this trip :-)

[@Erocks1970]

Love to see a video on “Booking a private rail car”. Just adding the companies (website/contact) would be great. Bucket list item for me. Great video

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you! If only it were that easy! I was grateful to have those that organized this to make it happen. There are so many hoops to jump through. www.aaprco.com is a great resource though. Keep an eye on that site for opportunities!

[@Retired88M]

@@RailWeeklyyes please help with as much info as possible. Since I’m retired now this is a “Bucket List “ trip I’d love to take

[@bobm2331]

Who prepared the meals? Were they different than the other cars? How do you sign up for this tour? Historical and very contemporary. Well done Sir.

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you very much! One of the members of our group happened to be a chef, so he very generously volunteered to prepare the meals. They were beyond wonderful! These tours are usually one-of. You can either contact a car owner and organize one yourself, or you can buy tickets for one. The best bet is the join the mailing lists and social media of as many cars as possible. www.aaprco.com is a good place to get started! :-)

[@jovetj]

I'm envious!! 🤤

[@michaeljohndennis2231]

Just like the Venice Simplon Orient Express or the Queen Mary Transatlantic Liner travelling via London & Southampton, it is much better alternative way to travel than flying, even aside from the golden age of air travel - it’s why I choose to use SailRail from Manchester here in the U.K. via Chester and Holyhead to Dublin in my native Ireland

[@RailWeekly]

That sounds like a lot of fun! And thank you for the tip! I have been wanting to go back to Ireland and ride some of those trains! I had never heard of SailRail. I will definitely be using this!

[@katherandefy]

I am so envious. Wonderful!

[@judithwalker8682]

Could you tell me what the cost is for the trip you took ?

[@RailWeekly]

There are a lot of these private car trips being offered all of the time. This one was a special case because it was basically a group of friends getting together to split the cost. The prices are based on the exact route, where the cars' home bases are, and what the owners want to charge. So the cost of each trip varies greatly. Some of the cheapest options are when a car owner needs to move their car and sells the "repositioning trip" for pennies on the dollar. Hopefully that is helpful! However, I don't wish to disclose the exact amount that I personally paid for this trip. :)

[@sivulaa]

That Pullman setup is what viarail uses in thier current consists

[@RailWeekly]

I would love a chance to ride those before via retires then!

[@SneakySquid344]

@@RailWeekly well dont be in a rush, they arent going anywhere... but you totally should :) great video btw

[@johnballantyne8765]

The State Railways of Thailand (SRT) offer many trains everyday with excellent section sleeping options. Great accommodation by a very good railway.

[@RailWeekly]

I have never done an overnight train ride outside of the US (only high speed rail). I hope to one day!

[@chrisdobrowolski2783]

Did you see the moon river on the zephyr route, if it was too cold look it up on the internet.

[@RailWeekly]

Hahaha! Yes I have ridden in the summer and know exactly what you’re talking about.

[@lawrencewhiting4927]

What were you meals like and the accommodation?

[@RailWeekly]

The meals were fantastic! One of the members of our party was a professional railway chef, so he prepared all of our meals. But believe it or not, due to the historic nature of the cars, I would say that modern Amtrak sleepers are actually a bit more luxurious. They have more amenities, newer systems and a more comfortable ride. The private cars, however, are just that... private. And having the whole thing to ourselves definitely made up for the older equipment and all of its problems.

[@steampipe1]

This is also my lifetime bucket list trip. Is there a way this might be repeated? I am interested to sign up.

[@RailWeekly]

They are trying to organize a repeat trip for this coming Memorial Day week as we speak. They even set up a website…. www.pridepvride.com

[@christopherlucy1772]

Salisbury Beach was a regular visitor to South Station Boston..Boston & Maine did not have too many runs that would require sleepers and I didn't even know they had any streamlined cars ..it's rather odd one would have been built with open sections as late as 1954.. all passenger trains on the Boston & Maine ended by about the mid 1960s.. I wonder if this car was ever employed in overnight service to Montreal that would have been a possibility on a pool train w CN ?

[@RailWeekly]

Here is a clip directly from the former car owner's website. Looks like it was used on the "State of Maine Express" ...The 1954 Pullman sleeping car, “Salisbury Beach”. It is named for the location in Massachusetts where the Merimack River enters the Atlantic Ocean. The Boston & Maine placed the car into service on it’s “State of Maine Express” between Concord, New Hampshire and New York City in December of 1954.

[@jameslaidler2152]

Now me, I'd hitch to the back of a super long freight train, hitched to the rearmost locomotive for power of course. Just take a super slow super long ride across the country.

[@RailWeekly]

Good idea!

[@jameslaidler2152]

@@RailWeekly Love me a slow cruise.

[@QuinnTravel]

What was the process like getting the private rail car and what was the total cost split between everyone who shared it? Really enjoyed the video and the commentary, thank you for sharing!

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you! And the process was absolutely insane. I was only brought on at the very end to help do a small amount of the planning. But it was an incredibly complicated process requiring a lot of advanced planning. Amtrak, for example, requires a minimum of a month notice to schedule any moves. And trying to figure out all the pricing for all the various forms of accommodations was quite tricky. I think the GRAND total was well over $130K… but the price ended up being about the same as an Amtrak sleeper roomette for staying in one of the open sections. The double bedrooms and the two rooms in the Lamberts Point were quite a bit more.

[@charmersify]

I did a similar Trains magazine sponsored PV journey in 2021. Cars: ex-NP Vista Dome 549 ex-MP Sleeper Cimarron River ex-UP Sleeper Pacific Union Amtrak routes Texas Eagle(2 days) Sunset Limited SW Chief

[@charmersify]

May I ask how old you are? Your videos REALLY ‘short shrift’ these magnificent private cars. There are three airlines that prov

[@charmersify]

Provide service levels that would have been the envy of any rail baron. Those companies are Singapore Airlines, Ethiad, and Emirates. The Amtrak brass could learn a few things.

[@RailWeekly]

I'm just now seeing your reply. I am 40. I rode my first overnight train on the Amtrak Auto Train in 1992 when they were still using heritage equipment. These private cars are extremely luxurious, and I am beyond impressed at all the work it takes to keep them running! @@charmersify

[@MIkeCoffey5117]

Looks like a great trip. How did it work logistically when you were staying in the cars while they were yarded? Did you have to get special access, is there a section where private cars are stored...?

[@RailWeekly]

Each yard was a bit different, but security was super tight at all of them. If you left the car when it was in the yard, you either had to re-board at the station or we had to be escorted back as a group by security. Some opted to get hotels for that reason. And they were also very strict about no photography in the yards (hence why there is no footage from those parts of the trip).

[@thegeordiestory]

good video how did you eat

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you! One of the passengers on our charter trip was a chef for Amtrak for his day job. He prepared all of our meals.

[@limacom]

I’m here because a TikTok said this was a thing…

[@neutrino78x]

I'm surprised nobody has bought a modern Tier 4 locomotive to move their private railcar around the country. Unlike Amtrak, you wouldn't have to make any stops except to refuel, so it should be significantly faster between that and the added room to accelerate. 🙂 Maybe that will become more common when we get battery powered or fuel cell powered locomotives. I understand that stadler sells electric ones, maybe somebody could buy one from them and sell rides. 🙂

[@RailWeekly]

You know… I don’t know the full story about this. There was a private car owner that used some old Pensy units at one time. I know they were taken out of service because they didn’t want to upgrade them to PTC or something like that. I wonder if railroads would even permit this. Very interesting! If anyone knows more, please let us know!

[@neutrino78x]

@@RailWeekly There's one development that I know of....there's a private company, a "startup", that's trying to run trains from SF/SJ to LA. These would be "overnight trains"; apparently the idea is that you go to sleep here in the San Francisco Bay Area and wake up in Los Angeles. Personally, that wouldn't be convenient for how I travel. Most of us just fly down to LA (if you drive it's like five or six hours, so most fly), and what I do is arrive the night before, check into my hotel, put my stuff away and go to sleep, and then I have the weekend down there, and I fly back to San Jose on Sunday night. But overnight trains have had some success in Europe, and as long as they are spending their own money, I don't see a problem. 🙂 The company is called "Dreamstar Lines". They have a web site, but it's very brief. It says their trains could start as early as summer 2024. I might take a ride just to try it, but I'm pretty sure my regular means of going SF to LA will still be jet aircraft. 🙂

[@billconserva1461]

I'm ready to train! How do I find out about these special trips ?

[@RailWeekly]

The AAPRCO web site is always a good place to start. Several of the cars have mailing lists for information about upcoming trips. I’m subscribed to several of them! www.aaprco.com

[@Big-4]

New Progress Pride Flag 10:22 What specifically did that have to do with an antique rail car trip? Confused

[@RailWeekly]

The trip was called Pride Ride. You did not have to be a member of the LGBTQIA+ community to participate (I would say a little more than half were)… but the organizers wanted to insure that it was a safe space for EVERY rail fan to be able to enjoy an experience like this.

[@simonf8902]

How can we book to travel on this wonderful train ?

[@RailWeekly]

They tried to put it on again this year but they didn’t get enough interest. There are private car trips all the time though. Get on the mailing lists for some of the cars you’re interested in so you know when they are offering trips!

[@simonf8902]

@@RailWeekly thank you.

[@JerseyRV]

I would love to take this trip. And thanks for the pride flag.

[@brettany_renee_blatchley]

Lovely Trip!! *Thank You* ❤️💛💚💙💜 10:22

[@RailWeekly]

Glad you enjoyed it!!

[@billbruff9613]

Just noticed the private train excursion was a Pride Special and with the pride flag in the lounge of Colonia Craftsl car I can only guess someone is gay. It would be wonderful to have an out and proud rail fan channel. Gay in Mexico proudly riding Amtrak, The Chepe through the Copper Canyon and the new Tren Maya. Come check out these two awesome trains in Mexico. And stop and say "hi" to me in Guadalajara.

[@RailWeekly]

Yes! This was the first ever private car version of the annual Pride Ride for gay rail fans. The trip was not 100% LGBTQ+, but it was wonderful to be able to enjoy ourselves as rail fans in a very safe and welcoming environment. I have made some lifelong friendships.

[@junefranklin458]

wait can i hire a railcar and deliver the railcar with a freight ttain service?

[@RailWeekly]

You absolutely can! Freight railroads handle all kinds of requests. I have no experience with this to give you any more info though I’m afraid.

[@elektricsammy]

Great Musak. Ha. Bore.

[@ggreg2258]

I thought that the focus was going to b e the private RR coaches, not the scenery!! I have taken those routes on Amtrak. I wanted to see more of the coaches!! Disappointed.

[@RailWeekly]

Sorry to hear that. I thought I had a good balance in there. I also have this video that shows a lot more interior shots of another private car. Check it out if you have the time. Thank you for watching! kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2epYnSsiMaHidEsi=3fwLSDV1N3Y6fNzH

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

so how was the food

[@RailWeekly]

The food was great. One of the members of our group was a former railroad chef and volunteered to prepare all the meals. We were in good hands!

[@palmermccall7309]

Excellent video. However, a complaint. At 7:14 and 8:38, you refer to crossing "borders". When traveling within the US, one does not cross borders, but "state lines". This may seem insignificant, but fascist language is creeping into everyday locution.

[@RailWeekly]

Oh man! I am also a stickler for stuff like that, so I appreciate the correction and opportunity to learn! Thank you for watching!

[@zollar98]

I was expecting luxury rail cars, they are the same as a Amtrak carriages.

[@RailWeekly]

I agree! In some ways, the Amtrak cars are even nicer inside, because they are more modern. The luxury comes in with the fact that you have them all to yourselves, and you are treated to gourmet food and cocktails throughout the whole trip! Sure beats the microwaved dinners on some of Amtrak’s routes! But yes, with the nature of the historic cars, I sometimes found myself longing for a more modern superliner room.

[@jimhumphreys3846]

Nice trip but you gave very little attention to the important aspects of each car and full details of them. More just looking outside than what I expected, I want details on the cars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@RailWeekly]

Glad you enjoyed it! Tried to make it a nice balance, but this video was definitely more about the trip itself. I’ll keep that in mind! Thank you for watching!

[@crockadilemick]

Way to much and loud music.

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you for the feedback and for watching.

[@erikdrake6317]

poor narration too

[@williamkesler2373]

@@erikdrake6317agree on the music but the narration was fine

[@LarcR]

Disappointingly brief coverage of the private cars. Videos devoted to scenery from these Amtrak train windows and station platforms are a dime a dozen on KZbin. Details of wonderful old private cars, not so much.

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you for watching! I definitely tried to do a balance because the scenery was so spectacular as well. I have more private car material coming out in the future with more details on the cars. Let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them! Check out this video as well with MUCH more private car info and very little scenery shots…. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2epYnSsiMaHidEsi=WbpWuBYTuajDDQRs

[@knatelyx5647]

Pounding background beat makes this unwatchable!

[@JohnR-NZ]

A good video spoilt by the music, simply let viewers enjoy the train window views, impossible to enjoy them with the music.

[@RailWeekly]

Thank you for watching, John. The audio of the clips is mainly people on the train’s private conversations, so music it is! Haha. I like to use the live audio as much as possible for external clips though