ENJOY LUXURY FIRST CLASS RAIL TRAVEL ONBOARD OUR PRIVATE RAILROAD CARS COUPLED TO AMTRAK'S CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR BETWEEN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA (EMERYVILLE) AND DENVER, COLORADO RUNNING ACROSS THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY IN CALIFORNIA AND OVER DONNER PASS IN THE SIERRA NEVADA DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS. OVERNIGHT WE CROSS NEVADA AND WESTERN UTAH. 2ND DAY WAKE UP TO THE SCENERY OF UTAH'S WASATCH RANGE, THE COLORFUL EASTERN UTAH DESERT AND WESTERN COLORADO ROCK FORMATIONS, THEN THE SPECTACULAR ROCKY MOUINTAINS OF CENTRAL COLORADO BEFORE ARRIVING IN DENVER. THE RETURN TRAIN JOURNEY USES THE SAME ROUTE. ENJOY 2800 MILES ONBOARD OUR PRIVATE DOME CARS, SLEEPERS AND COACHES. WE ARE ALSO OFFERING SHORTER SEGMENTS SUCH AS RENO AND SALT LAKE CITY AND OF COURSE BOTH ROUNDTRIP AND ONEWAY TICKETS ARE OFFERED.
Private railroad cars now allow travelers the option to step back in time and recapture that romantic era of train travel that Amtrak cannot provide. Once upon a time rail barons and weathy socialites traveled the country on luxurious private railroad cars, dining on fine china and crystal and being pampered by the onboard staff. Now this form of luxury rail travel is being offering to everyone at a very reasonable price.
A small number of railfans have purchased and refurbished private rail cars familiar to the first half of the 20th century. This was the golden age of passenger rail travel. These railfans have spent around a million dollars on each private rail car to bring back this golden age of travel.
Passengers can sip on cocktails and nibble on hors d' oeuvres while sinking into deep leather sofas in lounges paneled in rich mahongany and be lulled to sleep at night in their private pullman rooms by the rhythm of the train wheels rolling down the track. All meals are prepared fresh onboard and made to order by the onboard gourmet chefs.
These private luxury rail cars are coupled onto the rear of scheduled Amtrak passenger trains all over the country. Our first class passengers are seperated from the Amtrak passengers by locked doors. We provide our own onboard staff including our chef and make up our own gourmet menus for all meals. All drinks and food is included in the ticket price from the time you step onboard until you detrain. Everything is first class with every detail included no matter if you are on a two or one day train journey. This is passenger train travel at it's finest.
THE ITINERARY
SATURDAY OCTOBER 13: (L-D) Depart Emeryville, California onboard our private railroad cars coupled
to Amtrak's California Zephyr at 7:10AM for the run along the San
Francisco Bay , across the Sacramento Valley and over Donner Pass in
the High Sierra. Lunch will be served as we climb into the mountains.
Arrival in Reno is at 3:58PM. Passengers may board
or detrain at any Amtrak station where this train makes a stop. This
would be: Martinez, Davis, Sacramento, Roseville, Colfax, Truckee,
Reno or Sparks. After departing Sparks we speed out across the Nevada
desert as you enjoy the sunset and an almost full moon rising in the
sky and having dinner in the dome cars. Later in the evening you can
have a night cap in one of our lounge cars and turn in for the night
in your private pullman bedroom or roomette.
SUNDAY OCTOBER 14: (B-L-D) Arrival in Salt Lake City, Utah is at 4:14AM and departure is at 4:45AM. We
start the climb up into the Wasatch Range of Utah just before sunrise.
Wake up to the scenic splendor of this colorful mountain range with a hot
cup of coffee before a full breakfast is served in the dome cars. Once we
reach Solder's Summit the train enters Price River Canyon and heads
east into the eastern Utah desert towards Colorado. Soon we enter
remote Ruby Canyon as the train runs next to the Colorado River and
into Colorado deep in this canyon with bright red rock cliffs raising
hundreds of feet above the train. As we make our way across Colorado
we enter Glenwood Canyon deep in the Rockies and again following the
Colorado River as lunch is served. Next the train enters Little and Big
Gore Canyons with countless tunnels. At the ski resort of Winter Park
we enter the 6.2 mile Moffat Tunnel and run under the massive spine of
the Rockies and then start the steep decend towards Denver. Arrival in
Denver is scheduled for 7:58PM and dinner will be served before we
arrive. We invite our sleeping car passengers to stay onboard if they
choose and depart the next morning. Our cars will be parked at Denver
Union Station. For those folks that do stay onboard we will serve a buffet
breakfast in the morning before you depart. Passengers may board or
detrain at any Amtrak station. This includes Provo, Helpler, Green River
Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs and , Winter Park.
MONDAY OCTOBER 15: For our roundtrip passengers this is a free day at your own leisure to
enjoy Denver.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 16: Leisure day in Denver to relax and sightsee
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17: (B-L-D) We depart onboard our private rail cars coupled to Amtrak's westbound
California Zephyr at 8:05AM and start the steep climb into the Rocky
Mountains. Breakfast will be served just after departure. See above for
the route details. Again, passengers may board or detrain at any Amtrak
station. Lunch and diner will be served in our dome cars. We arrive back
in Salt Lake City at 11:05PM and depart at 11:35PM. Tonight we will have
a full moon to enjoy and it is quite spectacular from the dome cars.
THURSDAY OCTOBER 18: (B-L) Breakfast served before arrival in the Reno area. Arrival in Sparks is at
11:29AM and Reno at 12:03PM. Departing Reno the train starts the climb into
the Sierra Nevada Mountains soon crossing into California and over
Donner Pass. Lunch is served as we cross the Sierra. Arrival back in
Emeryville is scheduled for 7:50PM. Passengers may board or detrain
at any Amtrak station.
JOIN US FOR A SAMPLE OF THE SPECTACULAR
SCENERY YOU WILL EXPERIENCE ON THIS TOUR.
PHOTOS BELOW WERE TAKEN OF THREE DIFFERENT
TRAINS RUNNING OVER THIS POPULAR ROUTE
| THE CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR | 1948-1970 |
| THE RIO GRANDE ZEPHYR | 1970-1983 |
| AMTRAK | 1983-2005 |
THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
DONNER PASS & THE HIGH SIERRA
SPANISH FORK RIVER CANYON -WASATCH RANGE-PRICE RIVER CANYON IN UTAH
THE UTAH DESERT & BOOK CLIFFS
RUBY CANYON IN UTAH AND COLORADO
GLENWOOD CANYON IN COLORADO
RED CANYON AND BOND AREA
GORE CANYON
THE COLORADO ROCKIES AND FRONT RANGE ABOVE DENVER
PRICES ALL PRICES ARE PER PERSON
ONEWAY PULLMAN..................................$1495
ROUNDTRIP PULLMAN...............................$2795
EMERYVILLE-RENO EITHER DIRECTION................$ 295
SALT LAKE CITY-DENVER EITHER DIRECTION..........$ 395
DEPOSIT FOR OVERNIGHT JOURNEY...................$ 700
DEPOSIT FOR A COACH DAY SEAT....................$ 100
SORRY NO CHILDREN PRICES ON THIS TRIP
TOUR INCLUDES
*USE OF ALL PASSENGER CARS
*UNLIMITED DRINKS AND SNACKS
*AWARD WINNING FIRST CLASS SERVICE
*ALL ONBOARD GOURMET MEALS AS LISTED
PRIVATE RAIL CARS
SILVER LARIAT.............CZ VISTA DOME & COACH
SILVER RAPIDS.............CZ SLEEPER
SILVER SOLARIUM...........CZ VISTA DOME-SLEEPER-LOUNGE-REAR OBSERVATION
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