Favorite Tourist Railroad

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benjibear

benjibear

Conductor
Joined
Dec 9, 2011
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1,078
I found the museum thread interesting so I thought I would start one on tourist railroads. There are many in PA

1. Strasburg - Best tourist railroad

2. East Broad Top - Narrow Guage and everything is original

3. Watemaker, Kempton, and Southern - great small steam railroad that I have fond memories of as a kid

4. Middletown and Hummelstown - diesel short line but I was on an awesome Halloween ride with my nephew

5. Gettysburg Railroad - known for steam engine explosion, operates as diesel now

6. Steamtown - wasn't sure I was going to list this since they are more of a museum and rides take a back seat

7, New Hope and Ivyland - Can't remember much about this one

8. Storubridge Railroad - Great fall foliage rides

9. Tioga Central - Ride along the hammond lake

10. Oil Creek and Titusville - Make sure you visit the PA oil museum while you are here.

I am sure I am missing a few but these are ones I have been to at one time or another. I was also on the Knox, Kane, and Kinzua which ran over the Kinzua viaduct but this railroad is now defumct.

Maybe we will talk about trolley/transit museums next!
 
I'm going to cheat a little bit here and include amusement park railroads:

-Busch Gardens in Williamsburg has a nice set of engines (I was once accused of going to the park just to ride the train).

-The monorail at Disney is...well, it's interesting and its efficient, but I'm not a fan of the train designs (even if my marked transit preference certainly helped dictate how we were getting from the Magic Kingdom to Epcot one day).

-I haven't had a chance to try out the railroad within either Disney World (i.e. Magic Kingdom) or Disneyland...I want to try out the latter, if for no other reason than what Walt did with the trains there. The two times I've been in the Magic Kingdom, it just didn't fit with plans for the day.
 
Durango and Silverton. Rode the line on a special behind a wood burning 1800s vintage 4-4-0 once. Lots of stops for water and wood, windows open for cinders and the scent of pine on the mountains. It was just like it was back in the wild west, only with a flush toilet on the train. Plus the High Line is the most beautiful section of track I have ever seen.
 
Park trains the best ones are at Knoebels Grove in Elysburg, PA. They have one ride that is a 1 1/2 mile ride that goes by the pool, under a roller coaster, through a tunnel where tradition is to scream, and then outside the park and through the woods. During the ride, it is likely you will see squirels and possibly other wildlife (the park keeps them fed). They have several sets of the Allen Herscel G-16 trains and there has to be at least 2 steam (one green which was the original and one red) and at least 2 of the F unit style sets. When they are busy all four will be running so the rides go quick. There is also parts pieces, a maintence train, etc.

Also, in the park, is a crown metal works live steam train. There is only one set and it used to go through the park but they made modifications because kids would jump on and off. It now boards in kiddiieland goes out one direction through a loop, back through the station to the other direction for another loop. There is some time while boarding where they will take on water or coal and you see them stoke the engine.

The park has alot of other interesting aspects of older rides, several museums, a great haunted house, and excellent food that is very reasonably priced. Great thing is it is free parking and admission so if you are driving by you can stop, grab a few rides, eat a little, and go on your way.
 
The Conway Scenic Railroad originating in North Conway, NH has LOTS of scenery on its Crawford Notch Line, including a dome car. The other lines (to Conway and to Bartlett) offer much less scenery, but might be fun for families with young ones.
 
Niles Canyon Railway, running the final leg of the original Transcontinental Railroad in the SF Bay Area, California. I grew up on this line, having weaseled my way into the cab of both diesel and steam locomotives numerous times in my youth. The route is supposed to eventually encompass the entire portion of the former Southern Pacific ROW from Niles (now part of Fremont) through Sunol and into Pleasanton. Unfortunately, the NIMBY's in Pleasanton have so far been successful in keeping the train out of their town, but one day I hope they will loose this battle and the NCRY will push into the historic downtown.

Accessible by Amtrak, too! They have a vintage 1950's bus that will run to the Centerville (Fremont) station along the Capital Corridor route and pick up passengers.
 
1. Cass Scenic Railroad (Cass, WV) - Old logging railroad in the Appalachian Mountains. Locomotives are shays. Route uses steep grades and switchbacks to climb mountain.

2. Royal Gorge Route (Canon City,CO) - Runs through the famed Royal Gorge in Colorado.

3. Manitou & Pikes Peak Railway (Manitou Springs, CO) - Cog railroad to summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado. Climbs to an elevation of 14,110 feet. Very Scenic.

4. Texas State Railroad (Rusk, TX) - 25 mile run through the Piney Woods in east Texas between the towns of Rusk and Palestine.

5. Grand Canyon Railroad (Williams, AZ) - Round-trip all-day excursion from the town of Williams to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

6. Cuyahoga Valley Railroad (Akron, OH) - A very scenic ride through the Cuyahoga River Valley in northeastern Ohio.

7. Branson Scenic Railroad (Branson, MO) - Scenic run through the Ozark Mountains in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.

Nice Live-Steam Trains in Amusement Parks:

1. Dollywood Railroad (Dollywood: Pigeon Forge, TN)

2. Frisco Line (Silver Dollar City: Branson, MO)

3. Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad (Cedar Point: Sandusky, OH)
 
My parents have a timeshare on the western shore of Maui, and so I will go out with one of them every few years. The last time we went as a whole family was back when I was six, and I remember riding the Lahaina, Ka'anapali and Pacific Railroad, better know as the Sugar Cane Train. I went back in 5th grade and then in the summer after 7th, and I could not see the train having any potential to be enjoyed by adults much, but I remember it for how I rode it in kindergarten. Being able to ride through former sugarcane-fields-turned-golf-courses as I looked at the Pacific Ocean, as the conductor came by and gave everyone a coconut to sip from (not my thing! eh), I really enjoyed it.

Apparently I rode the train from Chama to Antonito at a family reunion when I was 1, but I don't remember it.

The best experience I've had with a "tourist" railroad was the Rocky Mountaineer last summer. When my grandparents in LA took me to Vancouver and Whistler, we never drove. We took a seaplane to Whistler, and the Rocky Mountaineer back. The train was really incredible. We sat in the premium service area, so we got teas and little sandwiches, as well as some yummy desserts. The best part though was not the car, it was the one right behind us, which was open-air. Being able to look out without a window was so fun, and when we traveled right over waterfalls, it was truly incredible. The attendants were very accommodating and very understanding of my cousin as well. The scenery was overall incredible, and I will remember it forever.
 
My favorite tourist railroad is any that exist! I love them all and go - as long as it's within 200 miles of where I am!
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(I don't want to go out of my way!
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Roaring Camp and Big Trees Railroad in Felton, CA. They run an open car train to Santa Cruz as well as a steam powered ride inside their own property. I'd like to try the Yosemite Sugar Pine Railroad too.

Of course one of these days I'm going to take the Darjeeling Toy Train.
 
One of my favorites is the Arkansas & MIssouri RR in NW Arkansas. Very scenic! They use Alco diesels. Sometimes trains are mixed passenger and freight.
 
What exactly is a "tourist railroad"? If it's something that only provides joyrides, as opposed to transportation, Durango & Silverton and Grand Canyon Railway probably don't qualify. The former has two enroute stops used extensively by backpackers and mountaineers (http://www.durangotrain.com/wilderness-access) and Grand Canyon Railway connects to Amtrak and can be booked on amtrak.com as a "thruway train".
 

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