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Special Events
Private Railcar 2008 Excursions and Tours
Welcome aboard a most unique travel experience! You have arrived at your destination the moment you stepped aboard your private railcars. We offer both private charters and public tours using our historic railcars.
Our Equipment
Our 2008 Tours operated in conjunction with California Zephyr Railcar Charters, our ‘train within a train’, will consist of private railcars 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.
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.
On-Board Services
We provide full meal and bar service, staffed with professionals from the railroads' business cars, fine restaurants and hotels. We prepare our meals on board in our own kitchen. Our menus are tailored to your requirements.
Tables are set with white damask tablecloths from the original California Zephyr. Our china patterns are commissioned and registered especially for Silver Lariat and Silver Solarium.
Overnight accommodations include triple-sheeted beds with starched and pressed linens, robes for our guests, and the other amenities one would find in fine hotels.
Our 2008 Tours
Central Coast Wine Tour
March 29-30
- Round trip by private railcar from Los Angeles to the Santa Maria Valley, breakfast northbound, hors d’Oeuvres, dinner southbound, full bar aboard the private railcar.
- Limousine tours of 3 wineries; tasting room admission; overnight accommodations at the Historic Santa Maria Inn, complimentary breakfast Sunday morning.
- Tours of Santa Maria Museum of Flight and Mission La Purisima State Park before reboarding the train Sunday afternoon.
- $699/person, based on double room occupancy.
New Orleans, Plantations, Creoles and Cajuns
April 7-18, 12 Days
April 7-16 or April 9-18, 10 Days
- Round trip from Los Angeles by private rail, Apr 7-18
- One way by private rail, Apr 7-16 or Apr 9-18
- All meals and full, hosted bar while aboard the private railcars.
- All guests have sleeping car accommodations
- Stay at historic hotel in the French Quarter
- Tours of the French Quarter, Garden District, Antebellum Plantations including a fly-in using a float plane
- French Quarter Festival is in full swing
- Bayous by airboat, Mardi Gras World.
- Dine on the best of regional cuisine
- Jazz Cruise aboard the steamboat Natchez
- Guests may choose round trip by private cars or fly one way.
- Guests make their own alternate travel arrangements.
- Transfer between NOL and our hotel is included.
Seattle, Victoria and the Northwest
May 16-22, 7 Days
- Round trip from Los Angeles aboard vintage private railcars, including all meals and hosted bar while aboard
- All guests have sleeping car accommodations
- 3 nights lodging at Mayflower Park Hotel
- Lunch at the top of the Space Needle
- Tour Experience Music Project
- Tour Museum of Flight
- Tour Museum of Glass (Tacoma)
- Tour Mt. Ranier National Park
- Travel to Victoria BC aboard the Victoria Clipper
- City tour, and tour of Butchart Gardens
- Tea at the Fairmont Empress
Denver and the Rockies
June 6-12 7 Days
August 30-Sept 5, 7 Days
- Round trip from San Francisco/Oakland aboard vintage private railcars, including all meals and hosted bar while aboard.
- All guests have sleeping car accommodations.
- 3 nights at the Oxford Hotel in LoDo
- Tour of Colorado Rail Museum, Coors Brewery
- Tour of Rocky Mountain National Park
- Lunch at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs
- Descend 1,000 feet into a gold mine
- Pikes Peak Cog Railway
Santa Fe, Taos and the Sangre de Cristo country
July 27-August 2, 7 Days
- Round trip from Los Angeles aboard vintage private railcars, including all meals and hosted bar while aboard
- All guests have sleeping car accommodations
- 4 nights lodging in La Fonda Hotel
- Tour is scheduled to allow attendance at Santa Fe Opera
- City tour, tour of Bronze Foundry
- Excursion on the Cumbres & Toltec Narrow Gauge Railway
- Tour of Taos, Chimayo, and the Rio Grande Gorge
Portland, Glacier and Waterton National Parks
August 10-20, 11 Days
- Round trip from Los Angeles aboard vintage private railcars, including all meals and hosted bar while aboard
- All guests have sleeping car accommodations
- Lodging in historic hotels in Portland, Glacier and Seattle
- City tour of Portland, Astoria, and Tillamook
- Tour of Glacier using historic red park buses
- City tour of Seattle, travel to and from Victoria on the Victoria Clipper
- Tour of Victoria and Butchart Gardens
- Tea at the Fairmont Empress
Christmastime in Santa Fe and Taos
December 14-19, 6 Days
- Round trip from Los Angeles aboard vintage private railcars, including all meals and hosted bar while aboard
- All guests have sleeping car accommodations
- 3 nights lodging at La Fonda
- Special Holiday-oriented tours of Santa Fe and Taos
- Holiday meals featuring local cuisine
All prices assume double hotel occupancy.
Two hallmarks of our tours are that you will enjoy an extraordinary amount of public space, including vista-domes and large lounges while aboard the train, and a more leisurely pace when we’ve reached our destination. Typically the day following our arrival has very little planned, to allow you to explore on your own, or simply to settle in and enjoy your historic hotel accommodations.
Our tours are geared toward people who enjoy traveling by luxury train, but who aren’t necessarily railfans. Our off-train excursions provide a broad spectrum of experiences that can be had at each destination.
Brochures, booking and additonal information for our 2008 Tour Program are available from
California Zephyr Railcar Charters by clicking here or calling (714) 751-2032. We look forward to your joining us on one of our fine tours.
Click here for information on other popular trips aboard COLONIAL CRAFTS.
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