Features | US Dinner Trains 2010

Looking for a Dinner Train near you?
Click here

Start with the surroundings... a wood-paneled dining car from a century ago... or a sleek chrome streamliner with panoramic views. Oh the views! Majestic peaks, rushing waters, woodland preserves... romantic sunsets. Next: crisp linens, sparkling table settings and dedicated servers. Add a gourmet chef, fresh local ingredients and a full course restaurant quality menu (Prime Rib perhaps?). Round out with fine wine, a fantasmic dessert and, maybe, a bit of entertainment. And-voilą! You have the makings of a contemporary American classic.

All aboard the dinner train!

Dinner trains are found across the country. In New England, Newport Railroad guests savour hickory-smoked baby back ribs along with magnificent views of Narragansett Bay. Florida's Orlando Star Clipper lets weary theme park goers unwind with dinner and a show. Montana's Charlie Russell Chew Choo serves up hefty portions of Montana beef along with lingering Big Sky sunsets. Aboard California's Fillmore and Western Railroad, star-struck guests dine on trains regularly used in Hollywood movies. In Oregon, Mt. Hood Railroad diners marvel at local wines and Cascades mountain views.

All dinner trains have one thing in common. They recall a simpler time when great passenger railroads traveled great distances: sometimes thousands of miles over several days. At first, dining was a toss up: b.y.o. or chance one of the eateries that cropped up beside steam engine servicing way-stations. As rail technology advanced, the need for en-route servicing faded. Fortunately, hungry travelers were not forgotten and, by the twentieth century, dining cars were familiar fixtures on U.S. passenger trains. "Dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer." The lyrics of the 1940s era pop hit "Chattanooga Choo Choo" summed up the dining car's place in the national psyche.

The advent of long-distance air travel and development of the Interstate Highway system largely heralded the demise of train travel in America. The disappearing passenger trains took the dining cars with them.

A generation later, a dedicated group of passenger rail aficionados began reviving lost remnants of America's rail network. Once considered curious relics appealing largely to rail-fans, today refurbished railways are on a roll. Thanks to influences as divergent as overseas bullet trains, green consciousness and Thomas the Tank Engine, Americans are once again hopping aboard... and dinner trains are along for the ride.

No two onboard experiences are alike. At Pennsylvania's Strasburg Rail Road, America's only wooden dining car is drawn by an antique steam locomotive. Along Colorado's Royal Gorge Route, the posh 1950s era Vista Dome dining car treats guests to unobstructed wilderness views. White Mountain vistas seen from New Hampshire's Lafayette Dinner Train are especially dazzling in autumn when foliage colors peak. A meal on the Napa Valley Wine Train's open-air Silverado Car is a veritable feast in the vineyards.

When it comes to entertainment, murder mysteries rule -- no doubt a tribute to Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. Florida's Seminole Gulf Railway, Michigan's Old Road Dinner Train and California's Fillmore and Western Railway are among over a dozen dinner trains to regularly stage tableside whodunits.

For most guests, the food's the thing and the best dinner trains are true restaurants on wheels. Onboard kitchens are common and the presence of one or more accomplished chefs is not unusual. Many take pride in using only fresh seasonal ingredients from nearby farms and ranches. Regional specialties range from the Cape Cod Central Railroad's New England Seafood Chowder... to Pennsylvania Dutch Shoo-Fly Pie at the Strasburg Rail Road... to Kentucky Hot Brown aboard My Old Kentucky Dinner Train. In the Cornhusker State, the Fremont Dinner Train serves only home-raised Nebraska Beef. Way out west, the Napa Valley Wine Train's name says it all, with dozens of world-class locally-produced wines featured.

Kids love trains, and dinner trains love kids. Many offer discounts for small fry or feature special kid-priced menus. Some railroads even schedule special "Family Trains" or kid-friendly outings with BBQ or Pizza themes. Some railroads make a point of providing entertainment that will hold young ones' attention. Montana's Charlie Russell Chew Choo stages "Wild West" shoot-em-ups. In season, numerous dinner trains host gala breakfasts and lunches with Santa! On the flip-side, it's not uncommon for evening dinner trains, particularly murder mystery trains, to limit age of admittance.

For most dinner trains, a neat casual dress code rules the day. Tank tops are generally frowned upon; tees, shorts and flip flops are sometimes welcome. A few dinner trains do ask that informal attire be worn: jacket and tie for guys; a dress or pant suit for ladies. Dinner trains strive to respond to individual needs and preferences. Vegetarian selections are practically universal and special dietary needs like diabetic, food allergy and kosher can usually be met. Handicap access is quite often available, despite restrictions imposed by railcars built prior to the implementation of ADA guidelines.