Travel in luxury rail cars from Chicago

DATES:  July 19th & July 26th, 2011 TIME: Depart Amtrak MSP Station on July 19th* (map) Depart Chicago Union Station on July 26th* *all times are subject to that days train status and are not controled by the Friends

The Friends of the 261 are sending its entire fleet of Amtrak certified cars  to Rock Island, IL for Train Festival 2011. To help with the cost of moving the  fleet and crew to Chicago for the festival, the Friends are selling individual  tickets to and from Chicago, with limited stops available at Winona and  Milwaukee. You will be riding in style as we move SEVEN LUXURY RAIL CARS  to Chicago. Passengers will be able to roam from car-to-car, enjoying an  entire PRIVATE TRAIN. Due to flooding out West, Amtrak is running  short trains, allowing the Friends to move three more private cars than  our normal maximum of 4 (totaling 7).  We will be offering food and  beverage service along the way, complimentary with your ticket purchase. This is one rare occasion you do not want to miss!   Because this is a special move, stops are limited to Winona and Milwaukee.  The train will depart MSP at 8am on July 19th, please arrive AT LEAST  15 minutes early. It is scheduled to arrive in Chicago at approximately  3:55pm. On July 26th, the train is scheduled to depart 2:10pm and arrive  in MSP around 10:30pm.  Tickets: $149.00 One way to Milwaukee/Chicago July 19th, 2011  $149.00 One way to Minneapolis July 26th, 2011  $289.00 Round Trip Milwaukee/Chicago July 19th-July 26th, 2011 For Tickets please call, RHMA at 651-765-9812  between 9am and 4pm  Railroading Heritage of Midwest America, Inc. 4322 Lake Point Court Shoreview, Minnesota 55126

Simon Pielow Trainvangelist for Quality Rail Travel The Best Way to Travel on Earth

Charter Trains: The Prince's Carriage in Morocco

Charter Trains: The Prince's Carriage in Morocco

Simon PielowTrainvangelist for Quality Rail TravelThe Best Way to Travel on Earth

The Prince's Carriage in Morocco

 

 

 

Train Chartering and Private Rail Cars offer the the Prince's Carriage in Morocco.

 

The Carriage can be added to a scheduled train or run as a special 'royal' train across the whole Moroccan rail network.

 

The Carriage has 

- conference or dining table for up to 20 persons

- screen and projector

- be used as a saloon car with dining table for up to 12 people

- a bedroom with two bunk beds

- a fully equipped kitchen.

 

The carriage can run by itself or with modern first class carriages.

Private Train Carriages to The Cheltenham Festival 2011

Train Chartering is offering private First Class carriages for travel to The Cheltenham Festival 2011 from London.  On Tuesday 15^th, Wednesday 16^th and Friday 18^th March, the carriages are in the Tote’s charter trains, and on Thursday 17^th March, on scheduled trains.

The Cheltenham Festival 2010 is taking place 15 – 18 June 2011.  There is an included coach transfer service between the station and the racecourse.

The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing event in England.

National Hunt racing at the Cheltenham Festival

From Wiki:

"The Cheltenham Festival is the most prestigious meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, and has race prize money second only to the Grand National. It is an event where many of the best British and Irish trained horses race against each other, the extent of which is relatively rare during the rest of the season.

The festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Racecourse in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The meeting is often very popular with Irish visitors, mostly because of that nation's affinity with horse racing, but also because it usually coincides with Saint Patrick's Day, a national holiday in celebration of the patron saint of Ireland.

Huge amounts of money are bet during festival week, with hundreds of millions of pounds being gambled over the four days. Cheltenham is often noted for its atmosphere, most notably the "Cheltenham roar", which refers to the enormous amount of noise that the crowd generates as the starter raises the tape for the first race of the festival."

The First Class carriages in the charter trains include Pullman dining; a Great British breakfast after a welcoming glass of champagne or Buck’s Fizz on the way to the races, and a four-course dinner on the return to London.

Provided complimentary with each private carriage on the charter trains are:

- racecards

- newspapers

- souvenir badges

- (worth up to £80 each) Club Enclosure badges

- access to on-course private marquee with full betting facilities and pay bar

- guest speakers who will ‘mark your card’.

Prices for a 42-seat private carriage in the charter trains for orders before 31^st December are £12,150 on Tuesday and Wednesday and £12,500 on Friday; from 1^st January, prices increase to £12,500 and £12,950.  Prices for the private carriage on the scheduled trains on Thursday are on application.

Train Chartering has provided charter trains and private carriages since 1998 to corporate and individual clients as well as group travel organisers.  Combining this experience with a wide range of train types, Train Chartering is in a unique position to tailor an appropriate rail travel experience. 

Simon Pielow Trainvangelist for Quality Rail Travel The Best Way to Travel on Earth

The Spirit of Chartwell - Thames riverboat, already an icon

Transport Charter supplies multi-modal passenger charter options.
Why is planning transport so often the last item on the planning agenda?  Is this why 'problems with transport' are generally top of the de-briefing agenda?

The Spirit of Chartwell is probably the most exciting riverboat launch in recent years, at a stroke raising the benchmark for London riverboats on the Thames.

Onboard similarities with luxury trains are both unavoidable and indeed sought;

"Combining the fact that on the Thames there is always something to be seen (quite unlike other rivers) and the space presented was more akin to a luxury train - the luxury train was the principal design referenced to be used throughout.
To this end and with the assistance of a French railway journalist, original 1928 Pullman Fleche d’Or and Cote d’Azure restaurant carriages (available for charter from Train Chartering) were located in a railway siding in the south of Paris and later in Normandy a treasure trove of original and iconic Pullman restaurant chairs. The ‘Spirit of Chartwell’ public spaces thus also come complete with marquetry motifs and lalique crystal panels whilst the external livery is resplendent in British Pullman colours of cream and umber, and State cabins though having a nautical feel are very much that of a top end London hotel. The vessel is designed for up to 38 passengers in over-night cruise mode and 100 guests for special occasions/events.

The central design reference for the public spaces on board ‘Spirit of Chartwell’ was the Rene Lalique 1929 Pullman railway carriage ‘Cote d’Azure’. Although some original pieces from this railway carriage can be found on board, this is supplemented by original fixtures and fittings from some of the great ocean liners as the Union Castle’s – Windsor Castle & Kenya Castle, the SS France and MS Sneafel. The vessel’s walls are adorned with original Lalique glass panels and especially commissioned marquetry.
1929 ‘Riviera’ Cote d’Azure armchairs.
Only 612 of these famous dining armchairs were ever made and only a small number still survive. Some 33 of these armchairs were sourced from derelict Wagon Lits railway carriages in Normandy, France and refurbished and reupholstered in Southampton and can now be found on board ‘Spirit of Chartwell’.

The Côte d'Azur Pullman Express was a French de luxe train which ran from 9 December 1929 until May 1939. The service was operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits and the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (known as the PLM).
 
Dunn and Sons have produced marquetry panels for some of the world’s most famous trains and Ocean Liners including the Titanic, Lusitania. Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and carriages from the famed Wagon Lits company. On board the ‘Spirit of Chartwell’ two representations of their work can be found in lounge. 

Model Locomotives
There are two large working model locomotives in the lounge bought at auction in 1979 but thought to have been built in the 1950’s by ex- British Railway Locomotive drivers; tThe ‘Gladstone’ & the ‘Hussar’
Locomotive ‘Gladstone’.
It is one of Class D1 0-4-2 of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway, of which 125 were built by its engineer William Stroudley between 1873 and 1887 for suburban passenger trains.
Locomotive ‘Hussar’
No. 6154 of the LMS (London Midland and Scottish Railway) is one of a total of 71 express passenger 4-6-0 locomotives of the Royal Scot class (Royal Scot carriages make up a train available from Train Chartering)Bradshaw’s World’s First Railway Timetable
The first Bradshaw timetable is generally accepted as that which appeared on October 19th – 1839. Bradshaw was the undoubted source and inspiration for Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty days commemorated here as the name of the lounge deck.  An original is displayed in the lounge.
In the re-construction of the vessel and the thought processes that went into it, it is clear that the ‘Spirit of Chartwell’ turns out to be not just another cruise vessel - but rather, because there’s so much to see, more akin to a Pullman Fleche d’Or experience on the water, where suitably attired stewards attentively attend guests whilst all the while the scenery is brought effortlessly to their table.

360cities Panorama of the Dome of a Private Rail Car

Wikipedia: "The Grand Canyon Railway, is a passenger railroad which operates between Williams, Arizona, and Grand Canyon National Park South Rim."

About 250000 visitors to the Grand Canyon travel on the Grand Canyon Railway every year to the Visitor Park at  the Grand Canyon Park's South Rim.

This is a panorama of the dome of a car on this private railroad.

Private Rail Cars , part of Train Chartering, supplies dome cars across the Amtrak rail network.  Here are some photos.

Prvate Rail Cars offers tailored journeys that take in many of the US National Parks.

Web Profile of MetLife Charter Train

Very pleased with the take up of our MetLife charter train story!

http://bit.ly/8X4si0

Private Conference Cars on Trains in Europe

                                                                 Conference Car in Germany

It is possible to hire conference cars in several European countries, such as France, Germany and Switzerland.

Meetings during the journey are an efficient use of time; equally the cars can be for private dining or other hospitality.

Train Chartering

Touring Train in New Zealand

New Zealand has some modern trains on scenic routes that are ideal for touring.

Private Rail Cars offers private carriages on these routes:

The TranzAlpine scenic train journey travels between Christchurch and Greymouth, from one coast of New Zealand to the other. From your carriage you’ll see the fields of the Canterbury Plains and farmland, followed by the spectacular gorges and river valleys of the Waimakariri River. Your train then climbs into the Southern Alps before descending through lush beech rain forest to the West Coast town of Greymouth – a great base for visits to Punakaiki and the always popular glaciers.

The TranzCoastal train journey travels between the delightful port of Picton and Christchurch, the South Island’s largest city. This journey is a scenic feast of New Zealand, with the Kaikoura mountain ranges on one side of your train and the rugged Pacific Ocean coastline on the other. Along the way you pass though the village of Kaikoura, where, if you're touring New Zealand, you can break your journey to take in the whale watching or dare to get closer and swim with the dolphins. 

The Overlander is a journey through the heart of the North Island, travelling between Auckland - New Zealand's largest city and home of the Sky Tower, to Wellington - New Zealand's arts and culture capital.
Along the way you pass the Central North Island ski towns of National Park and Ohakune, popular with young and old alike. You also see fantastic views of New Zealand farmland, the volcanic plateau, Mount Ruapehu, the world famous Raurimu Spiral, and stunning river gorges - all from our panoramic windows or open air viewing decks allowing you the best possible views. 

The Silk Road by Private Train

 

The Silk Road by Private Train

 

 

MOSCOW - VOLGOGRAD - KARA KUM - KHIVA - ASHGABAT - MERV - BUKHARA - SAMARKAND - TASHKENT - ALMATY - URUMCHI - TURPAN - DUNHUANG - JIAYUGUAN - XIAN - BEIJING

 

Crossing both Russia and China as well as some of the remotest former Soviet Republics - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. This epic 21 day, 11,000 kms journey by private train travels through an ever-changing landscape and takes in some of the most magnificent, yet little visited, sights and oasis cities from the ancient world.   
 

 2011 Silk Road Tour Dates 

September 20 - October 10 (Moscow - Beijing)

 

2011 Silk Road Sector Tour Dates 

September 20 - October 2 (Moscow - Almaty)

October 2 - October 10 (Urumchi - Beijing)

Silk Road Tour Inclusions

Services of an Experienced Tour Manager

 Five-Star Hotel Accommodation in Moscow (2 nights) and Beijing (3 nights)

 On Board Private Train Accommodation (15 nights)

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Daily

Generous Allowance of Drinks with Lunch & Dinner at all times

Full Off-Train Excursion Programme

24 Hour Cabin Service

Complimentary Tea, Coffee & Bottled Water

Tour Doctor

All Gratuities

 

CONTACT THE LUXURY TRAIN CLUB for further details

El Expreso de La Robla - Special rate for a December departure

December deals on Spanish luxury and first class rail tours

1/3 of a million views of our Flickr photo stream

Our Flickr photo stream is possibly the largest web resource of views of passengers rail carriages, both internal and external, as well as carriage plans. 

Private carriages, anywhere in the UK and mainland Europe

French First Class carriage available for private hire

Train Chartering operates private carriages and escorted group rail travel for corporate, individual and association clients, provide cost-effective and memorable touring and incentive travel.

Train Chartering offers private carriages / rail cars in both 1st (First) and 2nd (Standard) Class on UK and mainland European trains, including Eurostar and other high-speed international services.

Groups are escorted by Train Chartering’s stewards who liaise with station staff and train crew. Train Chartering organises meeting and greeting facilities at stations as well as catering, branding, onboard meeting & entertainment options.

In addition, Train Chartering (with its Transport Charter subsidiary) provides rail event planning at destination such as transfers and venues, being in a perfect position to manage the transition between train and final destination.

Private carriages are ideal for smaller groups for which a complete chartered train is inappropriate. We still offer our project and guest management services as well as catering and entertainment.

Train Chartering is the pioneer of a coordinated approach to sourcing, theming and crewing special trains and carriages for a variety of corporate and leisure applications. This full service approach is enhanced by comprehensive guest management, including ground handling & transfer services.

Simon Pielow Trainvangelist for Quality Rail Travel The Best Way to Travel on Earth

Over the (Niagara) Falls

The Hickory Creek private rail car - classic travel in the USA

Join the Hickory Creek for a cruise through the Hudson River Valley during peak fall foliage season to Niagara Falls.

Passengers will enjoy the views from Hickory Creek's 'Lookout Lounge' as the train travels through the scenic country along the original 'Water Level Route' to the Falls.

Schedule
Thursday September 30 2010
New York City, Penn Station            depart 9:45AM on the rear of the Amtrak Train #281
Sunday October 3
Niagara Falls                                   depart 7:05AM on the rear of Amtrak train #284

Fares                $649 per passenger

Hickory Creek rail car - master bedroom

Stay at Niagara Falls in the Hickory Creek!
$150 per person per night in one of the two Master Bedrooms (double bed, includes breakfast), double occupancy only, 3 nights occupancy required.

Other passengers are responsible for their own hotel accommodations.

Book via Private Rail Cars

Private carriages to the 2010 Ryder Cup

High-speed Train with the Private First Class Carriages to the 2010 Ryder Cup 

 The best way for groups over 20 to get to the Ryder Cup? I think it's trains, naturally!

Train Chartering has private First Class carriages on each day, Thursday 30th September to Sunday 3rd October, between London and Newport, south Wales, close to Celtic Manor, venue of the 2010 Ryder Cup.

Private First Class Carriage to the 2010 Ryder Cup

These air-conditioned First Class carriages have leather armchair-style seats with complimentary newspapers, drinks and snacks. 

Train Chartering will arrange options such as enhanced catering with a private steward, distribution of golf magazines, branding and other enhancements.

Train Chartering will also arrange First and Standard (2nd) Class group rail travel from London and anywhere else on the British rail network, with or without an escorting steward and special catering.

Group Travel in Standard (2nd) Class to the 2010 Ryder Cup

  

Standard (2nd) Class travel in reserved seats is a comfortable way to get to the 2010 Ryder Cup

Simon Pielow Trainvangelist for Quality Rail Travel
"The Best Way to Travel on Earth"

Swiss luxury bar car

Swiss luxury bar car, originally uploaded by Train Chartering & Private Rail Cars.

This luxurious rail car, along with one or two more dining cars, can be added to regular Swiss Railways trains.

This car has 24 seats; the dining cars, perfect for Pullman dining, accommodate up to 48 diners each. Thus a group of up to 120 passengers can travel in these luxurious surroundings, whilst benefitting from the clockwork efficiency of Swiss trains.

Other photos here.

Contact Private Rail Cars to learn more.

Group Travel in Private Rail Cars

Train Chartering's Private Rail Cars supplies private rail cars on many rail networks throughout the world but particularly in the UK, USA, Canada and much of Europe, such as France, Germany and Switzerland.

Train Chartering offers free consultancy to group organisers for travel in private carriages, covering all aspects of the proposed journey; from advice about the best rail route to the chosen venue or event location to the best way to manage the group on arrival at stations.

Typically, clients are the group organisers for corporate travel or individuals planning special events, but a wider range of group planners such as wedding planners, group leaders of association travel and other organisations and travel agents have used these services.

Group travel in private carriages is a cost-effective way to travel in a controlled environment for groups of between 10 and 160.

Many European rail routes cross national borders, which makes group travel in private train carriages a convenient way to tour Europe.  Train Chartering suggests hotels convenient for railway stations and provides baggage porters if required, as well as road transfers.

Private carriage or rail car travel has involved:

-          a private rail car across much of the USA to Seattle for an individual traveller who could not use aircraft, to connect with a sea cruise;

-          156 passengers from Deloitte in 2 carriages between London and Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands, delegates to a training conference in the Aviemore Highland Resort;

-          private carriages for 60 corporate passengers between Geneva Airport and Gstaad, going by rail, blue sky meetings being the aim.

Private carriages differ from country to country.  Here are some generalised categories:

-          1^st or 2^nd (or standard / coach) class open carriages for regular seating, generally on scheduled trains;

-          1^st or 2^nd (or standard / coach) class compartment carriages, mostly in Europe;

-          1^st or 2^nd class sleeper, with private or public bathrooms, normally on luxury or tourist trains;

-          Dining or restaurant car, with or without a kitchen, normally on luxury or tourist trains;

-          Exhibition car, open plan, also for ‘disco’, presentations and meetings, in the USA or Europe;

-          Sleeper / lounge car, with sleeping compartments or bedrooms and a lounge, sometimes in a dome, in the USA and Canada, and Australia;

-          Business car, comprising up to 5 bedrooms, kitchen, dining area, lounge and often a dome observation lounge or a rear viewing platform, in the USA and Canada, and Russia;

-          Club / lounge car, with bar and some catering facilities, in the USA and Canada, and certain other countries.

Train Chartering arranges quality catering served by uniformed stewards as required.  The type of menu provided depends on the route, the type of carriages and the available budget; bagged sandwich lunches and 4-course dinners may  illustrate the extent of choice.

Many carriages can be branded or themed to suit the event and client; imaginative personalisation can extend to the platform or beyond.

 

Contact us to discuss your group travel requirements.

Simon Pielow Trainvangelist for Quality Rail Travel The Best Way to Travel on Earth

The 'crystal bar' of the Overland Trail

I gave the quarter-circle bar on the Overland Trail the name 'crystal bar', given its appearance by night and the effect of the mirror.

It is easy to imagine the beguiling ambience in the rail car as it travels through the night.  Passengers will be enjoying the conviviality, comfortable to know that their bedrooms (with attached bathrooms) await them in the adjoining luxury sleeper / lounge car.

The Overland Trail is a 39-seat Club Lounge with (uniquely) a Barbershop and shower.  Barbershops were once a feature of the great trains of the USA.  It was built by the Pullman Standard Car Manufacturing Company for the Southern Pacific Railroad in December 1949.

There are 16 seats at 4 tables as well as loose club chairs.  Original murals set the scene in this classic rail car.
More photos here

Simon Pielow Trainvangelist for Quality Rail Travel The Best Way to Travel on Earth

Pony Express, the Antique Bar

Private Rail Car - Pony Express, the Antique Bar, originally uploaded by Train Chartering & Private Rail Cars.

The antique bar on the Pony Express rail car is redolent of the wild west; appropriate as the rail roads were vital in the development of the USA.

Dream machine - Bella Vista - now booking for October 2010

Private Rail Car - Bella Vista, dome sleeper / lounge, originally uploaded by Train Chartering & Private Rail Cars.

The Bella Vista, with dome, rear viewing platform, bedrooms, lounge and kitchen, is running on a private charter between Oakland (San Francisco) via Los Angeles to San Diego along the scenic US West Coast, October 2010.

Just 3 bedrooms available, for hire to individuals or a corporate client.

Contact Private Rail Cars

Charter Trains with Private Carriages to the 2010 Ryder Cup

 

Train Chartering is supplying three private charter trains for travel to The 2010 Ryder Cup for Ryder Cup Limited. The trains will operate one return journey daily, Friday 1st, Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd October, on this route: London Paddington via Reading, Swindon and Bristol Parkway to Newport in South Wales.

The 2010 Ryder Cup is taking place 1 – 3 October 2010 in Wales at the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, Gwent. The Celtic Manor Resort is 4 miles from Newport Station which is a 2-hour rail journey from London. There is a coach transfer service between the station and the course as there is no pedestrian access.

The trains have first and standard (2nd) class carriages, as well as buffet cars and refreshment trolley service to first class. For online bookings please go to http://www.seetickets.com/rydercuptrains. Large groups can reserve private carriages in both classes with upgraded catering and client-specific branding; in this instance please email rydercup@trainchartering.com.

Antonia Beggs, Assistant Staging Director of Ryder Cup Limited, is enthusiastic about the charter trains, “I believe that providing these charter trains is a great service to our clients, allowing them to make the most of the exciting golf.”

Train Chartering has provided charter trains and private carriages since 1998 to corporate and individual clients as well as group travel organisers. Combining this experience with a wide range of train types, Train Chartering is in a unique position to tailor an appropriate rail travel experience.

ENDS

Further Information:

The Train Chartering Company Ltd

Simon Pielow, +44 (0) 1249 890 176, simon@trainchartering.com

Ryder Cup Limited

Giles Toosey, Project Manager, +44 (0) 20 7117 8116, rydercup@trainchartering.com  

For Editors:

1. Email for press briefing notes: info@trainchartering.com

2. Photos of the trains are available here.

3. For further information on The 2010 Ryder Cup, visit http://www.rydercup.com/

4. Train Chartering supplies private charter trains and carriages. Other related services include:

       ·  Private Rail Cars - private carriages / rail cars, US and elsewhere

       · The Luxury Train Club – the concierge service for luxury trains

      ·  Soundwave Express - branded & themed trains

      · Transport Charter - multi-model passenger transport solutions

Simon Pielow, Trainvangelist for Quality Rail Travel, The Best Way to Travel on Earth