Travel for rail enthusiasts

From the dawn of railways, there have been people fascinated with the technology of trains, their design and the engineering feats that made rail travel possible in difficult terrain. Today many people travel far and wide to see or ride specific trains and lines or to visit museums.

Understand

Since their inception, railways have been about more than just transporting goods and people from one place to another. The puffing of the earliest steam locomotives captivated the cities and towns wherever it arrived and today the sheer power of freight trains, the elegance and streamlined sleekness of modern high speed rail or the modern marvels of engineering that are train stations, bridges, tunnels or marshaling yards are a sight to behold and a reason for tourism all in itself. You don't have be an enthusiast listing numbers and dates of train sightings in a book to appreciate the beauty and fascination that is rail travel and everything associated with it. Railroads themselves often were boosters of tourism. After a line had been built, its owners would extol the beauty of the places it served and the speed with which one could get there by rail to attract more riders and some railroad tourism advertisements have become iconic. These days, railroads continue to extol the natural beauty of the landscapes traversed or the cities served even if the speed is nothing to write home about or limit themselves to short snappy "A to B in x amount of time" advertisements when they know they are the fastest option there is.

See

Stations

Station buildings can be impressive landmarks that are appreciated by architecture buffs as well as railway enthusiasts. They often represent the styles and tastes of their time of origin – spanning over one and a half centuries and include "bourgeois cathedrals" of the late 19th and early 20th century as well as hyper-modern "glass palaces" of the renaissance of rail travel (and railways) since the beginning of the 21st century. One of the most striking examples of the latter is perhaps Berlin 1 Hauptbahnhof in Germany, which was built for the 2006 soccer World Cup, and 1 Kanazawa Station in Japan. Unfortunately, stations built in the period from the start of World War II to the end of the 20th century tend to be rather dull affairs, perhaps symbolising the prevailing mindset of the period that rail travel was antiquated, and private car ownership and air travel was the way forward.

Longest name for a rail station, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Wales

• 2 Bailey Yard, North Platte, Nebraska. The world's largest freight railway yard. The 3 Golden Spike Tower offers a panoramic view over the goings-on. (updated Apr 2016)
• 4 Maschen Marshalling Yard (Rangierbahnhof Maschen), Maschen, Lower Saxony south of Hamburg. Maschen, which also hosts the Maschen Autobahn junction (A7, A1 and A39) is the biggest freight rail hub in Europe. Built in the 1970s, it serves the traffic from the North Sea ports to the industrial centers of Europe, from the Nordic countries to the German heartland and freight throughout Europe. Its size is only surpassed globally by the Bailey Yard mentioned above. (updated Apr 2016)
• 5 Tehachapi Loop, Kern County, California. A marvel of late 19th-century engineering, this loop allows heavy freight trains to climb the steep grade by crossing over itself. This loop is very busy with freight to this day and has been a favorite for railfans for decades. (updated Nov 2016)
• 6 Tanggula Station (唐古拉站). With a height of 5,068 m (16,627 ft) the station is the highest railway station as of March 2020. Only accessible through train services, and trains may make brief stops at the station, in which you are not allowed to leave the train due to extreme height. (updated Mar 2020)
• 7 Qinglongqiao Station (青龙桥站). A historic station on the Beijing–Zhangjiakou railway that serves as a switchback station, also lies the tomb of Zhan Tianyou, the chief designer of the railway. (updated Mar 2020)

Museums

Europe

Rotonde ferroviaire de Chambéry, railway roundhouse

• 8 Çamlık Train Museum (Çamlık Tren Müzesi), Çamlık village, south of Selçuk, Turkey. Centered on an abandoned station on a former alignment of the country's oldest rail line, Çamlık's steam engine collection is one of the largest in Europe. Made up by locomotives produced in various countries, the collection also includes the locomotive that was pulling an Orient Express service involved in the deadliest rail accident in Turkey, in 1957. In addition to the locomotives, miscellaneous railway items, such as a turntable and a watertower, are also in display. In the museum grounds, nicely landscaped with palm trees, there is also a restaurant. (updated Dec 2016)
• 9 Finnish Railway Museum (Hyvinkää). Steam locomotives were kept in Finland until the 1990s as a reserve for the case of oil imports being affected by a crises (Finland had a long border with the Soviet Union during the cold war and delicate relationships with both sides). Thus there was ample rolling stock left when the historical interest was awakened. The museum was founded already in 1898 and among the cars on display are three cars of the Finnish train of the Russian emperor and the car of the president of Finland, while the oldest locomotive is from 1868. A few tours are made in summer on the mainline railways. There is a 1:8 railway on the museum premises.  
• 10 Germany Transportation Museum (Verkehrsmuseum), Lessingstraße 6, Nuremberg ( U2   U3  stop Opernhaus). This museum contains two collection the DB Museum (museum of the national railway) and the Museum for Communication. The railway museum displays the development of railways in Germany from the beginnings in 1835 — when the first railway connecting Nuremberg and Fürth opened — to today (with even a short look to the future of rail transport). It has a collection of historic stock and a large model railroad. Its children's areas makes it a good place to visit for families. The captions to items in the museum are only available in German though. The museum for communication displays the history of mail and telecommunications.  
• 11 UK National Railway Museum, Leeman Road, York, nrm@nrm.org.uk. The largest railway museum in the world, responsible for the conservation and interpretation of the British national collection of historically significant railway vehicles and other artefacts. Contains an unrivalled collection of locomotives, rolling stock, railway equipment, documents and records. Free. 
• 12 German Steam Locomotive Museum (Deutsches Dampflokomotiv-Museum), Birkenstraße 5 Neuenmarkt, Upper Franconia (opposite the train station), info@dampflokmuseum.de. The museum is close to the schiefe Ebene (inclined plane), one of the first rail lines with a significant incline (up to 25 permille) that trains had to climb without any outside help - quite a challenge for 19th-century steam engines. (updated Apr 2016)
• 13 Latvian Railway History Museum, Riga/Pārdaugava. Exhibits Soviet rolling stock — the largest collection of broad-gauge vehicles in the Baltics.  

Americas

Southern Pacific #6051 EMD E9 painted in Daylight color scheme

• 14 Toronto Railway Museum, in Roundhouse Park, 255 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A huge central area (including the current CN Tower and Skydome) was once railway land. Park exhibits (outdoors, free) include a roundhouse and turntable, coaling tower, water tower, signal tower, small railway station and several railway cars and locomotives including a 4-8-4 Northern-type steam locomotive. A museum in the roundhouse building has railway exhibits, cars under restoration and a souvenir shop. Miniature steam trains sometimes run in the park, with tickets (Cdn$3/person) issued from the old Don Station building. (updated Sep 2015)
• 15 Memory Junction, 60 Maplewood Ave, Brighton, Ontario, Canada. Jun. An original limestone wayside station on the 1856 Grand Trunk line from Montréal to Toronto displays a 1906 steam locomotive, wooden and steel cabooses, rolling stock, agricultural equipment and local history. Trains on this busy corridor pass frequently but no longer stop in Brighton. (updated Apr 2016)
• 16 Rail Museum of Eastern Ontario, 90 William St W, Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada. Museum in former Canadian Northern Railway station, built 1912 on what was once a rail line to Napanee. The tracks were removed in the early 1980s, but the historic station and bridge across the Rideau Canal remain. Sleeper bunks may be rented overnight in a pair of 1940s wooden Canadian Pacific cabooses (weekends only, June-August). (updated Apr 2016)
• 17 Harvey House Museum, 104 North First St, Belen, New Mexico, USA (on west side of Belen Railyard). Public library and museum covering Harvey House, railroad and US Southwest history. Belen's Harvey House (1910-1939) used to house a lunch room and first-class dining room; the Harvey Girls, dorm mother and office manager lived upstairs. 
• 18 Jackson Street Roundhouse, 193 Pennsylvania Ave E, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA (between Jackson and Interstate 35E; Bus: 68, 71), ☏ +1 651 228-0263. An old railroad roundhouse where historic locomotives and rolling stock come for restoration and maintenance. Also offers train rides. 
• 19 Louisville and Nashville Depot, 401 Kentucky St, Bowling Green (Kentucky), USA. Historic railpark, guided rail car tours and self-guided museum. Of the 90 railway post office (RPO) cars on the L&N, two survive; one is here, the other is at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Pennsylvania. (updated May 2017)
• 20 Martinsburg Roundhouse, 100 E Liberty St, Martinsburg (West Virginia), USA. Three B&O Rail shop buildings on 13 acres include a historic 1866 cast iron frame Baltimore and Ohio Railroad roundhouse, burned by "Stonewall" Jackson’s Civil War troops in 1862, quickly rebuilt and in service until 1988. On 1,000 feet (300 m) of the Tuscarora Creek, site of the first National Labor Strike of 1877. 
• 21 Museum of Transportation, 2933 Barrett Station Road, Kirkwood, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Train and trolley rides, guided tours, boxcar boutique. Rail and transit collections encompass more than 190 major exhibits, ranging from an 1833 Boston & Providence Railroad passenger coach and the largest successful steam locomotive ever built to a 6,600-hp, two-engine Union Pacific diesel #6944 (“Centennial”) built in 1971. Other collections include road and air travel. (updated Apr 2016)
• 22 Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, 10501 Reservoir Road, Jamestown (California), USA. Original depot, headquarters, and roundhouse of the Sierra Railway, built in 1897 to carry passengers, mining ore and logs by steam train. Tour the roundhouse, climb aboard historic rail cars and locomotives, ride a steam train on summer weekends. 
• 23 Steamtown National Historic Site, 350 Cliff St, Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA, toll-free: +1-888-693-9391. The former rail yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, in use since 1851, include a selection of steam-era buildings. Part of the original Locomotive Shop (1865), a portion of the second Roundhouse (1902/1917/1937) and the Sand Tower (1912) remain, along with a large collection of locomotives and rolling stock from the heyday of steam railroading.  
• 24 Western America Railroad Museum, in Harvey House Railroad Depot, 685 North First St, Barstow, California, USA, ☏ +1 760 256-WARM (9276). The former Casa del Desierto railside hotel (1911) houses an active Amtrak station, a visitor center, the Western America Railroad Museum and the Route 66 Mother Road Museum. The once-famous Fred Harvey Company was an early chain (1876) which operated Harvey House restaurants (and later hotels) in railroad-owned buildings on behalf of the Santa Fe line. These wayside eateries pre-dated the deployment of dining cars on the train; in their heyday, at least one Harvey House appeared railside each hundred miles all the way from Chicago to California. Of 84 Harvey Houses constructed from 1876-1930, perhaps a half-dozen survive in some form. Indoor displays include artefacts, artwork, timetables, tools and uniforms; outdoor displays of rolling stock, locomotives and equipment include maintenance of way, signal and track equipment displayed in context. (updated Apr 2016)
• 25 Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, 110 Federal Park Road, Gallitzin, Pennsylvania, USA. (updated Jan 2019)
• 26 Oregon Rail Heritage Center. (updated Jan 2019)
• 27 California State Railroad Museum, 125 I St, Sacramento, California, USA. A huge museum of railroad history with a large collection of old yet well-preserved trains and equipment. If possible, take Amtrak to the Sacramento station to get into a trainy mood for it. The museum also features a large majestic model train layout on the 3rd floor in 3-rail O-scale. (updated Jan 2019)

• 28 Lake Superior Railroad Museum, 506 W. Michigan St, Duluth, Minnesota, USA. On the bottom floor of The Depot, Duluth's rather grand old train station. Has an extensive collection, mostly of locomotives and train cars that served the local area, including a massive 2-8-8-4 "Yellowstone" locomotive that used to haul huge iron ore trains. The North Shore Scenic Railroad excursion trains along the lake shore. The upper floors of the building display art and anthropological exhibits on the local Native American cultures and European immigration. (updated May 2019)

Museo de los Ferrocarrileros, Mexico City

• 29 Museo Ferrocarrilero (Parque Temático Tres Centurias), Avenida 28 de Agosto Sn, Barrio de la Estación, Aguascalientes, Ags, México, ☏ +52 449 994-2761. Old Railway Station Museum in former 1911 station (Estación del Ferrocarril) in "Three Centuries" railway complex. The park also houses old railway workshops, an engine room, dining room, extensive gardens, local radio/TV and a cultural centre. (updated Apr 2016)
• 30 Museo del Ferrocarril "Jesús García Corona" (Train Museum), Manuel José Othón 0, Centro Historico, San Luis Potosi, Mexico, ☏ +52 444 814 3589. Comprehensive train museum in an opulent art deco railroad station. Signage is all in Spanish but English-speaking guides are often available. Visit on a weekday when train rides are offered. 
• 31 Museo de los Ferrocarrileros (Mexico City Railroad Museum), Entrance to La Villa-Guadalupe Metro, La Villa. Historical railroad museum focusing on the late 19th and early 20th century. Interesting collection of locomotives and rolling stock including the Sin Fuego, a pressure steam locomotive built by Davenport Locomotive Works. 

Asia

Driver cabin of the SS1008, China Railway Museum

• 32 Ambarawa Railway Museum (Museum Kereta Api Ambarawa), Jalan Setasiun No.1, Ambarawa, Indonesia, ☏ +62 298 591035. A railway museum, exhibiting many old locomotives, carriages, and other train paraphernalia. Before its current use as a museum, the station was decommissioned in the 1970s. It is possible to get a ticket for a diesel train trip to the nearby station in Tuntang on weekends, through which visitors can see the vast rice fields of Ambarawa, and the panoramic view of Lake Rawapening and Mount Merbabu, Telomoyo, and Ungaran. (updated May 2018)
• 33 China Railway Museum (中国铁道博物馆), 1, N. Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang, Beijing. The largest rail museum in China, hosts a variety of historically-significant locomotives and retired trains. (updated Mar 2020)
• 34 Kunming North Station and Yunnan Railway Museum (昆明北站/云南铁路博物馆). The terminal station of Kunming-Hekou meter-gauge railway, and you may find active meter-gauge passenger and freight service. (Note that however, the international train service from Kunming to Hanoi is indefinitely suspended.) Adjacent to the station is a railway museum that features meter-gauge rail vehicles used on this railway line. (updated Mar 2020)
• 35 Hong Kong Railway Museum, 13 Shung Tak Street, Tai Po Market, Tai Po, ☏ +852 2653 3455, hkrm@lcsd.gov.hk. M W-Su 10AM-6PM. An open-air museum converted from the old Tai Po Railway Station. Closing is 1 hour earlier (5PM) on Christmas Eve and Lunar New Year's Eve. Closed on Tuesdays (except public holidays) and first two days of Lunar New Year. Rail vehicle exhibitions are limited, and the museum exhibits more about railway equipment and the museum itself. Free.  
• 36 Tokyo Metro Museum (地下鉄博物館), 6-3-1, Higashi-kasai, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo, ☏ +81-03-3878-5011. 10AM-4PM (closed on Mondays, public holidays and new year). A museum containing collections from Tokyo Metro (former Eidan (営団), and note that not the Toei (都営) Metro). Collections include old metro trains cars, old turnstiles, and 3 driver simulators for different lines. ¥220 for adults, ¥100 for children. (updated Feb 2021)

Australia

• 37 Goulburn Rail Heritage Centre, 12 Braidwood Rd, Goulburn, NSW, Australia. A working roundhouse incorporating heritage rail locomotives (both steam and diesel) with displays on the history of the railway in Goulburn.  
• 38 Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre, 1 Telford Ave, Peterborough (South Australia), fax: +61 8 8651-2173. Peterborough was once a vast rail operation, a crossroads on former narrow-gauge lines with a hundred steam locomotives daily heading to all corners of Australia. Many of the lines were re-gauged or closed; a heritage railway line which ran north in the late 1970s was abandoned in 2002 and dismantled in 2008. The sheds and heritage-listed roundhouse were preserved as a static museum with locomotives and carriages.  
• 39 National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide, fax: +61 8 8341-1690. Australia's largest railway museum, with a collection of historical locomotives that were used throughout Australia on all three main gauges.  

Africa

• 40 Sierra Leone National Rail Museum, Cline Street. One of only two government-funded railway museums in the world, the other being in the UK. The museum has several steam and diesel locomotives and carriages, including one which was planned to be used by HM Queen Elizabeth II during her state visit. All have been restored. A guide will usually show guests around.  

Heritage lines

Maintenance work on the Jokioinen heritage railway

See Heritage railways.

Unusual rail technology

Europe

• 41 Wuppertal Suspension Railway (Wuppertaler Schwebebahn), ☏ +49-0180-6-504030. The first operational suspension railway in the world, and also a major landmark of Wuppertal. (updated Aug 2020)
• 42 Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, ☏ +44 1797 362353, info@rhdr.org.uk. A steam-powered miniature railway that runs from Hythe Railway station to Dungeness Railway station. The railway also has multiple level crossings, and can be worth catching. (updated Aug 2020)

Asia

• Chōshi Electric Railway. A Japanese private railway that was on the verge of bankruptcy, and is known for selling confectionery in order to survive. The railway also operates a number of antique trains, and provides decent sea view along the railway. (updated Aug 2020)

Do

• Various ghost towns were founded to serve a rail line or died once the train no longer stopped. The rights-of-way of many former rail lines are now t'railways or rail trails suitable for hiking, cycling, horse riding or snowmobiling.
• Photography and train spotting
• Front view filming - customary for East Asian rail enthusiasts
• Ticket collection, especially true for Edmondson railway tickets, where some other heritage railways still use it. Some stations of Taiwan Railways also issue them for souvenir.
• Visiting ghost stations or hikyō stations (秘境駅) — see also Urbex
• 1 Shinjuku Station, Tokyo. Experience how millions of commuters every day are efficiently handled in the world's busiest transport hub. (updated Apr 2016)
• 2 Golden Spike National Historic Site, Promontory Summit, Corinne, Utah, USA, ☏ +1 435-471-2209. Steam train demonstration (seasonal, May 1 - Columbus Day). Re-enactment of the May 10, 1869 last spike driven to join the Union and Central Pacific railroads, uniting a nation by rail from coast to coast. US$7 (car and passengers) or $4/person. (updated Apr 2016)

Events

• Flying Scotsman: England. On the tracks holds tours and other Flying Scotsman events from mid-May until November every year. Starting points and destinations vary by tour date. (date needs fixing)

Tunnels

As railways operate best on a level surface blasting and drilling through mountains has been part of rail travel almost from the beginning. Linking islands and mainlands across the sea and tunneling at the very base of vast massives have produced tunnels longer than a marathon. The longest tunnels in the world are all invariably electric railway only as ventilation of car exhaust becomes (next to) impossible for tunnels above a certain length.

• 3 Gotthard Base Tunnel. The longest and deepest (by overburden) railway tunnel in the world opened in June 2016 for extensive test runs and in December 2016 for revenue service, this marvel of modern engineering serves in part to relieve congested freight corridors and in part to make overland travel across the Alps as fast, cheap and convenient as never before - it shaves more than half an hour of a north - south transalpine trip. (updated Jun 2016)
• 4 Seikan Tunnel. Linking Hokkaido and Honshu, this is the second longest tunnel in the world and the longest crossing a body of water. It replaced a lengthy and treacherous crossing by ferry - part of what led to its construction was a horrific ferry accident - and is now open to the high speed Shinkansen as well. (updated Jun 2016)
• 5 Eurotunnel (Channel Tunnel) (the entrances are at Folkestone and Calais). The longest underwater portion of any tunnel in the world and the third longest tunnel in the world, this engineering marvel links Britain to the European mainland for the first time since the end of the last ice age. Car shuttles and high-speed Eurostars use the tunnel but it also plays a large role in freight transport. Immigration control is done before the crossing marking the first time in centuries France or Britain voluntarily allowed the other such rights on their territory. (updated Jun 2016)
• 6 Simplon Tunnel (Northern Portal in Brig). Lending its name to one of the more iconic routes of the fabled Orient Express, this was the first "base tunnel" avant la lettre in the world and an incredible feat of engineering unsurpassed for several decades, holding the record for the longest tunnel of any kind from its opening in 1906 to the completion of the Seikan Tunnel in 1988.
  
  The ventilation problems encountered shortly after its opening led to it becoming one of Switzerland's first electric tunnel (and a ban on steam or diesel trains) leading the way of the eventual electrification of the entire Swiss rail network. (updated Sep 2017)
• 7 Lötschberg Base Tunnel (Nortthern portal in Frutigen). The 34.6-kilometre (21.5 mi) western "counterpart" to the Gotthard Base Tunnel. It is only "half-built" with parts of the western bore missing and other parts of the western bore lacking rail infrastructure. Operating mostly as a single track line, it already reached 96% capacity ten years after opening in 2007, but the rigorously punctual Swiss scheduling makes sure to use the capacity as best as possible — a cargo train more than 7 minutes late will have to wait a long while until the next "slot" opens up. Water flowing out of the tunnel at a constant temperature of roughly 19 °C (66 °F) year-round is used for a nearby "tropical" greenhouse with sturgeon farm that produces "Swiss Caviar". BLS who run the tunnel also offer guided tours. (updated Oct 2020)

Mountain railways

Tunnel on the to be Bergen Line, 19th-century photo

Railroads through mountainous terrain are among the most impressive feats of engineering of mankind. Planners and builders were operating at the very edge of the technically possible of their era and sometimes pushing beyond that. Even if you don't care for the engineering, the views from viaducts or bridges alone can make the trip worthwhile all by themselves.

• 8 Alishan Forest Railway (阿里山林業鐵路/阿里山森林鐵路/阿里山小火車), ☏ +886-05-277-9843, +886-05-2256918, +886-05-2768094, afrts@forest.gov.tw. Historically engineered for logging during Japanese colonial rule, the narrow-gauge railway runs from Chiayi to Alishan, passing through several switchbacks and spirals. (updated Apr 2020)
• 9 Circum-Baikal Railway (Кругобайкальская железная дорога). A former section of the Trans-Siberian Railway between the village of Baikal and Slyudyanka, along the northwestern shore of Lake Baikal. This section was problematic to keep up with landslides and rockfalls, and so a new railway was built directly between Irkutsk and Slyudyanka. Today the Circum-Baikal is used for tourist traffic. (updated Apr 2020)
• 10 Bergen Line (Bergensbanen) (Oslo–Bergen). An early 20th-century engineering feat, the railway passes over Hardangervidda, with some stations not reachable by road. The railway arguably passes through some of the best scenery in Norway. A sidetrack of Bergensbanen popular with tourists is Flåmsbanen going from Myrdal to Flåm.  
• 11 Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (Toy train). A 610-mm narrow gauge that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, passing through several loops and switchbacks. The Railway has been listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1999. (updated Apr 2020)
• Gotthard Railway. Now made partially redundant by the construction of the Gotthard Base Tunnel that is straighter and flatter, it is still a marvelous feat of human ingenuity that tamed one of Switzerland's most legendary mountain passes. There is a church along the route that the train passes three times each way that used to be taught about in curricula throughout the Swiss school system. (updated Sep 2017)
• 12 Qinghai–Tibet railway. Connecting Xining to Lhasa, this is the highest railway in the world, going above 5,000 m above sea level. Also refer to Overland to Tibet for more information. (updated Apr 2020)
• 13 Railways of Peru. The railways from Cuzco to Machu Picchu Pueblo and Puno operated by Peru Rail and Inca Rail go through impressive mountain landscapes at high altitude. (updated Apr 2020)
• 14 Semmering railway (Semmeringbahn), Semmering. The first crossing of the Alps by railway and still an impressive feat of engineering, it has been inscribed on the world heritage list of UNESCO, the first railway to be so honored. While a base tunnel is under construction to relieve the line that is too steep and curvy for 21st-century traffic, it will remain open for tourism and local traffic. A particular view of this railway was even featured on Austrian currency prior to the introduction of the euro. (updated Jun 2016)
• 15 Taurus crossing. This is the most impressive section of the "Baghdad Railway", a project spearheaded by the German Empire to create an alternative route to its scattered colonies across friendly territory. The most arduous work to overcome the impenetrable Taurus Mountains had to be managed in the section between Pozantı and Karaisalı, which required the building of numerous tunnels and bridges in a hostile, rugged environment using the relatively primitive early 20th century technology. The line still remains mostly the same (except electrification) and in active use, with two daily passenger services each way. The area is rich in heritage remained from the construction of the line.  
• 16 Tren a las Nubes (Salta). As the name tells, the "train to the clouds" it is a day trip by train up in the mountains to La Povorilla at 4,220 m (13,850 ft) over the sea level. Runs from April to November, two times a week with extra services during the high season. The trip takes a whole day. The experience is fantastic as the scenery is rugged and variable with a feast for the eyes at every turn. The engineering of the track was a masterpiece in its day and continues to impress decades later. (updated Apr 2020)

Buy

• Various items of rail memorabilia (maps, timetables, porcelain china, postcards, books and magazines, lamps and lanterns) are sold at auction or by dealers in antiquities. A few specialised auctions and dealers trade just in "railwayana" or "railroadiana", artefacts of current or former railways worldwide.
• Model rail cars and track are commonly available in various standard sizes; these vary from simple toys to meticulous scale reproductions of current or historic engines, cars and infrastructure.
• Heritage and tourist railways often operate a souvenir shop. While many of the items will merely be the rail line's logo printed onto everything from toys to mugs to "train driver's hats", T-shirts and apparel, there may be books of rail history or rail photography, postcards and documentary video for sale.
• Operating mainline railways (CN, CSX) and passenger carriers (Amtrak, VIA) often have their logos printed on souvenirs, apparel, baggage or model rail rolling stock for sale on a website.
• Transportation and rail museums are also likely to operate souvenir shops and offer books or documentary for sale.

Eat

Dining car, Chemin de fer de la Vendée

In the earliest days of passenger rail, options were limited; one could bring food or try to purchase a meal near the stations. The local selection often was of poor quality; in some cases, trains would leave at the end of a brief rest stop while diners were still waiting to be served. Soon, rail operators were leasing space to restaurateurs in the stations; the Fred Harvey Company established the first restaurant chain in 1875 with ultimately a restaurant every hundred miles throughout the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe system. The next innovation was the inclusion of special dining cars on the train; these became very popular on long-distance runs such as la Compagnie des Wagon-Lits historic Orient Express from Paris to Constantinople.

Much of the cuisine served on trains and at stations is eminently forgettable, either because the same fare can be readily found elsewhere or because the rail operator is merely treating voyageurs as a captive market. There are exceptions; on some heritage and tourist train lines a dinner train is the main event, a slow but scenic short run which provides just enough time to serve an elaborate but expensive meal.

In some cases, historic station buildings have been re-purposed to be full-service restaurants or have been restored to reflect the heyday of a lost era before motorways and drive-through fast food.

• 1 Lake Louise Railway Station & Restaurant, 200 Sentinel Road, Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, ☏ +1 403-522-2600. Interesting building and a few exhibits for rail enthusiasts. Reasonable food but the number of tables exceeds the kitchen capacity, so expect a long wait at peak times. (updated Jun 2015)

There are also a few novelty restaurants where a rail-themed "All Aboard Diner" or "All Aboard Restaurant" brings plates of food to diners aboard a model railway train. These have no historic significance, but are entertaining for small children.

Drink

Historically, the status of beverage service (and alcohol in particular) aboard passenger trains is mixed. Diner cars often did serve beverages, although a patchwork of provincial or state regulation often meant the bar opened or closed every time the train crossed a political boundary. Passengers in sleeper train compartments were sometimes permitted to bring their own food and beverages, while dining cars only allowed items sold on the train and short-line commuter services often prohibited food or drink very restrictively.

A few tourist trains employ enotourism or brewery tour themes; there's a Tequila Train from Guadalajara to the distillery in Jalisco, México and an intercity Napa Wine Train in California's Napa Valley.

At least one former station has been repurposed as a brew pub:

• The NCO Railway (see Nevada–California–Oregon Railway on Wikipedia) completed a narrow-gauge line from Reno, Nevada north to the California-Oregon border in 1912, only to go broke by 1925. The Southern Pacific Company (now Union Pacific) purchased and re-gauged the line. The 1 Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad Depot (325 East Fourth St, Reno NV) and a vacant Locomotive House and Machine Shop (401 East Fourth St.) still stand, although the tracks and turntable are gone. The Depot was renovated in 2014-2015 and opened as a craft brewery distillery.

Sleep

Izaak Walton Inn and Amtrak flag stop

• 1 Izaak Walton Inn, 290 Izaak Walton Inn Rd, Essex (Montana), USA (the Izaak Walton has its own Amtrak stop, served by the Chicago-Seattle-Portland Empire Builder daily), ☏ +1 406 888-5700. It was built as accommodation for railway personnel on the adjacent Great Northern Railway. Still retaining the railroad ambiance, guests can lodge in the building or in a converted railroad caboose across the tracks.  
• Many grand old hotels were constructed by or for major passenger rail operators; Canadian Pacific (CPR) used to own the Fairmont Hotels chain. Some of these old hotels were landmarks in their own right. Less commonly, a major hotel was built as a mainline wayside station — convenient until the voyager was awakened by noisy freight trains rushing past at all hours. Amtrak still serves a few former Harvey House hotels in places like Needles and Barstow, California; most of these station buildings are now otherwise vacant, or the hotel space has been re-purposed as museums or offices. One exception, Amtrak's "Winslow, AZ (WLO) Platform with Shelter", is the "2 La Posada Hotel Lobby"; a rather modest description for an elaborate million-dollar hotel (in 1930) with extensive gardens which opened at 303 East Second Street (Route 66) only to struggle through the Great Depression, close in 1957 as rail passenger traffic declined, then return after an extensive, expensive 1997-era historic restoration. The $120-170/night hotel (+1 928 289-4366) includes a fancy restaurant, an art gallery, a pair of souvenir shops... and an Amtrak train every day. In London, the 3 St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel (in the buildings of the former Midland Hotel), at St Pancras is once again accepting guests, although it's in a 5-star premium price range. In Tokyo, the Tokyo Station Hotel is a luxury hotel housed in the 1914 Tokyo Station building.
• A few motels employ novelty architecture where each room is a decommissioned rail car, usually a distinctive red caboose which once housed crews at the end of North American goods trains.
  • Old Harbor Inn, 515 Williams Street, South Haven, Michigan, USA, ☏ +1 269-637-8480. operates a handful of caboose inn rooms 
  • 4 Caboose Motel, at 60483 NY Route 415, Avoca (New York), USA, ☏ +1 607 566-2216. 
• 5 Oil Creek and Titusville Railroad, 407 S Perry St, Titusville (Pennsylvania), USA, ☏ +1 814 827-5730, toll-free: +1-800-827-0690. A 21-room caboose motel (seasonal, April 15 - October 23) looks from the outside to be a consist of red rail cars on the tracks next to sightseeing railway OC&T's 1892-era Perry Street Station and museum. Inside the cars one finds standard modern hotel/motel décor and amenities (heat & AC, TV, telephone and shower, one king or two double beds, a small desk, cupola or bay windows, deck chairs); the rooms are narrow to fit the rail template. OC&T operates one train, a seasonal three-hour local history tour of Oil Creek Valley ($19/person coach, $30/person first class). There is a working Railway Post Office car on the train. (updated Apr 2016)

Stay safe

In some parts of the world, taking pictures of trains or rail infrastructure could cause issues with the authorities. Authorities in the United States may regard too much interest in a railway as possible reconnaissance for terrorist activities, while some railway staff simply treats railfans as troublemakers. On the other hand, some railways have sought to cooperate with railway enthusiasts to be better informed about the state of their track and/or suspicious activities. Some railways have programs which interested people can register for. They also offer safety guidelines more exhaustive than this travel guide.

Pay extra caution near trains

It is easy to underestimate the speed of an approaching train, and you need to be at safe distance when it passes, also considering the wind it creates – and at stations careless people rushing past. In some railway systems (such as China Railway, and for old cars even Finnish VR), toilets on passenger trains may discharge human waste directly on tracks. Maintaining safe distance when photographing may be necessary also to prevent property loss and unpleasant experiences.

Interfering with railway operations, either intentionally or unintentionally, can pose a risk to yourself as well as many other people traveling on the train itself. Most railway operators (including a number of working museums and heritage lines) prohibit flash photography, as a flash could distract personnel at a critical moment.

Itineraries

• Empire Builder — linking Chicago's beautiful Union station to Seattle passing through stunning landscapes
• Orient Express — a luxury rail service of yore traveled today by a luxury tourist train as well as several national railroads requiring multiple changes
• Trans-Siberian Railway — the longest single railway line in the world
• Portugal to Singapore by train — the longest train itinerary possible in the world
• Across Australia by train and Across Canada by train
• There are several "special" train lines in India, like the three world heritage listed mountain trains and different luxury trains.

Related topics

• Rail travel
• Tourist trains
• Heritage railways
• Industrial tourism
• Sleeper trains
• Urban rail adventures
• High Speed Rail