RAIL TRAVEL ADVENTURES
Grand Fall Tour: New Hampshire, Vermont and the Adirondacks
October 3-13, 2011
Tour from $3299.00
This year our Grand Fall Tour explores
Vermont, New Hampshire and the Lake George area of New York. Rail Travel
Adventures Manager Carl Fowler is your tour escort. The program emphasizes
branch line trains, meals in country inns, beautiful lake cruises and
continuous views of the vibrant colors that define the New England
autumn.
Train journeys include a diverse
collection of railways, including two trips on Amtrak’s
VERMONTER. We ascend the yawning gulf of
Crawford Notch on the
Conway Scenic RR
 and ride past covered bridges and the peaceful waters of the Connecticut
River on the
Green Mountain RR’s “White River
Flyer”. We enjoy an elegant dinner on the Café Lafayette Dinner Train,
ascend the tallest peak in New England on the Mount Washington Cog Railway
on the world’s first cog-railway, and have a lovely journey along the
shores of Lake Winnipesaukee while enjoying a turkey dinner on the unique
dinner train of the
Winnipesaukee RR.
Cruises include the island-dotted waters of Lake Winnipesaukee aboard the
century-old
lake-steamer “Mount Washington” and sailing beautiful Lake George to
the roadless islands of the upper lake on the historic 1893 lake packet “
M/V Mohican”. As always, our tour includes relaxing multi-night stays at
charming inns and grand hotels, historic sightseeing, and special meals at
fine restaurants. Complete details follow. All aboard!
Please note in order to fully and comfortably
participate in this tour, it is necessary to walk for distances of several
blocks at some of the outdoor historic sites and to climb steps. Many of
the hotels used are non-smoking.
Day One, Monday, October 3
Independent arrivals into Albany.
Tour participants can arrive into Albany today
by air or rail. A pre-tour night is included at the fine
Crowne Plaza Albany hotel in the
heart of downtown. The hotel will pick up guests at either the Amtrak
station or the airport.
Day Two, Tuesday, October 4 (L,D) Green Mountains of Vermont;
Bennington Museum; to Meredith NH. We depart
Albany this morning on our chartered motorcoach and travel through the
upper Hudson River Valley and the Green Mountains of Vermont to the lovely
village of Bennington. Here we see the grave of the poet Robert Frost in
the picture-perfect churchyard and then visit the Bennington Museum, which
is having a special show of the paintings of Grandma Moses in 2011!
 Our luncheon is at the Bennington
Station Restaurant, which occupies the National Historic Landmark former
Rutland RR Bennington depot, before departing east on our motorcoach. Our
final destination today is the village of Meredith on the northwest shore
of New England’s largest lake, Lake Winnipesaukee. We stay four nights at
the cozy
Inn at Mill Falls.
The hotel is a contemporary New England country inn with traditional
décor, beautiful gardens, on-site shopping and a waterfall that cascades
through the hotel! A full breakfast is included each day at the Inn’s
Waterfall Café. Our Welcome Dinner this evening is at Lago, a fine Italian
restaurant on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee.
Day Three, Wednesday, October 5 (B,D) Lake Winnipesaukee cruise; turkey
dinner on Winnipesaukee RR. Today we re-create
the Boston and Maine Railroad’s once-famous circuit of Lake Winnipesaukee
by rail, lake-steamer and coach. This morning we board the century-old
“M/V
Mount Washington” for a voyage on the waters of Lake Winnipesaukee
from Weirs Beach to Alton Bay. We then motor along the shore back to
Meredith for free time in the afternoon. The fine stores of the Mill Falls
Marketplace are located at our hotel, and there are lovely paths to walk
along the lake. This evening we ride the
Winnipesaukee Railroad
along the shore from Meredith south through Weirs Beach to Laconia while
enjoying a delicious turkey dinner, carved to order at each table!
Day Four, Thursday,
October 6 (B,L)
Crawford Notch Railroad; Mount Washington Cog Railway.
We drive to the village of
North Conway and board the
Conway Scenic RR’s
Crawford Notch train. This may be the most spectacular preservation
railway line in the Northeast as it ascends past rushing rivers and up
very steep grades through Crawford Notch. Enroute, the views of the Notch
and Mount Washington from the
Frankenstein Trestle
(its real name) are wonderful!
We have a fine included
luncheon in the diner. At Crawford Notch Station, we re-board our coach
and drive to Base Station to ride the
Mount Washington
Cog RY. We ascend to the 6,288
foot summit, the crest of New England. Enroute we travel from deep forests
to open alpine tundra. On a clear day, the summit vista encompasses four
states and the Canadian province of Quebec! We return to Meredith in early
evening.
The new diesel Cog Railway train.
Day Five, Friday, October 7 (B,L,D)
Canterbury Shaker Village; Franconia Notch; Café Lafayette Dinner Train.
Today is devoted to views of high peaks and
glorious fall colors by motorcoach and train. We begin by visiting Canterbury Shaker Village,
learning about Shaker history and beliefs, and visiting various original
buildings. There is a lovely crafts shop here, as well. Lunch, featuring
Shaker recipes, is included here. We then make the beautiful drive to
Franconia Notch. Photo stops allow us to view the former site of the
famous “Old Man of the Mountain” rock face and Echo Lake. Our final
activity this evening is a real treat: an elegant dinner on the Café
Lafayette Dinner Train. Our ride follows the former Boston and Maine
Lincoln branch along the tumbling waters of the Pemigewasset River.
Day Six, Saturday, October 8 (B,L)
White River Flyer; “Northeast Kingdom”;
Burlington. We
begin today with a drive to White River Junction VT, a major hub of
railway traffic both in the 19th century and now. Our train
ride is on one of the newer preservation railroads, the
White
River Flyer,
traveling up the highly scenic former joint Boston and Maine/Canadian
Pacific “Alouette” line to Thetford. The tracks closely follow the
Connecticut River en route.
Amtrak's VERMONTER and the WHITE RIVER FLYER:
Photo by Carl Fowler
Scenery from the train along the Connecticut
River: Photo by Carl Fowler
A
scenic drive takes us north into the most unchanged part of the state, the
lovely region called the “Northeast Kingdom”. We stop in Fairlee for an
included lunch at beautiful Lake Morey Resort, then drive through
Montpelier, Vermont’s pretty state capital. We continue to Burlington for
a three-night stay at the Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbor. Our
hotel is located a block from Lake Champlain and the pedestrian-friendly
Church Street Marketplace, which is filled with interesting restaurants
and shopping.
Burlington is the largest city in the state, with a
population of only 39,000!
Day Seven, Sunday, October 9 (B)
Shelburne Farms; Shelburne Museum. From
Burlington, it’s only a few miles south to Shelburne. Here we tour the
estate of the Webb family,
Shelburne
Farms, and taste the award-winning cheese still produced here. This
afternoon, we explore the extraordinary
Shelburne Museum, which
superficially appears to be a re-created New England village but actually
is far more. Electra Havermeyer Webb assembled a great collection of
“Americana” for display at the Shelburne Museum. A horseshoe barn contains
a hand-carved circus parade. Another barn houses stagecoaches and
carriages. A country inn reveals a collection of ship figureheads and
cigar store Indians. Other buildings contain old master paintings,
Adirondack guide boats, railway equipment and wooden toys. The former
Shelburne depot of the Rutland RR seems to await the departure of a steam
train, pulled by the last steam locomotive of the Central Vermont RY.
 Perhaps
the most remarkable treasure is the huge, fully-furnished walking-beam
steamboat “S.S.
Ticonderoga”, which was dragged overland two miles from Lake Champlain
to the museum in the 1950s. We can explore the “Ti” from pilothouse to
engine room.
SS Ticonderoga at the Shelburne Musem
Day Eight, Monday, October 10 (B,L)
Amtrak’s VERMONTER; Birds of Vermont Museum; Trapp Family Lodge;
Cold Hollow Cider Mill. We enjoy a short but
pretty ride this morning on Amtrak’s VERMONTER,
traveling down the rugged gorge of the Winooski River from Essex
Junction to Waterbury. Leaving the rails, we enjoy unique experiences on a
day devoted to the birds and foods of Vermont. In the deep woods a few
miles south of Waterbury, we visit the
Birds of Vermont Museum, a
true “hidden treasure”. Here, one man has carved all the birds native to
Vermont and displayed them in natural habitat dioramas. A visit to his
workshop usually is possible.
Lunch today is at the famous
Trapp Family Lodge,
overlooking the spectacular mountain scenery toward Stowe. We have time
to visit the Austrian gift shop or take a scenic walk before returning
down the mountain. En route to Burlington, we make a shopping and tasting
stop at
Cold Hollow Cider Mill, which
makes wonderful apple cider and apple products. We can learn how they
make cider and sample it, along with other food products. Fresh apple
cider doughnuts are for sale here, as well as a broad selection of foods
and crafts of Vermont and New England.
Day Nine, Tuesday,
October 11 (B,L)
Amtrak’s VERMONTER; Calvin Coolidge Historic Site; to Glens Falls.
 We
reboard
Amtrak’s VERMONTER
at Waterbury for a scenic run to White River Junction on the New England
Central Railroad. The restored Waterbury depot is a Victorian classic.
This is the route of the former Central Vermont Railway and includes a
crossing of the Green Mountains at Roxbury Summit and the gorges of the
Winooski and White Rivers. We pass three covered bridges at Northfield
village and see some of Vermont’s prettiest towns from the train this
morning. A short drive takes us to Quechee for an included luncheon at the
wonderful
Simon Pearce restaurant and glass
factory. We
then visit Plymouth Notch, a tiny village preserved as a state historic
site because it is the birthplace of President Calvin Coolidge. While
visiting his father here in 1923, Vice-President Coolidge learned
President Harding had died. As the local Justice of the Peace, his father
administered the oath of office in the Coolidge home’s tiny parlor! Later
we cross into the Adirondack Mountains region of New York for a two-night
stay at the landmark
Queensbury Hotel
in
Glens Falls.
Day Ten, Wednesday, October 12 (B,L)
Fort Ticonderoga; Adirondack Mountains; Lake George cruise.
This morning we
drive the Adirondack Northway (which won national awards for its
harmonious design in the protected wild lands of Adirondack State Park) to
the restored stone citadel of
Fort Ticonderoga.
Ticonderoga was bitterly contested in both the French and Indian and the
Revolutionary Wars. It has a beautiful prospect looking across Lake
Champlain to the Green Mountains of Vermont. A short drive brings us into
the beautiful Adirondack Mountains for lunch at the Algonquin Restaurant
overlooking Lake George in Bolton’s Landing. At Lake George village we
board the
historic 1893
lake-packet "M/V Mohican" for a cruise up
Lake George, “the Lake Lucerne of America”, past high peaks, magnificent
estates to
rocky islands that
dot the roadless upper reaches of the lake.
Day Eleven, Thursday, October 13 (B)
Saratoga Battlefield National
Military Park; tour ends. The “turning point” of the
Revolutionary War was the 1777 defeat of British General John Burgoyne at
the two Battles of Saratoga. Benedict Arnold, later the most infamous of
traitors, was the hero of the American cause at the second Battle of
Saratoga. We see the unique “Traitor’s Monument” to Arnold on our tour of
the beautiful National Military Park. We conclude our tour with a 12:00
noon arrival at the Albany airport and a 12:30 p.m. drop-off at the Albany
Amtrak station.
TOUR PRICES include all hotels; escort service;
admissions; meals noted as included above; rail, coach and boat
transportation; and luggage handling and transfers from our hotel in
Albany to the Albany airport or Amtrak station at the end of the tour. Not
included are connecting travel to Albany, other meals, alcoholic beverages
and items of a personal nature.
$3299.00 per person, double occupancy
$3899.00 single occupancy
Autumn along the route of the White River Flyer: Photo by Carl
Fowler
FOR QUESTIONS
AND TO BOOK:
Reservations for this Rail Travel
Adventures tour are being taken by Gateway Travel, 266 Canal Street,
Brattleboro, Vermont 05301. Call them toll-free from anywhere in the
USA between 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday Eastern Time on
1-800/639-3706 (from outside the USA the toll number is
1-802/254-8844) and mention that you want to book the Rail Travel
Adventures Grand Fall Tour. Gateway Travel also can help with air/rail
reservations to/from the tour. You also can E Mail them at
RTA@gatewaytrav.com.
TRIP CANCELLATION
INSURANCE:
Trip cancellation insurance is available to protect against loss due to
cancellation for covered medical reasons and is strongly recommended. We
will include Trip Cancellation Insurance on all invoices. You do not have
to take this insurance but, for our mutual protection, we ask that you
sign the refusal form on the invoice and return a copy of the invoice to
us with your tour payment if you do not wish to be covered. We then will
delete the insurance charge.
Conditions and Booking Information (the fine
print)
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