New! Ozark Spring Rail Tour
 May
9-19, 2008
Land tour from $2499.00
Tour Closes April 4, 2008
Join us next spring for a special in-depth tour of the
lovely Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas as the spring flowers
bloom! Our new Ozark Spring Rail Tour travels round-trip from Chicago to
Kansas City and
Branson in
Missouri and to Eureka Springs and Fort Smith in Arkansas. The tour is
escorted by Rail Travel Center President Wil Doak, a Missouri native who
has led all our Ozarks tours and truly knows the region. The tour begins
with an evening ride from Chicago to Kansas City on Amtrak’s
SOUTHWEST CHIEF Superliner.
We ride the
ANN RUTLEDGE
streamliner through the rolling hills of central Missouri from
Kansas City to Sedalia and return to Chicago from Texarkana at the end of
the tour on the famous
TEXAS EAGLE
Superliner.
Unique sightseeing in Missouri includes the new
National World War One Museum,
the one-of-a-kind
Steamboat Arabia
Museum, and the
Harry
Truman Presidential Museum in the Kansas City area. In Branson we
enjoy no less than seven shows (not all of which are country music);
experience a visit to the unusual College of the Ozarks; take a tram tour
in the exquisite wildlife and floral reserve of
Dogwood
Canyon; visit the new
Veterans and
Titanic
museums; and visit Silver Dollar City, with its steam railway, shows and
crafts vendors. A highlight is the 40-mile journey through the heart of
the Ozark Mountains on the Branson Scenic Railway’s “Branson
Zephyr” domeliner.
 In
Arkansas we focus on the preserved Victorian resort of
Eureka Springs and the
wild-west “jumping off” point of
Fort Smith. We enjoy a stay at the restored 1886 Crescent Hotel and
Spa in Eureka Springs and tour the town by tram and on the
Eureka Springs and North Arkansas
Railway Dinner Train. From Springdale to Van Buren, we take a
breathtaking daylight ride over the crest of the Boston Range of the
Ozarks on the Arkansas and Missouri RR, traveling in First Class Parlor
Car service. At Fort Smith, we ride a true streetcar at the Trolley
Museum, then tour the historic area on a trackless trolley. We visit Fort
Smith National Historic Site and explore Miss Laura’s, a notorious former
“house of ill repute”! We also ascend to over 2,800 feet on the scenic
drive through Queen Wilhelmina State Park and visit the restored Mena
Depot Museum in the former Kansas City Southern RR depot which served the
renowned “Southern Belle” streamliner. We even ride a miniature railway
re-creation of this beloved train. Complete details follow. All aboard!
Day One, Friday, May 9
 Amtrak’s
SOUTHWEST CHIEF to Kansas City. The tour begins with the 3:15 p.m.
departure of Amtrak’s legendary
SOUTHWEST CHIEF from Chicago to Kansas City. Dinner can be
purchased in the mid-train diner, while light meals and beverages are
available in the mid-train dome-lounge car. We speed south through the
rich farmlands of Illinois. From Chicago to Galesburg, the train follows
the former Burlington “Zephyr” route, then switches to the former “Santa
Fe All the Way” to Kansas City. At dinner time, we cross the Mississippi
River at Fort Madison, Iowa and quickly enter Missouri.
Upon arrival in Kansas City, we transfer to our hotel
for the next two nights, the Quarterage Hotel, located in the historic
Westport neighborhood.
Day Two, Saturday, May 10 (B,L)
National World War One Museum; Steamboat Arabia Museum;
Truman Presidential Library. We begin the day with a visit to America’s
only museum devoted to the saga of the first World War. Kansas City’s new
National World War One Museum
tells this story with both multi-media exhibits and the Liberty Memorial
Tower. American military commander, General John Pershing, was a Kansas
City native; and the young Harry Truman served as an artillery officer in
the American Expeditionary Force.
After an included lunch, we have a very special tour of
the
Steamboat Arabia Museum.
The paddle-wheeler “Arabia” sank in the Missouri River in 1856. The
silt-filled waters rapidly covered the wreck, almost perfectly preserving
its contents. Later the river shifted its course, leaving the lost steamer
deep under a farm field over a half-mile from the new channel. A volunteer
group searched for the “Arabia” and, in an epic of marine archaeology,
raised her from the field and the muck. The vessel was carrying cargo for
up-river points in the Dakotas which made her, in effect, a floating
department store. The museum tells the story of her last voyage and
rediscovery. The displays show not only the remains of the vessel,
including her engines and large parts of her hull, but more importantly
the remarkable goods she carried. Here are clothes, canned goods,
perfumes, toys and tools preserved as if they were made yesterday, from a
cargo that sank in 1856!
Finally, we drive to Independence and visit the
President
Harry S Truman
Presidential Museum and Library. Truman was a native of Missouri
and lived in Independence until his death. His presidency is now seen by
historians as one of the most important of the 20th century. On returning
to the hotel, there is free time to explore the many shops, restaurants
and cafes of Country Club Plaza. On Saturday evening, most shops remain
open until at least 7:00 p.m., and many until later. There are 40
different restaurants and cafes and 17 venues offer outdoor dining on warm
spring nights.
Day Three, Sunday, May 11 (B,L,D)
Amtrak’s ANN RUTLEDGE; Lambert’s Café; on to Branson. We
return to the magnificently restored Kansas City Union Depot this morning
to board Amtrak’s
ANN RUTLEDGE
streamliner for a pretty ride through the rolling hills of central
Missouri on the former Missouri Pacific line. We reboard our motorcoach in
Sedalia and drive south into the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. En
route we enjoy lunch at a Missouri institution,
Lambert’s Café, home of the
famous (literally) “thrown rolls”. In mid-afternoon we arrive in Branson
for a relaxing four-night stay at the Radisson Hotel. Dinner is included
this evening at the American Bandstand Grill.
Days Four, Five, and Six, Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday, May 12, 13 and 14 (B,D daily)
 Our Branson area program: We
have included no less than seven Branson shows in this tour, and
additional artists perform at Silver Dollar City. Please note the acts
listed below could change, as stars come and go, but these are the
programs we expect to include. We are not listing shows or attractions by
each day, because we may need to reorganize the sequence of performances
if times change. Most days we will enjoy two shows. In addition, we have a
very complete sightseeing program while in Branson.
Planned shows: Bill Medley with Paul Revere and the
Raiders (60s rock and comedy); the
New Shanghai Circus;
Kirby
Vanburch (wild animal magic show with white tigers and a backstage
tour); Shoji Tabuchi (amazing violin virtuoso); Hamner Barber Variety Show
(comedy ventriloquist); Brett Family Show (country and easy listening
tunes); and the comedy and songs of Jim Stafford. Musical styles include
1950s pop, country, and Broadway and the violin pyrotechnics of Shoji
Tabuchi. For contrast, we enjoy the acrobatics of the New Shanghai Circus!
 Branson
area included sightseeing: The
Patch Collection: 57th Heaven (amazing collection of the cars of
1957 in a re-created “Hometown”); the
Foster
Museum of the College of the Ozarks (antiques, furniture, clothing
and crafts of the mountains);
Silver Dollar City (re-created Ozarks traditional village with a
ride on the steam narrow gauge railway and special shows);
Veterans Memorial Museum
(mementos of America’s veterans in the 20th century); and
Titanic: the Legend Continues
(original artifacts recovered from the wreck of the R.M.S. Titanic and
re-created cabins). There is free time daily to purchase lunches and shop
in the downtown Branson Historic District.
 A
highlight is a 40-mile round trip through the heart of the Ozarks riding
the
Branson Scenic Railway’s
“Ozark Zephyr” domeliner on the former Missouri Pacific route. This
line crosses high trestles, passes beautiful vistas and traverses mountain
tunnels as it travels far from the main highways. Regular passenger
service on this route ended in the 1950s.
Included meals in Branson: A breakfast buffet is
included daily at the Radisson Hotel. Dinner also is included each day,
with meals at Rails Catfish and Seafood Buffet, McFarlain’s Restaurant,
and Landry’s.
Day Seven, Thursday, May 15 (B)
Dogwood Canyon; Eureka Springs. This morning we drive to
a unique natural wonder,
Dogwood
Canyon, touring the forested floor by tram. The park should be
filled with spring wildflower displays and (hopefully) the blooming
dogwoods that give it its name! The canyon also is a wildlife preserve. We
see animals once native to the Ozarks, including buffalo, deer, and elk.
Later we drive to the lovely Victorian resort of
Eureka Springs, where we
overnight at the restored 1886 Crescent Grand Hotel and Spa. There is free
time here this afternoon to enjoy the 15 acres of formal gardens that
adjoin the hotel or perhaps “take the cure” at the spa.
Day Eight, Friday, May 16 (B,D)
Tour Eureka Springs; Eureka Springs and North Arkansas
Ry. Dinner Train.
We can relax at the hotel this morning. At our
convenience, we explore the exceptional Victorian precincts of Eureka
Springs with an all-day pass on the Eureka Springs (trackless) Trolley,
which continuously circuits the historic area. The downtown and
residential areas offer one of the most significant collections of
Victorian architecture in the country. This afternoon we board the
Eureka Springs and North Arkansas
Railway for dinner in the diner on their evening run. After dinner,
we drive west through the hills to nearby Springdale, overnighting at the
Sleep Inn and Suites.
 Day
Nine, Saturday, May 17 (CB,L)
Arkansas and Missouri RR over the Ozarks; tour Fort
Smith. We board the
Arkansas and
Missouri RR this morning, traveling in the First Class Parlor Car
with included snacks and beverages. The A&M follows the former Frisco
route through the high peaks of the Boston Range of the Ozarks. On our
66-mile trip south to Van Buren, we cross high trestles and view great
panoramas of the peaks and valleys of the Ozarks.
The afternoon is spent in historic
Fort Smith, the 19th
century “jumping off” point for many wagon-train pioneers enroute to Texas
and the southwest. We begin with a ride on the Fort Smith Trolley (a true
streetcar line) and visit the Trolley Museum. After an included lunch, we
visit Fort Smith National Historic Site, which displays buildings from the
19th century cavalry posts that defended the frontier. Later we view Miss
Laura’s mansion, once a very fancy “house of ill repute”. We end with a
trackless trolley tour of the historic district and overnight at the
Holiday Inn Fort Smith.
Day Ten, Sunday, May 18 (L,D)
Queen Wilhelmina State Park; “Southern Belle” miniature
train ride; Mena Depot Museum. We have a very scenic drive south into some
of the highest ridges of the Ozarks. We pause at Mena to ride the
miniature “Southern Belle”
train, which evokes memories of the legendary crack train of the Kansas
City Southern Lines. We then ascend over 2800 feet on the Talimena Scenic
Drive to
Queen Wilhelmina State
Park. We have a luncheon buffet at the State Park Lodge before
returning to Mena for a private tour of the Mena Depot Museum. Finally,
we drive south to Texarkana, the unique town straddling the Texas/Arkansas
line. Our Farewell Dinner is here before boarding Amtrak’s
TEXAS EAGLE Superliner. We
overnight on the train. The basic tour price includes leg-rest reclining
seats. As noted below, participants can upgrade to Pullman sleepers by
paying the appropriate added cost. Sleeper fares include meals in the
diner while on this train.
Day Eleven, Monday, May 19 (B,L for sleeper
passengers)
TEXAS EAGLE Superliner to Chicago; tour ends. The day is
spent relaxing on the train as it rolls north through St. Louis and
Springfield to a scheduled 2:14 p.m. arrival at Chicago Union Station. Our
route includes the former Missouri Pacific mainline to St. Louis and the
former Gulf, Mobile and Ohio RR speedway north from St. Louis across the
rich farmlands of Illinois to Joliet and Chicago. Just after breakfast, we
soar over the Mississippi River on the high bridge at St. Louis. The train
offers a full-service dining car and a mid-train double-decker Superliner
dome-lounge. Meals are included for sleeper passengers. The tour ends upon
arrival in Chicago.
TOUR PRICES include coach rail fare, all sightseeing and
shows as outlined above, all hotels, meals noted as included above,
luggage handling and escort services round-trip from Chicago. Not included
are optional Pullman sleeper upgrades and items of a personal nature such
as alcoholic beverages and souvenirs.
$2499.00 per person, double occupancy
$2999.00 single occupancy
Optional Pullman Sleeper upgrade on the TEXAS EAGLE.
This added cost includes a Pullman sleeper room on the night
of Day Ten and breakfast and lunch on the train on Day Eleven. Economy
Bedrooms provide two arm chairs and a table by day and an upper and lower
berth at night. Private toilets and showers are in each car. Please note
only one night is spent on the train. All hotel rooms are comparable
regardless of sleeper space used on the TEXAS EAGLE.
$115.67 per person, double occupancy in an Economy
Bedroom
$231.34 Single in an Economy Bedroom
Conditions and Booking Information (the fine
print)
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