NEW! Texas Spring Rail Tour
 March
18-28, 2010
Tour from $2499.00
Book Now!
This tour is closed to new bookings. The waitlist is open.
Join Rail Travel Center President Wil Doak on a
wonderful new tour of the Lone Star state! From the piney woods to the
hill country, from the skyscrapers of Dallas to the historic walls of the
Alamo, we explore Texas in-depth by rail, light rail, streetcar, commuter
train, river-cruiser, motorcoach and safari-vehicle! The tour is timed for
what is usually the peak flowering period of bluebonnets in the hill
country.
As always with Rail Travel Center, train travel is a
centerpiece of the tour. We travel from Chicago to Marshall and return
from San Antonio to Chicago on Amtrak’s recently upgraded double-decker
TEXAS EAGLE Superliner. We
ride the steam-powered
Texas State
Railroad and
Grapevine Vintage Railroad trains, enjoy several trips
on the DART Light Rail network in Dallas, and ride the historic McKinney
Avenue Streetcar Line. New on this tour is a trip on the new
Swiss-designed Capital Metro light rail line from Austin to Leander. Other
rail highlights include the
T&P
Depot Museum at Marshall; a tour of Jay Gould’s private car (the “Atalanta”);
and the
Dallas Museum of American
Railroads, with a collection including a former Union Pacific “Big
Boy”, the largest steam engine in the world. Things are always bigger in
Texas!
 Sightseeing
is colorful and varied. We discover the Texas oil heritage at the
East Texas Oil Museum and
learn the story of the soft-drink industry at Waco’s unique
Dr. Pepper Museum. We visit
great masterpieces of western art at Fort Worth’s
Amon Carter Museum and
discover spring floral beauty at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical
Gardens. In the hill country, we cruise the Colorado River while looking
for bald eagles and bluebonnets. We also visit the
LBJ Ranch and recall the
story of the Pacific campaigns of World War II at the National Museum of
the Pacific War. An exciting experience is a photo-safari in search of
exotic animals on the Y. O. Ranch. Finally we explore historic San Antonio
and visit the
Alamo.
Complete details follow. All aboard!
Day One, Thursday, March 18 (D for sleeper
passengers) Ride the TEXAS EAGLE . We depart Chicago Union Station at
1:45 p.m. on Amtrak’s
TEXAS EAGLE
Superliner. Accommodations are in leg-rest reclining seat coaches,
with the option to upgrade to Pullman sleeper Roomettes (Economy Bedrooms)
or Deluxe Bedrooms. The TEXAS EAGLE features a new full-service Cross
Country Café diner and a dome-lounge car. The route takes us south through
Springfield IL and then across the Mississippi River at St. Louis. We
overnight on the train as we roll south through Missouri and Arkansas.
Meals are included for sleeper passengers and can be purchased at very
reasonable prices in the diner for coach travelers.
Day Two, Friday, March 19 (B for sleeper passengers,
L for all) T&P Depot Museum; tour Jefferson; East Texas Oil Museum.
The train arrives in Marshall, Texas at 8:15 a.m. We visit the lovingly
restored station, which now serves as the Texas and Pacific RR Depot
Museum. Here we board our private motorcoach for a short drive to the
Victorian village of Jefferson, where we visit the Jefferson Historical Museum
and tour the private railway car “Atalanta”,
which once belonged to the robber baron railway-magnate
Jay Gould.
Texas Eagle at San Antonio by Doug Ohlemeier
We
enjoy an included lunch, then tour the beautifully restored Excelsior
House Hotel. We then continue to Kilgore, the center of the East Texas oil
boom of the 1930s. Here we tour the
East Texas Oil Museum,
which recreates an early 20th-century boomtown, while explaining Texas’
role in the petroleum industry. Finally we drive to Palestine, where we
overnight at the La Quinta Inn.
Day Three, Saturday, March 20 (CB, boxed lunch) Ride
steam-powered Texas State RR round-trip to Rusk. The
Texas State RR was
constructed in 1886 to serve the hamlets, farmers and lumbermen in the
piney woods country. Today’s trip takes us on a 50-mile round-trip to
Rusk, with the train usually powered by one of the steam engines of the
TSRR’s collection. Formerly a state park, the line recently was sold to
American Heritage Railroads, the operator of Colorado’s renowned Durango
and Silverton line. The route traverses the deep woodlands of the I. D.
Fairchild State Forest and includes a 90 minute stop-over at Rusk, the
location of the railways’ shops and engine-house. Late this afternoon we
drive to the Dallas area for a three night stay at the luxurious
Renaissance Hotel in Richardson. This hotel is located directly at a
station of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Light Rail Line, which we
use several times in the next two days as we explore the Dallas/Fort Worth
area.
 Day
Four, Sunday, March 21 (Boxed lunch) Museum of the American Railroads;
Grapevine Vintage RR “Tarantula” steam train; Amon Carter Museum of
Western Art. We ride the DART train this morning to the Dallas
Fairgrounds to explore the
Museum
of the American Railroads (formerly the Age of Steam Museum). The
collection focuses on the era before 1960 and includes items from most
Texas railways. A highlight is a huge 4-8-8-4 former Union Pacific
“Big Boy”,
the largest steam engine ever built. We then travel to Grapevine to board
the usually steam-powered “Tarantula
Train” of the
Grapevine Vintage RR, which takes us on former Katy
RR tracks west to Fort Worth. We detrain at Stockyards Station and make a
short drive to the
Amon Carter
Museum of Western Art. Here is an unmatched collection of paintings
and sculpture, including works by Fredrick Remington, Charlie Russell, and
Georgia O Keefe.
 Day
Five, Monday, March 22 (L) Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens; 6th
Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza; McKinney Avenue Trolley Line. This
morning we take a short drive to explore one of America’s most beautiful
gardens.
The Dallas Arboretum and
Botanical Garden encompasses 66 acres of flowers, fountains, woods
and streams. Tulips and spring bulbs should be at peak, as well as native
Texas species like the bluebonnets. We enjoy a delicious luncheon at the
café here before driving into the center of Dallas. We visit the 6th Floor
Museum at Dealey Plaza, which tells the story of the life and tragic death
of John F. Kennedy. Later, join the escort for a ride on the historic
trolleys of the McKinney Avenue Streetcar Line.
The balance of the afternoon is free for further
sightseeing or relaxing. The DART Line will take you back to our hotel
from Union Station. Railfans may want to consider an optional round-trip
to the Texas and Pacific Terminal in Fort Worth on the diesel-powered
Trinity Rail Express commuter trains, which follow the former Rock Island
Line from Dallas to Fort Worth. The Trinity Rail and DART platforms are
adjacent at Dallas Union Station.
Day Six, Tuesday, March 23 (L) Waco’s Dr. Pepper
Museum; Bob Bullock Texas Historical Museum. We drive south this
morning to Waco, the home of Dr. Pepper. We learn the story of this
beloved Texas beverage and of the soft-drink industry at the
Dr. Pepper Museum before
enjoying a Tex-Mex lunch at Ninfa’s. Continuing south to Austin, the
handsome state capital of Texas, we tour the exceptional
Bob Bullock Texas Historical
Museum. This museum includes several movie theaters (one of which
will “immerse” us in an oil-well gusher) and numerous galleries telling
the saga of Texas. We overnight in the center of the city at the new
downtown Hampton Inn.
Day Seven, Wednesday, March 24 (B,L,D) Capital Metro
Train to the Hill Country; Vanishing Texas River Cruise; LBJ Ranch.
This morning we ride Austin’s new diesel-multiple-unit (Swiss-designed)
Capital Metro Line up into
the rolling ridges of the Hill Country from Austin to Leander. While bloom
dates can vary based on the weather, this is typically the season to view
the Texas state flower, the lovely wild bluebonnet. If we’re lucky, we
should see wonderful blue-colored fields and roadsides today!
We motor to Lake Buchanan, where we take the Vanishing Texas River Cruise.
There is an excellent chance to see bald eagles as we cruise from the lake
into the winding canyons of the Colorado River. We continue to Stonewall,
the tiny village that was home to President Johnson’s
LBJ Ranch, which we tour
this afternoon. Finally we continue to the German-American community of
Fredericksburg, where we overnight at the Inn on Barons Creek and enjoy a
German dinner at Der Lindenbaum.
 Day
Eight, Thursday, March 25 (B,L) The Museum of the Pacific War; wildlife
photo-safari at Y.O. Ranch. This morning we visit the
Museum of the Pacific War,
formerly the Chester Nimitz Museum. Admiral Nimitz was a Fredericksburg
native, and this inspired the creation of America’s most complete museum
devoted to the Pacific campaigns of World War II. We continue west to
visit the
Y.O. Ranch. Today
the ranch showcases not only cattle, but also a remarkable collection of
exotic hoofed animals from all over the world. We enjoy a ranch barbecue
lunch, then board safari vehicles for a photo search for animals like
elands, and ibex. Late this afternoon we continue to historic San Antonio,
where we enjoy a two-night stay right on the riverwalk at the new Drury
Plaza Hotel Riverwalk.
 Day
Nine, Friday, March 26 (B,L) Visit the Alamo; explore San Antonio. We
take a short walk this morning to visit the historic walls, chapel,
courtyards and museum at the
Alamo, where Jim Bowie and Davey Crockett made their stand against
Santa Anna’s Mexican Army in 1836. In recent years exceptional
restorations have been done here and the Alamo now eloquently tells the
story of the Texas Revolution. Next we cruise the winding waters of the
San Antonio River traveling along the renowned
Riverwalk. Our lunch is at
the restored Buckhorn Saloon, which includes several interesting museums,
as well as the original 1881 bar and café. There is a unique natural
history collection (with over 500 different species on display) as well as
a gallery devoted to the exploits of the Texas Rangers. This afternoon we
have included a rubber-tired trolley tour of the city, with the ability to
“hop on/hop off” at places of interest.
Day Ten, Saturday, March 27 (B for all, L,D for
sleeper passengers) Ride the TEXAS EAGLE Superliner. We board the
TEXAS EAGLE this morning at the San Antonio Amtrak station and roll north
over former Texas and Pacific, Santa Fe and Missouri Pacific rails through
Austin, Temple, Fort Worth, Dallas and Texarkana. The landscape evolves
from open prairies to rolling hills and piney woods as we speed northeast.
The Cross-Country Café diner and the dome-lounge car provide great
viewing. Once again the basic tour price includes leg-rest reclining
seats, with Pullman sleepers an available upgrade. Meals are included for
sleeper passengers and can be purchased at very reasonable prices in the
diner for coach travelers.
The TEXAS EAGLE at Dallas by Doug Ohlemeier
Day Eleven, Sunday, March 28 (B,L for sleeper
passengers) TEXAS EAGLE through Missouri and Illinois to Chicago. Dawn
finds us riding through the hilly bluffs of eastern Missouri. We cross the
Mississippi River enroute from St. Louis to Alton, Illinois, then speed
north to Chicago, arriving at 2:14 p.m., where the tour ends.
TOUR PRICES include all rail, coach, light rail,
trolley and boat fares; all hotels and admissions; meals listed as
included above; escort services; and luggage handling. Not included are
optional Pullman sleeper upgrades as noted below, meals not noted as
included, 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
Amtrak Roomettes (also
called Economy Bedrooms) provide two arm chairs by day and an upper and
lower berth at night. Roomette passengers have access to toilets and
shower rooms on the lower level of each car. Deluxe Bedrooms provide a
sofa and arm chair by day and an upper and larger lower berth at night.
Deluxe Bedrooms have a compact private toilet and shower in each room.
These prices include all meals while on Amtrak and your Pullman sleeper
room from Chicago to Marshall TX and San Antonio TX back to Chicago (one
night in each direction).
$223.55 per person, double occupancy using a Roomette
$447.10 single occupancy, using a Roomette
$470.60 per person, double occupancy in a Deluxe Bedroom
$941.20 single occupancy in a Deluxe Bedroom
Conditions and Booking Information (the fine
print)
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