If you had asked me eight or ten years ago if I would ever take the Trans-Siberian Express, I probably would have said, “Probably not.” Still, that classic ride had been on my to-do list for years. Something happened five or six years ago that changed my thinking. I guess I realized one day —…
In early May, I’m going to be taking one of the world’s great rail journeys: VIA Rail’s premier train, the Canadian. Appropriately designated train #1, the westbound train runs between Toronto and Vancouver; train #2 runs west to east. Both operate twice weekly in the winter, three times a week from the first of May…
In railroad lingo, private varnish is the name used to describe classic old rail cars that have been refurbished and brought back to the luster of their glory days. There are more than a few people who do exactly that as a hobby. And make no mistake, it takes big bucks, not to mention hours…
For years, I’ve had a dozen or so of the world’s more interesting or exotic train trips on my bucket list. So far I’ve managed to cross off several, marking them “done”. These include the Glacier Express and the Bernina Express in Switzerland, the two trans-continental trains in Australia, the Indian Pacific and the Ghan,…