BUFFALO, N.Y. — I was buying a train ticket on-line when an accidental click of the mouse landed me in an obscure spur of Via Rail's website. Instead of the “schedules” page, I reached the “Private Railcar” section, which said: “Owners of a private railcar can couple it to a Via Rail train.” It included a list of fees for railway services, such as switching and hook-ups.
Private railcars? I knew that Gilded Age industrialists once used these vehicles to travel to their summer homes, and I remembered from history class that the Treaty of Versailles was signed in one. But who, I asked myself, would still have their own luxurious railway car in the 21st century?
High costs and a tight regulatory environment have made it difficult for Canadian private-railcar owners to run their rolling stock on anything but private tracks. South of the border, however, members of the American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners regularly couple their prized cars to the back of Amtrak trains, or hire freight engines to pull the cars along less-travelled short-line railways. This means AAPRCO owners can send their cars just about anywhere Amtrak goes, including Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto. Most of the cars are available for charter, and the ability to travel like yesterday's elite is catching on with families, history buffs, and even corporate groups looking for an unusual — and impressive — venue for a meeting.
AAPRCO recently held its annual convention in Scranton, Pa., and I met its historic convoy — comprised entirely of members' cars — as it rolled from Niagara Falls, N.Y., to Buffalo. The two sleek Amtrak locomotives pulling the train into the Buffalo station were the only two pieces that matched. From there on, the train was a trip through North American railway history, with sedate classics from the 1920s coupled to streamliners from the fifties. There were 16 cars in total, all of them wearing different livery and all of them spotless. I hopped aboard the car on the very end, the Chapel Hill.
The New York Central 3, built for Harold Sterling Vanderbilt almost 75 years ago, but maintained to Vanderbilt standards of excellence and certified for 110 miles per hour on passenger trains in the U. S. and Canada. For train buffs, or anyone looking for something a little different, there is no finer way to explore the cities which mark the Amtrak and VIA Rail routes. From Halifax, Quebec City, Montreal and New York to Los Angeles and San Diego, and from Seattle and Vancouver to New Orleans, Jacksonville and Miami. (VarChandra Inc.)
This beauty, I learned, is one of the brightest stars in the private-railcar universe. Built in 1922 for the heiress of the Post cereal fortune, Marjorie Merriweather Post, and her husband, stockbroker E.F. Hutton, the Chapel Hill — originally christened Hussar — spent the first part of its life shuttling the couple from New York City to Palm Beach in the winter, and to the Adirondacks in the summer.
After the Huttons' predictable divorce, the car was sold to the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway in 1937 for use as an office car. In 1971, it was declared surplus, and bought by enthusiast DeWitt Chapple. The affable Cincinnatian gave me a tour and showed me that, aside from regular upgrades to running gear and conveniences, it's the same car that once hosted travelling parties for New York City's elite.
The observation room at the rear is panelled in thick mahogany, as are the dining room, the four bedrooms, and the corridor that ties everything together. The ancient brass speedometer in the master suite was out of order, but it was amusing to imagine how many passengers ended their champagne-and-caviar evenings by hanging their tuxedo in the closet and glancing at the instrument to marvel at the speed of modern travel before slipping into sheets of Egyptian cotton.
The Chapel Hill isn't a relic, however. Like most of the cars that made up this train, it has modern amenities such as GPS tracking, satellite radio and a flat-screen TV concealed in the opulence. Clear the silver off the dining table, and you're sitting in what has to be one of North America's most unusual meeting rooms.
Chapple took me past the crew quarters, past the kitchen and through the vestibule to the next car, the Oliver Hazard Perry. The Perry was built in 1954 for Canadian National's Super Continental, and has been owned since 1997 by Brian Collins, another Cincinnati entrepreneur.
Where the Chapel Hill is a rolling museum piece, the Perry is a contemporary take on the idea of private rail travel. Not only does the open-concept lounge have boxcar-like space, but when combined with Collins' 16-room sleeper car, it can become a reasonably affordable way for groups to travel. Four-day weekend trips from Cincinnati to Washington, D.C., and back go for just over $1,000 a bed.
“When you get to Washington, the train becomes your hotel. You just step off, go sightseeing and come back to sleep,” Collins said.
The next car along was the Northern Sky, a 1955 dome car that has been in Milwaukee-based private-charter service since 1992. “The biggest regular excursion is the Kentucky Derby, where we hook up with six other cars and go from Chicago to Louisville,” owner David Hoffman said. “But the one everyone's still talking about is the group of fans that went to see the Packers win the Super Bowl in ‘97. They had the best trip on any train anywhere.”
Most cars come with a crew of two: a steward and a cook. Both stay aboard the car in cozy quarters near the kitchen. I discovered that car owners and passengers refer to the cook not as “the cook,” but simply as “cook.” It must be railway tradition.
Word soon got around that a Canadian reporter was aboard, and Dean McCormick, a railcar owner from North Tustin, Calif., invited me to take a quick look through his own pride and joy, a former CN executive car that was based in Manitoba and often ferried lieutenant-governors around. The car, named Scottish Thistle, is now based in southern California, but it retains the tidy simplicity of its life on the Prairies.
Back aboard the Oliver Hazard Perry, Brian Collins reflected on the high cost of owning a rail car in an increasingly regulatory climate. “There's someone on every excursion who says they'd love to buy one,” he said. “But it's not unheard of for someone to buy a car for $35,000, then have to spend $450,000 just to make it compliant.”
AAPRCO members have a close working relationship with Amtrak, and lobby to keep railroading and regulatory fees at a level that sustains the charter business. They have had less luck in Canada, however, as Via charges private car owners considerably higher fees, preferring instead to charter its own equipment. Indeed, Via has set aside several cars for this business, which is geared towards corporate customers.
Still, the AAPRCO members I spoke with were optimistic that Canada will continue to find room for them.
Even without the red tape, chartering a car is no mainstream endeavour. “A lot of people can find the dollar to charter a railcar, but they won't find the time,” Collins said. “They are really missing out.”
Stepping off the train in Buffalo and waving to my hosts, who are standing on the balcony-like rear platform of the Chapel Hill, I'm inclined to agree.
Before you reserve, it helps to know the basic car types.
Business car: Typically an older car built for use by VIPs, with up to four bedrooms, dining room, lounge and outdoor platform.
Coach: The passenger railcar in common service, with seats throughout.
Diner-lounge: The classic dining car, often with a lounge section.
Dome: A car popular in the 1950s with glass-bubble top.
Sleeper: A car with bedrooms from one end to the other.
Sleeper-lounge: Up to six bedrooms with a buffet kitchen and casual seating area.
RAILCARS FOR RENT
New York Central 3: Brookfield, Conn.; 203-775-2509; www.nyc-3.com. A business car built in 1928 for Harold Vanderbilt.
Dover Harbor: West Chester, Pa.; 610-429-5858; doverharbor.com. This 1923 sleeper-lounge car rents for about $3,400 to $5,600 a day.
Warren R. Henry: Houston; 1-800-856-6876; phcp.com. This 1955 dome-lounge car served the Union Pacific and Wisconsin & Southern Railroad before entering private hands. Chapel Hill: Cincinnati; 513-267-0947; chapelhillrail.com. In addition to local excursions, this 1922 business car offers cross-country trips for six people, starting at $6,800 a day. Northern Sky: Black River Falls, Wis.; 715-284-2512; northernsky.com. A 1955 dome-sleeper-lounge car that began life on the Union Pacific's “City of Los Angeles.”
Cedar Rapids: Shoreview, Minn.; 651-688-7320; www.261.com. A 1948 observation car by industrial designer Brooks Stevens. Pony Express: Arcadia, Calif.; 818-606-8105; www.movie-trains.com. A 1941 baggage car converted to serve as a mobile meeting room or dance hall. Scottish Thistle: Orange County, Calif.; 714-544-5779; www.scottishthistle.com. This 1959 former CN sleeper-lounge is available from about $4,300 a day.
MORE INFOR MATION
The American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners: www.aaprco.com.
Canadian charters: Via Rail “Priva” is the place to begin. 1-888-842-0588; www.viarail.ca/priva.
Special to The Globe and Mail
