Men's Journal

Photo credit: Courtesy Patron Tequila

Private sleeping quarters, sitting rooms, even a back deck — for a price.

By Wayne Curtis

With President Obama chartering the Georgia 300 for his inaugural and celebrities such as Dan Aykroyd and shampoo-and-tequila magnate John Paul DeJoria maintaining their own well-appointed railcars, the preferred method of travel for the Victorian rich, dubbed Private Varnish, is making a discreet comeback. Step onto one of the 130 or so private Amtrak-certified railcars around the country and you’ll see why: It’s everything a cramped seat in a cigar tube with tiny portholes isn’t. Most feature multiple sitting rooms and sleeping quarters with real beds and chairs, full kitchens, and even rear decks for enjoying a nightcap while America slides by. Private cars typically latch on to Amtrak trains, then uncouple in cities here and there (or at resorts that still maintain sidings from the Gilded Age, like Saratoga Springs, New York, and the Greenbrier, in West Virginia), giving you your own lodge downtown. In a private car, say devotees, the transportation itself becomes the vacation.

Preview: Events such as the Kentucky Derby and the Super Bowl attract commercial charters selling berths ($15,900 for a deluxe five-day Kentucky Derby package for two; excitations.com). The private-railcar convention, in Savannah this November, invites the public to tour vintage cars.

Charter: Pick a route and check Aaprco.com or Privaterailcars.net for cars based at either end. Expect to pay $7,500 per day for eight people.

Buy: Amtrak-ready cars start at $275,000; or plan to spend around six figures to update the electric and other systems on your own salvaged car. Among the great fixer-uppers now available: the sleek stainless-steel 1935 Mark Twain Zephyr ($600,000; railmerchants.net).

-
-
Don’t forget your essential train gear: to see the must-have item to take along for the ride, click here. Or click here to read about five of the best train trips in North America. And come back next week to see five more unforgettable rail routes.

—-

This article originally appeared in the September 2009 issue of Men’s Journal.

Print this article