Find a train ride in the USA or Canada…
All aboooard in 2021! Folks have been taking trains around the USA and Canada for almost two centuries. And while rail’s so-called “Golden Age” may be just a memory… scenic and historic railroads are still welcoming guests to catch train rides to fun and adventure!
Apart from big city commuters, overseas travelers, and curious North American explorers with time to spare, most Americans and Canadians have seldom, if ever, taken a train ride. And even those of us accustomed to riding the rails have most likely never traveled behind a classic coal-fired steam engine… made a heart-pounding high-trestle crossing… or settled in for a mouth-watering dinner in the diner!
Train rides are for everybody — especially for kids! From The Little Engine that Could to Dinosaur Train and from Lionel to Lego, trains have been capturing young imaginations for generations. So it should come as no surprise that a ride aboard a real train holds a special fascination for kids — of all ages! So, whether a ride on the rails is still lingering on your bucket list, your inner railfan is longing for the next great rail experience, or you’re just looking for a unique weekend getaway… ditch your car… and climb aboard!
North Americans have some two-hundred scenic and historic railroads to explore in 2019. They range from narrow-gauge sample itineraries and trolleys clanging along remnant routes, to hulking steam locomotives and diesel streamliners hauling down miles of old mainline track. Each historic train ride is a time capsule, a chance to experience life in another age — scenic railroads often feature rare views that are accessible to train travelers alone.
Wherever you are across the USA and Canada, there’s a train ride waiting for you.
North American railroading got its start in the Northeastern USA and nearly two centuries later the area remains rich with authentic rail treasures to experience.
Mid Atlantic USA
Catch a train ride at Baltimore, Maryland’s B&O Railroad Museum and you’ll be transported back nearly two centuries to the days when passenger rail travel got its start in the USA’s Mid Atlantic States. Considered the birthplace of American railroading, the rail museum houses the country’s broadest collection of 19th-century locomotives.
A range of rail experiences await railfans and tourists in the bordering Keystone State, from the Strasburg Rail Road’s runs through Pennsylvania Dutch Country’s thriving Amish communities to hillside runs aboard Pittsburgh’s historic Duquesne and Monongahela inclines.
To the north, Delaware’s Wilmington & Western and New York’s Adirondack Scenic and Catskill Mountain Railroads draw crowds of leaf peepers during fall foliage season.
New England USA
Thanks to the region’s world-famous fall colors, fall is also the time of year when train rides are most likely to sell out in the Mid Atlantic’s neighboring New England States.
In New Hampshire’s White Mountains, the Mount Washington Cog Railway is a particularly good bet — the world’s oldest rack railway scales New England’s highest mountain! Next door, leaf peepers can catch a train ride on Vermont’s Green Mountain Railroad’s autumn-only foliage route.
Among the region’s six streetcar attractions, Maine’s Seashore Trolley Museum hosts the world’s oldest and largest collections of mass transit vehicles.
Rounding out New England’s diversity of rail experiences is Massachusetts’s Thomas Land — the famous tank engine makes Edaville Family Amusement Park his North American home.
Southern USA
Though the Chattanooga Choo Choo is gone, you can still take a train ride at railways across the USA’s Southern States.
Start with the song’s namesake city and join Chattanoogans headed for Appalachian hills and hollers aboard the Tennessee Valley Railroad. Other mountain choices range from the Cass Scenic Railroad in West Virginia’s Allegheny to the Tweetsie Railroad, North Carolina’s Blue Ridge family rail park. Before leaving Chattanooga, catch a train ride on the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway — said to be world’s steepest — for a sweeping view of Downtown.
For contrast, try gliding above the palms aboard downtown Miami’s futuristic Metromover or escape to another time aboard New Orleans St. Charles streetcar — the oldest street railway in the world!
Midwest USA
Think “train ride” in the Midwest USA and Chicago’s famous “Loop” is probably the first rail experience that comes to mind. The elevated transit corridor loops around the Windy City’s core offering birds-eye views of towers and landmarks.
Chicagoland is also the place to catch a ride at the Illinois Railway Museum — the home to America’s broadest collection of rail equipment is a railfan’s dream come true!
It’s easy for Midwest vacationers to include tourist train excursions in their getaway plans. Indiana’s French Lick Scenic Railway and Missouri’s Branson Scenic Railway are resort town favorites and North Dakota’s Black Hills Central Railroad is close by Mt. Rushmore.
Little known beyond the region is Michigan’s Tahquamenon Falls Train, an historic tourist railroad that has set off on bear-glimpsing excursions for nearly a century.
Southwest USA
Many folks beyond the region have heard of the Southwest USA‘s most popular train ride. But few know that the Grand Canyon Railway is America’s oldest tourist railroad; established in 1901 — over a decade before Arizona even became a state!
Arizona is actually home to two canyon railroads. Unlike its Grand Canyon counterpart, the Verde Canyon Railroad actually makes its way across the canyon floor in close proximity to eagle rookeries and amazing nature views. But the Southwest destination with the greatest number of rail attractions is Texas.
Among the Lone Star State’s lineup is the Southwest’s largest rail museum. The Texas Transportation Museum’s working rail yard features historic cars and locomotives plus rides aboard its heritage railroad. In Dallas, the McKinney Avenue Trolley is a hit with townies and tourists alike.
Western USA
Overcoming perilous peaks and steep coastal grades, railroads won the USA’s West. Fortunately, these engineering marvels of a century or longer ago still endure.
Catch a train ride through Colorado’s rugged Rockies where remote historic railroads like the Royal Gorge Route Railroad, Georgetown Loop Railroad, and Rio Grande Scenic Railroad are railfan favorites.
In California, the Fillmore & Western Railway offers film buffs a chance to check out its collection of “movie trains.” For many, romance trumps engineering prowess on a ride up Beacon Hill aboard LA’s Angel’s Flight funicular — described as “the world’s shortest railway.”
Likewise, on a hilly roll aboard one of San Francisco’s fabled cable cars. And romance goes into overdrive on a California wine country dinner excursion aboard the Napa Valley Wine Train!
Canada
As with its neighbor to the south, railways across Canada played a rich part in the country’s history. British Columbia’s mining tradition comes to life on a subterranean tour aboard the Underground Mining Railway.
Above ground, rail’s vital role in day-to-day life is replicated by the steam-hauled narrow gauge train that chugs around Alberta’s Heritage Park Historical Village.
In Eastern Canada, locals and visitors alike share a bit of Québec’s joie de vivre aboard the Train de Charlevoix and in the resort villages along its woodland route.
Best loved, perhaps, is Ontario’s Agawa Canyon Tour Train, which journeys through Ojibwe Nation lands to Wilderness Park, an adventure first depicted in paintings by Canada’s famous Group of Seven artists some hundred years ago.
Can’t make up your mind? We’ve only scratched the surface. To get a complete overview, first choose a region: Mid Atlantic, New England, Southern USA, Midwest USA, Southwest USA, Western USA, or Canada. Then pick your journey… head for the station… and take a train!
Find a train ride in the USA or Canada…
Find a train ride in the USA or Canada…
Mid Atlantic
New England
Southern USA
Midwest USA
Southwest USA
Western USA
Canada
