As a tours manager, one gets the occasional opportunity to take advantage of the very rare offers of a “fam” trip. The cruise industry is famous for their “familiarity” tours for top producing agents but the railway industry is not quite as generous. So when offered a chance to partake in the Domes over Donner excursion run by Trains Unlimited Tours (or more accurately the offer by a couple of the private rail car owners), I jumped at the chance. Of course it meant getting to Emeryville CA for the trip but it also gave me a chance to travel on Amtrak's Coast Starlight for the first time, a train I had booked many others on. So at my own expense a return trip on that train would bookend an adventure on private railcars for 2 days and “Railroad Days” at Portola CA. The plan: Amtrak's Cascades service to Seattle, overnight then board the Coast Starlight for Emeryville, overnight then board the private cars coupled to the rear of the California Zephyr the following morning.

The CZ's original route in the days of the great name trains was Chicago to Oakland via Denver, Salt Lake City and the Feather River Canyon route to the Sacramento Valley before curving south and west into Oakland. The operating railroads were the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Denver & Rio Grande Western and the Western Pacific. Today's routing takes travellers from Amtrak's Emeryville facility just north of Oakland through Sacramento, Reno and on to Salt Lake City and Denver on the UP.

Enough background and on with the journey. Pacific Central Station was packed with long lines on the night of August 19th as it was train day for the Canadian as well as a sold out Amtrak Cascades service to Seattle. Train 517 is supposed to leave at 17:45 but this night we were delayed 25 minutes due to the incoming Canadian in the station throat - only 10 hours late! The outbound Canadian left on time thanks to the extra VIA Rail train set now in use.

Once under way our FP59, 2 coaches and lounge diner (Superliner) screamed through Burnaby, Surrey and White Rock with seeming abandon and after the 10 minute customs inspection pause at Blaine WA were making up time all the way to Seattle barely 5 minutes off the mark. In the hotel by 22:30 and a comfortable sleep.

The ubiquitous continental breakfast was taken by 08:00 and the 10 minute taxi ride to King St. Station started a day on the Coast Starlight. The standard long distance Superliner consist of 2 GE “Genesis” units, baggage car, “transition” crew sleeper, 3 sleepers, 3 lounge / diners and 3 coaches provided a uniform and attractive lash up. Away on time at 09:45 on a sunny Seattle morning is all one could hope for as I settled into my Superliner roomette. Car attendant Rita provided fruit, cider or champagne and offer of assistance if needed.

The small compartment is ideal for one but pretty crowded for two. The double deck cars provide good-sized toilets and shower facilities with a few bedrooms and a large family bedroom on the lower deck. The top deck has an array of roomettes and double bedrooms. The equipment built in the 70's is in good shape after many refits and upgrades. Upstairs mid-coach coffee, tea, juice and water is available 24/7. The Coast Starlight's claim as Amtrak's best train is no doubt helped by the inclusion of the Pacific Parlour car featuring a full-service specialty coffee bar, beverage service, appetizers, meals, wine and cheese tasting, library and a cinema downstairs. This car was built by Budd in 1956 for Santa Fe's El Capitan and Amtrak refitted it in 1971. There is also the dining car the 3rd service car is a SuperLiner lounge car with snack bar downstairs for coach passengers.

Back on our train, time-keeping got worse as we headed south. We had to wait for the Empire Builder's southern section in Portland so Chicago passengers could transfer. It was over 4 hours late, and delayed us by an hour. Dinner in the diner is efficiently served with rolling sittings every 15 minutes. Plastic plates and nuked food were adequate but hardly first class. My roomette on the top deck did not provide a comfortable sleep because the heater controls didn't work and the cool air blasting in my face meant getting dressed to keep warm and then by lowering the top bunk the air was deflected away from my head. After those adjustments sleep overtook as we headed over the Cascades and into southern Oregon.

As dawn broke we were skimming along the plains near Chico, California some 90 minutes late, paralleling power lines and pavement. Sacramento was a major watering stop but because of “fudge factor” timing built into the schedule we departed only 45 minutes off the schedule. Finally into Emeryville by 09:30 and now 70 minutes off due to traffic and bridge openings. San Francisco passengers are bused over the Oakland Bay bridge within minutes of arrival and baggage transfer. For me it was a check in at the nearby Sheraton for a rest and a visit with some old friends. The overnight was necessitated by the fact that the California Zephyr leaves at 08:55, 45 minutes after the arrival of the Coast Starlight – if it's on time. And of course it wasn't or usually isn't. Emeryville is the transfer point for southbound San Joaquin and Amtrak California train passengers for San Francisco. Northbound passengers travelling along the Bay from the south on the same lines transfer in Oakland. The transfers to buses work well but need a good understanding of the timetables to make the best connections.

On a beautiful California September 21st morning a crowd was forming at Emeryville to board two California Zephyrs: Amtrak's conventional bi-level SuperLiners and a lucky group boarding 3 “Silver” coaches from the original CZ fleet. These private cars were coupled to the rear of the scheduled service and provided a great complement to the famous name train. Once loaded we were away by 09:15 - and this is the day when timekeeping really didn't matter - as we settled into the comfortable lounges and dome seats reserved for about 80 who paid over $600 for the 3 day excursion. A welcoming drink from the formally dressed servers gets one in the mood to enjoy a railway experience rare these days. The rail line skirts huge saltwater San Pablo Bay as we turn east and north paralleling the Sacramento ship canal.

At Martinez we wait for the lift span to accept our passage. Over lunch with 3 of the private railcar owners I discuss how we may possibly sell space for them but more interestingly get an idea of what makes these ordinary guys devote their money and passion to these beautiful pieces of industrial machinery. One admitted he did it “for beer money”. It has been said that owning rail cars, like owning a boat, doesn't cost much to start but adds up heavily to do the necessary upgrades and maintenance. It must be a passion.

Our 3 cars are the Silver Rapids, a former CZ sleeper; Silver Lariat, dome car and diner; and Silver Solarium a classic bullet lounge, dome and sleeper. The dome cars are configured for dining with service in the elegant railway style of yore. This was a great way to spend the day as we wound our way through Donner Pass on a series of forested ridges and into Nevada. (photo above) Arrival in Sparks at about 17:00 finished an enjoyable day with a transfer to the Nugget Hotel, a stone's throw from the depot.

During the day it became clear from the crew that the return journey 2 days hence would be over rare mileage, the original Western Pacific Feather River Route, due to UP engineering work on the line we just passed over. In fact you can see from the Chris Skow photo on page 21 that new dusty ballast kicked up an interesting image of our locos just west of Reno. Typifying the most annoying of bureaucracy we also learned that instead of busing to Portola (an hour northwest of Sparks) to catch the westbound train on the 24th we had to bus 160 miles northeast to Winnemucca to board our train because “Portola was not a regular Amtrak station stop”.

While getting used to that fact, we enjoyed a day at Portola's annual Railroad Days on the 23rd. The town of less than 4,000 on the former Western Pacific line celebrates its railway heritage with a great gathering of perhaps 5 times its area population. The major host is their Western Pacific Railroad Museum. Not unlike our Squamish facility it has an excellent collection of diesel locomotives including on this occasion UP6936, a 6000 HP EMDA40X giant, apparently the largest in the USA. Western Pacific's F7A no. 921D is rightfully in its pride of place.

The one hour bus ride back to Sparks got us ready for a final day in the area. To catch an on-time westbound California Zephyr in Winnemucca meant a 04:30 departure from Sparks. Fortunately the train was running almost 2 hours late out of Salt Lake City that night so our revised departure time was 05:30 allowing for some possible catching up. So in the cold desert predawn hours we boarded our coaches for the 160 mile race on the I-80 northeast across the northern Nevada desert to the oasis of Winnemucca. Pacing a UP freight as the sun rose was a highlight.

Breakfast for 80 people at the local McDonalds was amazingly well handled by the efficient staff there. Then to the Winnemucca UP yard office for boarding, not the Amtrak station on the now-closed line south of town, but the north line which branched off a couple of miles to the east. The revised ETA of 10:15 became a departure of 10:45 once all were loaded and Reno area passengers were transferred to a waiting coach. The train was now 3 hours and 45 minutes late with the detour planned to add another 2 hours to the elapsed time. But who cared, except for those with connections in Sacramento or the San Francisco area, unwisely made, and not understanding the vagaries of running trains. Life in the lounge is quite enjoyable!

Fresh fruit and grilled sausages welcomed us as we again settled into the CZ dome cars with tables of white linen and traditional china. We are now on the traditional route of the CZ and the first passenger train on this route for over 35 years. Rare mileage enthusiasts with their Railroad Atlases and accent markers are going nuts. The territory is wild, deserted and strange with few roads in the area and no towns of any note. Dry lake beds, lava fields and brown mountain ridges dominate the landscape. A hearty lunch is served and drinks replenished. By 14:45 we arrive in Portola (only an hour by bus from Reno / Sparks - remember) where the whole town is out to welcome this rare event. The railroad museum's locos give us a resounding blast from their horns as we leave the yard office after a crew change.

From here we enter the famous Feather River Canyon and spend the next 100 miles winding back and forth through tunnels, high bridges and outstanding scenery. This reminds one of our own Fraser Canyon from Lytton to Hope. By 16:30 we had crossed the famous Keddie bridge where we met the eastbound CZ also diverted from the regular route. Once out of the canyon area we plunge through a long tunnel bypassing Lake Oroville and descend into the Sacramento Valley through a series of long loops through dry hills - and towns with people in them.

My planning was to take the Coast Starlight north from Sacramento at midnight this day after an expected 8 hour layover - assuming the train was on time. During the 8 hours the plan was to visit the California State Railroad Museum and the State Capitol, have a good dinner and walk through the city's fine parks and shops. The 8 hour window had now shrunk to 3 hours with the diversion and late running. So it was a 3 hour wait for the Coast Starlight in Sacramento's venerable old SP station watching the comings and goings of late night trains and enjoying the heat of a California summer evening.

By 00:30 my train had arrived and my bed was waiting for me on the lower level of a Superliner sleeper. Everything worked this time. Morning broke with views of ancient volcanoes north of Mt. Shasta. The tasty but not so hot breakfast was efficiently served in the dining car. By 09:45 we arrived in Klamath Falls (photo above) where it was announced that we would leave 2 hours late due to freight traffic and engineering work. Free donuts and coffee were available in the station and within minutes a line-up of perhaps 300 coach passengers formed. By 10:25 we were off and at Chemult took the old SP line to the northwest and Eugene. The branch straight north is the older BN / UP line to Wishram in the Columbia River valley and a connection to BN's line to Spokane.

By lunch time we crossed Cascade Summit in rain and mist and at Oakridge followed the Willamette River down to Eugene and on to Portland. Now almost 3 hours off schedule we take advantage of good track and easily paced fast cars on the I-5 arriving in Tacoma 2 hours and 25 minutes late. Arrival in Seattle is 90 minutes late thanks to some slack in the timetable, short stops and no meets. My Cantrail transfer bus is waiting for me and about 30 other passengers and we get away from King St. by 22:45, clearing the border by 01:15 and into Vancouver by 02:30 thus ending an interesting, enjoyable and sometimes tiring sojurn. Trains Unlimited Tours have their 2009 schedule ready to go. They include many private railcar experiences. Phone the tours office for details, we also have access to several special itineraries on the private cars as well.