Trains always have had an aura of romance and mystery. By day, they're a congenial way to travel the globe in almost dreamlike slow motion. At night, they're transformed into worldly hotels on wheels.
Though high-speed trains cover some routes as fast as planes, many vacationers still prefer clacking along at a leisurely pace, lulled to sleep by the rhythm of the rails.A handful of privately operated luxury trains - such as the U.S. and overseas versions of the historic Orient Express - were created especially for such tourists. But many everyday passenger trains - such as Amtrak's Coast Starlight and VIA Rail Canada's Canadian - follow routes that happen to be extraordinarily scenic.
Following are some suggestions for sightseeing - and overnighting - by rail in the United States and Canada.
United States
AMTRAK: Following are four regularly scheduled long-distance trains that follow scenic routes out West and five Eastern rail services linking New York with New Orleans and Florida. Motor-coach connections are available from many rail stops to major nearby cities and in one case to Grand Canyon National Park.
Air-rail packages (fly one direction, take the train the other) run from $305 off-peak within the East Coast zone to $559 peak season between the East and West coasts. A new joint U.S.-Canada 30-day North America Rail Pass is $450 or $645, depending on season, and allows unlimited stopovers. Through May 21 (except April 3-19), Amtrak is offering family oriented Great Getaway one-way coach fares on most routes. The first passenger pays full fare, the second passenger gets 50 percent off, the third passenger rides free (with larger families, the cycle starts over again). Great Getaway tickets must be purchased by May 9 and can't be combined with any other Amtrak discount. To get kids in the mood for a train trip, Amtrak has come out with its own version of the "Carmen Sandiego" computer geography game ($9.95 plus tax).
For Amtrak fare and trip-planning information, call 1-800-USA-RAIL or visit (www.amtrak.com).
- Coast Starlight: (Seattle-Los Angeles) offers an overnight journey featuring seascapes and mountain views. The trip usually takes about 36 hours, but lately there have been delays of an hour or two due to speed restrictions through construction and maintenance areas affected by February El Nino storms.
- The California Zephyr: (Chicago-San Francisco) takes two days and two nights (53 hours) to cross the country through the heartland and the Rockies, following the route of the pioneers near Denver, Salt Lake City, Reno and Sac-ra-men-to.
- The Southwest Chief: (Chicago-Los Angeles) also takes nearly two days and nights (42 hours) for its cross-country journey, partly along the historic Santa Fe Trail; stops include Albuquerque, N.M., and Flagstaff, Ariz. (for the Grand Canyon).
- The Sunset Limited: (Orlando-Los Angeles) offers a three-night (63 hours) mountain/desert trip through eight states, with stops including New Orleans, Houston, San Antonio and El Paso.
- The Crescent: (New York-New Orleans) offers an overnight journey via Southern cities, including Washington, Charlotte and Atlanta.
- Silver Star, Silver Palm and Silver Meteor: (New York-Miami or Tampa) travel overnight on two slightly different routes via Washington, Richmond, Savannah, Jacksonville and Orlando.
- The Auto Train: makes a 161/2-hour nonstop run between Lorton, Va., (20 miles south of Washington, D.C.) and Sanford, Fla., (20 miles north of Orlando). Departure is at 4:30 p.m. daily each direction, with arrival the next morning at 9 a.m. Rates vary by season, but a round-trip coach ticket currently costs $179 to $259 per person, plus $270 round-trip for your car. Sleeping compartments would be an additional $210 to $398 round-trip for a bedroom that can accommodate two adults, $390 to $716 for a family bedroom for two adults and two kids. Rates include a buffet dinner, continental breakfast and a movie.
Canada
VIA RAIL CANADA: Not only the classic Canada train trip but one of the world's most popular long-distance scenic rail rides is the three-night journey on the "Canadian" from Toronto and Vancouver, meandering through forests and farmland, painted prairies and the high peaks of the Rocky Mountains. An added bonus for Americans is an almost 40 percent exchange-rate benefit against the weak Canadian dollar.
There are three round trips a week throughout the year. Peak season (June 1 and Oct. 15) often sells out months in advance even though the art-deco-style Canadian is doubled or tripled in length during that period, but cancellations generally provide some openings for those on the waiting list, VIA says.
The east-west trip is most popular, perhaps because passengers can look forward to seeing the Rockies as a grand finale. But VIA says schedules in both directions are designed so travelers get as much daylight viewing as possible in the mountains, which are traversed slowly over 24 hours. Some travelers arrange to get off the train en route - often to visit Jasper National Park - and complete their trip on the next train, or the one after that. Others with less time and money take just the mountain leg - an overnight trip between Edmonton, Alberta, and Vancouver.
A tip for bargain-hunters: The loveliest off-season period is early May, when Ontario's provincial flower, trillium, carpets the northern woodlands and snow still caps the mountains out West.
The peak-season one-way adult fare between Toronto and Vancouver in "Silver & Blue Class," which includes a bedroom compartment and all meals, is about $970 U.S.; the Edmunton-Vancouver overnight is about $502 U.S. A peak-season coach seat, without meals or sleeper compartment, is about $362 U.S. for the full route, about $143 U.S. for the overnight. The best off-season (Oct. 16 through May 31) rates require seven days' advance purchase and may have other restrictions. Full-route trips then are as low as about $583 U.S. with meals and sleeper compartment, about $217 U.S. to sit in coach. Overnights are about $301 U.S. in sleeper, about $85 U.S. in coach.
For information, call travel agents or visit (www.viarail.ca).