Passenger Trains > What Should i Know Panama Canal Railroad??

We are Going on Another Princess Cruise in Nov 2019. What Should Know about this Train trip on Panama Cancel Railroad Tour. Is they place on the train too buy T-Shirt and other Railroad Stuff?? Princess said 1 hour train ride?? But Tour is for 6 Hours. This Good Tour for this Train Trip. We fly out of Latrobe, Pa to Florida.

when we did it some years ago, the nice gift shop was at the start.....if still true, make purchases before boarding....nothing was at the other end.   GREAT trip, very nice rail cars....first transcontinental railroad...they hyped (which is true but a bit shorter than the one in the north).   welded rail, smooth....our engineer was on vacation from VIA.  not sure why other cruises don't do this.....Arlen

asheldrake Wrote:
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> when we did it some years ago, the nice gift shop
> was at the start.....if still true, make purchases
> before boarding....nothing was at the other end.
>   GREAT trip, very nice rail cars....first
> transcontinental railroad...they hyped (which is
> true but a bit shorter than the one in the north).
>   welded rail, smooth....our engineer was on
> vacation from VIA.  not sure why other cruises
> don't do this.....Arlen


We are Booked in Dome Car on the trip.

That is an ex-Southern Pacific 3/4 dome, SP3603, built by SP in the early 1950s at Sacramento Shops, on the frame of a 1937 Daylight car, lunch counter-tavern lounge SP10310.

Three photos from the collection of the late Dan Ainsworth; in SP silver/red (originally the SP3603 was painted in Union Pacific yellow-grey for operation on joint SP-UP-CNW trains); derelict after closure of stationary restaurant in Tampa FL...note Amtrak number 9372; and in Panama.




 



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/19 01:19 by GenePoon.

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When I rode it as part of a Carnival Cruise shore excursion in 2006, we rode the train round-trip from the Atlantic side to the Pacific side. Before boarding I purchased some souvenirs. I rode in the  open  vestibule most of the way. A good photo of the Canal can be had  crossing the bridge at Gamboa (be on the right side of the train heading towards the Pacific side of the Canal). Aside from the former SP dome car the other cars are former PRR Budd-built Clocker coach cars refurbished as lounge cars.  The diesels were former Amtrak F40PHs' The entire  consist is painted in the KCS Southern Belle color scheme. At the Pacific side, a bus met our train and took us to Miraflores locks so we could watch a ship go thru the lock. Mitsubishi locomotives help guide the ships along  side the lock (using a rope).Originally GE locomotives were used.One of them  is on display at Miraflores. Great  excursion!

Jeff Geldner
Sequoia National Park, CA 

I'd stay on the boat. Tropical climes tend to be the haunt of cannibals and headhunters.

We did the Panama Canal cruise with Princess Cruise in 2009. Had a bus tour around the Miraflores Locks day before we transited the canal. Unfortunately the train trip was not available when I did the cruise.
Images taken at Miraflores Locks.
Doug

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Trains Start in Colon Panama. What time you get off the Cruise ship for the Tour. It said Train Leaves Colon at 7:15 A.M. that early too me ,  i am 41 years old and mother is 84 years old. She will need too her butt  up early that day. this 6 hours long day tour.

Some tours are one way by rail, the other way by bus. Others are rail in both directions.

http://www.panarail.com/en/store/index.html

Posted from Android

I'd guess the bus tour will also include the visitor center at the new canal, as well as Miraflores.

utwazoo Wrote:
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> I'd guess the bus tour will also include the
> visitor center at the new canal, as well as
> Miraflores.


Yes the Train is First, then Visitor Center, then i think the Canal. Alot things too see at Visitor Center after the train ride??

Word of Caution

My wife and I transited the canal, in April of this year on a Holland America cruise that originated in Santiago, Chile and ended in Fort Lauderdale.  Like you, we had booked the Panama RR excursion, in the dome car, well in advance of the departure.  However when we boarded the ship in Santiago, there was a note in our cabin that the tour was cancelled, due the number of participants not meeting the oprerator's requirements.  We received a full refund, but that's not the point.

Since at this point we were still about 15 days out of Fuerte Amador/Paname City we thought that we might be able to line up an alternate, but to no avail.  We wound up taking a half-day bus tour to the new locks and visitor center just west of Colon.  This excursion was worthwhile, but certainly didn't make up for the train ride cancellation.

I hope that you have better luck than we did.  Also, Hoggererdoug's pictures in his post are great, and only represent the tip of the iceberg in terms of the canal experience.

 
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couple or three of links to Panama Canal images.
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?6,4722031,4722317#msg-4722317

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,4084144,page=1

http://www.pancanal.com/eng/projects/locomotive.html

I don't know if the situation has improved, but Colon was not a walking around type place. Lots of outrageously decorated buses, however.

The Pacific Coast is much nicer.

Posted from Android

The September 2002 and January 2014 issues of Trains Magazine have articles about the Panama Canal Railroad. 

Panama is an isthmus, not a continent...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

MojaveBill Wrote:
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> Panama is an isthmus, not a continent...

An isthmus that is part of a continent. Most sources say that Panama is part of the North American continent.

Panama is on both continents. It was strange riding from North America to South America on the Duty Bus back on my Army days when I lived in Panama.

Should dining car discussion turn palindromic, the canal palindrome will serve you well.
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