Passenger Trains > private car excursions

Is anyone aware of some type of social media outlet or website where people who otherwise don't know each other join to act in concert to charter a private car?  I realize such trips are pricey, but Amtrak sleepers aren't a bargain.  Even if a charter were double Amtrak for each individual, it may not be ridiculous for a "once in a lifetime" splurge.

https://www.aaprco.com/travel/cars-for-charter/

Sometimes listed in our classified ad system.  Here is a recent one:  https://www.trainorders.com/classifieds/view.php?5647

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

AAPRCO is your best (only?) choice for chartering private cars but beware you should first talk informally with the car owner to get the feel if your personalities meld well and if their AC has a history giving out since Amtrak will no longer allow moving private cars to use their platforms and even platform doors for cooling should their AC go out!  This I learned to my regret riding private car NYC No. 3 when its AC went out for hours in the muggy Florida heat! One car I can recommend as a top-notch and FRIENDLY experience is ex- Seaboard Sun Lounge "Hollywood Beach", a unique low level dome-sleeper-lounge-enclosed observation operated by an retired railroader (one of the few real railroaders with a private car). BTW, AAPRCO is only a "trade organization" of different owners and their cars, it  does not reign "tight" control over private cars and their owners' sometimes obtuse rules. Every TO should ride a private car at least once in their life to really get a feel for North American railroading as it used to be and how it is today! There are fewer and fewer private car owners willing to deal with Amtrak's new extremely negative rules so now is the time to ride. 



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/23 23:21 by RRBMail.

You likely have seen me list PV trips in the TO Classifieds now and then.

I've run my fair share of trips over the years and I have to say that most of the car owners were outstanding to work with. A few had preferences that did not always match up with those of my clients, but we made the best we could of challenges.

Being honest, private car travel is an expensive option.

With Amtrak charges what they are, it is downright difficult to put together a public trip that can cover costs or even make a profit. And with limits placed on what trains PV's can ride on, or where cars can be added or subtracted limited by Amtrak, trips we used to make all the time are no longer even an option.

I must give credit to everyone who made previous trips possible. Car owners especially, who worked behind the scenes, sometimes at the last minute to make a trip happen. Crews who would be on their feet from start to finish, keeping up the traditions established in the golden days of passenger trains. And to passengers who take the unexpected in stride, not worrying about when we arrive or depart.

Each one a treasure beyond.

I'm looking at a trip this fall from Chicago to Miami and return, that may offer something different, if the planets and stars can all align. It won't be inexpensive, but it will be memorable for all.

Roger Colton
Private Car Service 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/23 14:35 by Pullman.

Thank you to all for your thoughts!

As others have just stated, private car trips are lots of fun; however, they are now very expensive.  They never were cheap, but the leaders of Amtrak have made them almost impossible, yet this is gravy money for Amtrak.  Back in the 1970's and 1980's Amtrak was very easy to work with especially for the private car owners in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area.  The group called Railroad Passenger Cars (RRP) of Baltimore operated many private cars with Amtrak and I can say from knowing these people first hand, that Amtrak had an outstanding private car department that handled the movement of private cars.  As long as you maintained your cars to Amtrak's or the other major class one railroad's standards, you could usually attach your private car onto an Amtrak Train.  RRP operated many trips especially with their cars former B&O 3302 lounge/observation car and their 2066 lounge/snack bar car.  Keep in mind that the car owners spend a ton of money in maintaining these cars and to the best of my knowledge, they do not make a profit.  They could never charge enough even years ago to pay the upkeep on the cars and their own liability insurance.  Here attached are the two RRP private cars operating with Amtrak.  RRP is no longer in business like many others, Amtrak chased them all away now with the exception of the ones in the American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners (AAPRCO).
Photos from RRP files.
John in White Marsh, Maryland

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I wish you had asked a few years ago. American Rail Excursions, of which I was Marketing Manager, was offering top notch private railcar tours that ranged all over the United States. Unfortunately, Amtrak management must have thought all private cars we owned by multi-millionaires and would pay any price. But the truth was that many if not most cars had thousands of hours of “sweat equity” put into them by owners and friends.
Not only did Amtrak dramatically raise their charges, they also limited the adding and removal of cars to end points of Amtrak trains. That eliminated some highly popular destinations.
AAPRCO (American Association of Private Rail Car Owners) has Spring multi-car excursions where several car owners offer accommodations to the public. AAPRCO Fall multi-car convention trips are great experiences.
The American Association of Private Rail Car Owners has a web site where private rail car trips are posted. Type the full name into your search bar. The AAPRCO Telephone No. is: (706) 326-6262  Chicago Business Hours (CT)  Contact Us | AAPRCO
 

Former ATK chief Richard Anderson (aka Airline Boy) started the private car war by severely limiting access to popular trains and destinations.  Prices for miles traveled and storage on ATK property were raised so dramatically that profitable operation for PVs was no longer possible.  This was purposely done to run off all but the wealthiest owners.  The strategy was a success.  Current leader Gardner sees no reason to make things better.   I've said it before and I'll say it again -- private car operation, even under the old pricing structures, was the ONLY profit center ATK has ever enjoyed.  Obviously they didn't care to enjoy it any longer.  Never was and never will be a real business.

-John

jcaestecker Wrote:
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> Former ATK chief Richard Anderson (aka Airline
> Boy) started the private car war by severely
> limiting access to popular trains and
> destinations.  Prices for miles traveled and
> storage on ATK property were raised so
> dramatically that profitable operation for PVs was
> no longer possible.  This was purposely done to
> run off all but the wealthiest owners.  The
> strategy was a success.  Current leader Gardner
> sees no reason to make things better.   I've
> said it before and I'll say it again -- private
> car operation, even under the old pricing
> structures, was the ONLY profit center ATK has
> ever enjoyed.  Obviously they didn't care to
> enjoy it any longer.  Never was and never will be
> a real business.
>
> -John
Boy have you hit the nail on the head.  Amtrak has been mismanaged for so many dreadful years and they do not care about making any profits which the private cars generate.  These owners of private cars spend tons of money and it costs Amtrak a smidgen to haul them thus it is pure gravy to Amtrak, but alas, the wrong people are in charge of Amtrak and somehow someway this has to change.  The sooner Garner and company go the better.  Get someone in there that has proper knowledge of railroad operations and good business sense, not anymore airline people.  Before the likes of Anderson, there were many private car owners who were paying money to Amtrak for their movements as well as paying rent for storage at various terminals.  This was pure profit for Amtrak basically.  But these knuckle heads got in there and screwed the private car owners to where many have gone out of business and sold their cars.  What a shame as Amtrak continues to operate so poorly with just about everything they do.  The sooner Gardner and his cronies are gone the better.
John in White Marsh, Maryland

jcaestecker Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Former ATK chief Richard Anderson (aka Airline
> Boy) started the private car war by severely
> limiting access to popular trains and
> destinations.  Prices for miles traveled and
> storage on ATK property were raised so
> dramatically that profitable operation for PVs was
> no longer possible.  This was purposely done to
> run off all but the wealthiest owners.  The
> strategy was a success.  Current leader Gardner
> sees no reason to make things better.   I've
> said it before and I'll say it again -- private
> car operation, even under the old pricing
> structures, was the ONLY profit center ATK has
> ever enjoyed.  Obviously they didn't care to
> enjoy it any longer.  Never was and never will be
> a real business.
>
> -John

John knows of what he speaks. His car, the Silver Splendor, was completely rebuilt by him and his sons and enjoyed several years in service as part of the LARail fleet. Another family owned car, the Overland Trail, ran with the Amtrak Surfliner out of LA to Santa Barbara as the Vino Train. It left LA on a Saturday morning once a month with it's passengers detraining in Santa Barbara for wine tasting tours and reboarding when the Surfliner returned enroute back to LA. A morning meal and afternoon snacks (with an adult beverage) made it frequently sold out. Overnight both were sidelined in late March 2018 when with no notice "Airline Boy" pulled the plug on affordable private car travel and scenic destinations. Both cars have been sold to private tourist railroads outside California and no longer operate on Amtrak.

Magritte55 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is anyone aware of some type of social media
> outlet or website where people who otherwise don't
> know each other join to act in concert to charter
> a private car?  I realize such trips are pricey,
> but Amtrak sleepers aren't a bargain.  Even if a
> charter were double Amtrak for each individual, it
> may not be ridiculous for a "once in a lifetime"
> splurge.

Sometimes you can get lucky. A private car owner may have a client who will pay big bucks for a one-way trip on a private car, including movement to where he starts or movement back to its home location. The "deadhead" trip is often sold at a discount to railfans who will see notice on the Trainorders classified page or maybe other forums. LARail's business car Tioga Pass sometimes has one-way charters like that. Also, there may be an ad on a mailing/email list but not knowing of that list is an obvious problem. Sometimes there are tour options in the popular rail magazaines like "Trains" and "Railfan and Railroad."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/23 14:47 by Cumbresfan.

Magritte55 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is anyone aware of some type of social media
> outlet or website where people who otherwise don't
> know each other join to act in concert to charter
> a private car?  I realize such trips are pricey,
> but Amtrak sleepers aren't a bargain.  Even if a
> charter were double Amtrak for each individual, it
> may not be ridiculous for a "once in a lifetime"
> splurge.

agreed.  i know i would be interested in any private car excursions, especially if most of the people were members here.

it would be a fun and interesting trip............

66

Amtrak's recent actions have sure made owning and operating and riding on private cars much more difficult.  We no longer can run trips to Whitefish, MT., Portland, and other points, and they have made it much more difficult to book trips to places like Seattle and San Diego.
Despite this, I still own and operate a private car called "TIOGA PASS".  This car is based in Los Angeles and is available for charter service.  I have run the car over 500,000 miles since 2005 to everywhere Amtrak goes in the USA and Canada.  Our 2023 plans include a trip from LA to Oakland to Denver to Chicago to Albuquerque, where we will join the AAPRCO 2023 convention train to Williams and the Grand Canyon, then back to Albuquerque.  Space is still available for this trip.  There will be two cars on this trip to and from Albuquerque, TIOGA PASS and Pacific Sands, and the AAPRCO portion of the trip will consist of a special train of about 8 cars.  Call me at 760 953 9620 to discuss this trip of a lifetime.
Other trips in the 2023 plan include LA to Seattle and return, LA to San Antonio and return, and possibly a trip from LA to Chicago and return via Oakland the Coast route.  Both cars can be viewed on websites "RideMyTrain.Com" and "Pacific Sands.com".
For private charters, you can contact Norm at 760 953 9620 or Aroncolc@aol.com.

TIOGA PASS




 

Norman Orfall
Helendale, CA
TIOGA PASS, a private railcar

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