Exit133.com: GrandLuxe Rail Journeys Coming To Tacoma

GrandLuxe Rail Journeys Coming To Tacoma (20. June 2007, 12:24 by Derek Young) ~ It's All About Trains These Days

So, since we’re on the topic of trains, we just received confirmation that GrandLuxe Rail Journeys will be announcing a route from Tacoma to Wyoming. GrandLuxe provides private deluxe train trips all over the country and is “noted for its exceptional service, outstanding cuisine, and deluxe, vintage furnishings and appointments.” From what we hear, they’ll be parked down by the Museum of Glass sometime soon. I look forward to the official announcement.

Link to GrandLuxe Rail Journeys

First found in the forum

Thank you, Jake

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I have to confess, I’m not sure I totally get the appeal of this service.

$789 minimum for a train trip? Luxury’s all good, but can’t we do train service around the country without it costing hundreds of dollars more than air travel?

And what if I want to go somewhere other than Wyoming? I assume it’s a Mt. Rainier to Yellowstone trip?

1 | Posted by Erik Hanberg | Jun 20, 03:40 PM

With this kind of trip it’s the travel not the destination that you are paying for. Besides, if you’ve looked at Amtrack lately, these prices aren’t that much higher for what you get.

Personally, I’d be interested in taking the trip one way. You get some good food, serious down time to unwind from the office and read a good book while seeing the countryside without the drone of the interstate.

I’d probably read a vintage spy novel on the trip. They always had good train scenes in them.

2 | Posted by Dave St. | Jun 20, 05:59 PM

Direct Itinerary Link: http://grandluxerail.com/html/tours/Great-Northwestern08GLR.html

Eastbound:
Day 1: “Seattle Area”
Day 2: Mt. Rainier N.P.
Day 3: Cascade Mtns OR Columbia River
Day 4: Coeur d’Alene
Day 5: Glacier N.P.
Day 6: Helena
Day 7: Yellowstone N.P.
Day 8: Grand Teton N.P.
Day 9: Grand Teton & End

(They do acknowledge that the endpoint is Tacoma on the westbound trip.)

I imagine this is the closest thing you can get to a cruise ship on land – if cruise ships are your thing.

Personally, I enjoyed doing a very similar road trip. Of course it was with camping gear and stoves crammed in my car rather than fine dining. It also cost ~$500 rather than $5,000 one-way.

3 | Posted by DavidS | Jun 20, 06:27 PM

Looks great!!! it is about the travel and not the destination…..I like the quick 4 day to the bay area with napa…..nice relaxing time aboard the train in style and the west coast tour…nice…love to see this…...

4 | Posted by rich | Jun 20, 08:09 PM

I can’t believe it, the web site for this rail journey can’t bear to use the word Tacoma in their blurb. “Seattle Area”. I guess they figure that no one will pay 5k for a train trip if they think it originates in Tacoma. And some of you people thought I was rude. Please, someone, explain to me why GrandLuxe has to refer to Tacoma as the “Seattle Area”? I guess this should not come as a surprise. How many times on the national news is Tacoma referred to as being the “Seattle Area”. Maybe we should officially just change the name of Tacoma to “Seattle Area” Or better yet we should do like they do near San Francisco and claim to be the “Sound Area” like Hayward claims to be the “Bay Area”. I don’t think we can be proud of GrandLuxe Rail Journeys, not until they get over their Tacomaphobia. They can’t even offer lodging in Tacoma, they offer an “optional hotel extension” in Seattle.

5 | Posted by Crenshaw Sepulveda | Jun 20, 08:54 PM

Yeah, the “Seattle Area” thing got me, too. Of course, whenever anything bad happens anywhere from Federal Way to Graham, where do they say the person is from?

The cost is not all that bad considering how much it costs to get a sleeper on Amtrak. After last summer’s horrible, horrible trip with the kids down to CA on Amtrak, I’ll never go without a sleeper again.

(Which probably means no Amtrak again, since that makes it significantly more expensive than flying.)

That, and the food and service on Amtrak are terrible. It’s very much like the kind of service my clients used to get when I represented welfare recipients in San Francisco. I took a trip on Amtrak by myself about 13 years ago and had a wonderful time, things have definitely gone down hill since then.

6 | Posted by jenyum | Jun 20, 09:32 PM

The only good thing about Amtrak I can say is that on their schedule they call us Tacoma, not the “Seattle Area”. Other than that, Amtrak is probably worse than most forms of public transportation, seriously, they should just go out of business and give over the rail rights to the States. Imagine what we in Washington could do with Amtrak’s rail rights. Some still prefer to take Amtrak over flying and the GreyDog, but I’m thinking that number goes down every year. I must confess, however, the trip between Centralia and Tacoma is very lovely and everyone should make the trip at least once. The service will suck, but the scenery is first rate, especially coming into Tacoma.

7 | Posted by Crenshaw Sepulveda | Jun 20, 09:56 PM

First off, I agree that not saying Tacoma, but saying “Seattle area” isn’t great. On the other hand, we’re dealing with (I’m assuming) mainly Americans. Outside of the Pac NW, how many people know where or have heard of Tacoma? People have a vague idea where Seattle is (it’s on the ocean isn’t?). Besides, it’s a numbers game; more people will be drawn in by the Seattle-card than some train in Tacoma.

Maybe they’ll get here and be pleasantly surprised; they’ll tell their friends, and on and on and on. Be careful what you wish for though; more tourists generally mean higher prices and more locals yelling they’re getting priced out of the market.

8 | Posted by MG | Jun 21, 08:42 AM

Even if the states got the rail rights, the problem is getting the right of way from the freight companies. I’m not sure who stopped bribing who recently, but it’s really terrible right now.

Passengers have to sit and wait for hours while right of way is negotiated every time freight has to pass. Since the freight lines own the tracks, it’s unlikely to get better unless Amtrak can spend more money again.

I imagine that with what they are charging, Grandluxe can pay for the right of way. Smaller state-run rail systems would have to charge more money or suffer the fate of Amtrak, which renders rail pretty much a luxury hobby rather than a viable form of public transportation.

9 | Posted by jenyum | Jun 22, 11:06 AM

I don’t know about the long distance travel problems, but the Amtrak Cascades service from Tacoma to Portland is outstanding. I go to Portland for meetings every couple of weeks, and take the train about half the time. Other than some very minor delays, the service can’t be beat… no traffic, speedy, and only $10.00 business class upgrades. There are 4 or 5 daily roundtrips, and it works well for business schedules. It’s great for catching some zz’s or working. The trains are pretty full most days, so apparently a lot of other people find it a rather useful form of public transportation.