(The following story by Guy Tridgell appeared on the Southtown Star website on December 23.)
CHICAGO — You can witness history in the lap of luxury – all for the bargain price of $2,599.
American Rail Excursions, a Sauk Village charter service specializing in travel by vintage railroad cars, is selling tickets to see Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration Jan. 20. Drinks, meals and lodging are included.
The train departs Jan. 17 from Chicago’s Union Station. While in Washington D.C., the cars will be parked at that city’s Union Station overlooking the National Mall. The trip home is Jan. 22.
“For those who want to get up close and personal, you won’t get any closer. We will be 3 1 / 2 blocks from the U.S. Capitol,” said American Rail Excursions owner Roger Verbeeren Jr. “This will be doorstep to doorstep.”
In cars with names such as the Henry Hudson and the Silver Quail, riders will be treated to a personal chef, tuxedoed wait staff and private bedrooms with enclosed bathrooms.
“Mingle with your fellow travelers. Enjoy a cocktail. Look out the window and appreciate where you are going,” Verbeeren said. “If you want to take a nap, you can go into your bedroom and take a nap.”
But the junket to see the new president is going to mean parting with plenty of dead ones.
Verbeeren said Amtrak is hauling just 17 private railcars nationwide to the inauguration. His business was able to get four of them by putting in a request as soon as the election was over. He said the $2,599 ticket price is about $500 more than the typical excursion to D.C.
Of the 44 available spots on the train, about half of those were gone on Monday. Ordering information is at www.americanrail.com.
Verbeeren said he has organized trips to Super Bowls and to New Year’s Eve at Times Square in New York City but this will be his first to a presidential inauguration.
Verbeeren anticipates that several Democratic Party bigwigs will be riding the rails. A former U.S. senator he declined to identify also will be along for the ride.
“We are going to have some folks of stature,” he said. “We will have some Republicans going with us, too.”