(The following story by Tim Johnson appearedon the Daily Nonpareil website on August 17, 2010.)
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Tickets for a special excursion aboard a Union Pacific Railroad legacy train went on sale at 10 a.m. today.
The 50th Anniversary Special, presented by the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, will include a round trip to North Platte, Neb., on Nov. 13 in “the grand old style of passenger travel,” according to a brochure from Friends of the Union Pacific Railroad Museum. Boarding will begin at 6:30 a.m., with the departure following at 7:30 a.m.
Passengers will ride in historic lounge, diner and coach cars pulled by UP’s “Living Legend” steam locomotive, engine No. 844, eat lunch and dinner on the train, travel through the world’s largest railroad classification yard – Bailey Yard – and return to Council Bluffs with a diesel locomotive pulling the train, the brochure states.
The railcars used will be authentic rolling stock from the height of passenger train travel, said Mark Davis, UP spokesman.
“All of the railcars in this excursion are some of the last railcars built for UP in the 1950s,” he said.
“We still maintain a fleet of these passenger cars – about 50 – that we use not only for fundraisers such as this but other special events.”
The journey is expected to take about 15 hours, including the trip through the railyard and stops to lubricate the steam engine and switch locomotives, he said.
The capacity of the train is about 275 people, according to Davis. Ticket prices vary, depending on where seating is located.
Seats on the City of San Francisco Main Lounge-Dome Lounge car come with hot lunch and dinner and are priced at $1,000 each.
All other tickets come with a box lunch and hot dinner.
Other seats are, Walter Dean Dome Lounge, $850; Walter Dean Main Lounge, $700; City of Portland Dome Diner, $700; main/lower level dining room, $500; Columbine Dome coach, $250; lower level coach (limited to four per person), $200; Katy Flyer, Coach (limited to four per person), $200.
Tickets are available only at www.uprrmuseum.org and www.upsteam.com. Since the train will be made up of antique equipment, it will not be wheelchair accessible.
No passengers younger than 12 will be allowed.
A portion of the ticket price is tax-deductible. For more information, call the museum at (712) 329-8307.