Hard to pick 1st. Peru Rail from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Callientes. Somewhere difficult to get to and mad loco haulage. 2nd. Britomart Centre to Papatoetoe. Somewhere difficult to get to and mad loco haulage and it was Christmas Eve and we were catching a flight from Auckland to Santiago. 3rd.The Valiant Thunderer Railtour. Some amazing loco haulage.
-
Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
What is your most memorable train journey?
- Thread starter JDi
- Start date
- Status
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
ac6000cw
Established Member
Most exhilarating ride - A mid-1970s BR excursion from Birmingham to Edinburgh, Class 86 + Mk1 carriage 'excursion set'. Last passenger stop Wolverhampton - after that it went like the proverbial bat-out-of-hell over the twists and turns of the northern WCML, getting to Carstairs over an hour early...
Most unexpected - On a group enthusiast trip to Chicago area, we were booked to visit the Wisconsin Central workshops and yard at Fond-du-Lac (north of Milwaukee). Expecting to have to drive there and back from Chicago, WC decided to surprise us by laying on a private train (completely free!) to take us there and back! Two very nice business cars (one of them a dome car) hauled by an EMD GP40. Food, drink, and open porches/balconies on the cars
. It doesn't get much better than a free ride standing on an open balcony a few feet behind a 3000hp GP40 as it accelerates away...
Most scenic - Pretty much any journey through the Alps. Last year we did Lugano - Göschenen (on SBB) - Andermatt - Brig (on FOB) - Kandersteg - Spiez - Zweisimmen (on BLS) - Gstaad - Montreux (on MOB) - Geneva (SBB), weaving back and forth across the Swiss Alps over the course of a week, and also doing some walking in them.
Bit of everything - Skagway to White Pass summit (Alaska) on the 'White Pass and Yukon' railroad. A long train of old-fashioned (looking) passenger cars with open balconies at the ends, heated with wood-burning stoves. A pair of lusty, great looking, very noisy, diesels on the front and miles of 4% gradients to climb to reach the snowy summit. Poor weather (rain and very low cloud) but unforgettable.
Most unexpected - On a group enthusiast trip to Chicago area, we were booked to visit the Wisconsin Central workshops and yard at Fond-du-Lac (north of Milwaukee). Expecting to have to drive there and back from Chicago, WC decided to surprise us by laying on a private train (completely free!) to take us there and back! Two very nice business cars (one of them a dome car) hauled by an EMD GP40. Food, drink, and open porches/balconies on the cars
. It doesn't get much better than a free ride standing on an open balcony a few feet behind a 3000hp GP40 as it accelerates away...Most scenic - Pretty much any journey through the Alps. Last year we did Lugano - Göschenen (on SBB) - Andermatt - Brig (on FOB) - Kandersteg - Spiez - Zweisimmen (on BLS) - Gstaad - Montreux (on MOB) - Geneva (SBB), weaving back and forth across the Swiss Alps over the course of a week, and also doing some walking in them.
Bit of everything - Skagway to White Pass summit (Alaska) on the 'White Pass and Yukon' railroad. A long train of old-fashioned (looking) passenger cars with open balconies at the ends, heated with wood-burning stoves. A pair of lusty, great looking, very noisy, diesels on the front and miles of 4% gradients to climb to reach the snowy summit. Poor weather (rain and very low cloud) but unforgettable.
Sun's just starting to set one evening last April and I grab a shot of the back of a 313 as it comes to a stand at Southbourne before I hop on. "Alright mate?" asks the guard and I think nothing of it.
He quickly comes into the saloon after he gives the right away and says "you can probably get some decent shots from the back cab" and invites me to stand at the back with him as I get a few shots of the sun hitting the tracks along the West Coastway. Conversation turns to his role as a Southern guard and he seemed pretty emotional about it. "I just want to be out there, helping people, I love talking to passengers and doing something useful for them. And I can't even do that because they've given me a broken ticket machine. What's the use in one of those? Do I go up and down checking tickets but refusing to sell any?" We had a good chat and I saw myself off at Chichester before realising that on my linear shack visiting spree (killing time before meeting a friend) he'd reappear at Goring-by-Sea.
Sure enough, the 313 pulls in again and i'm ushered straight into the back cab and we resume our conversation, with another bloke almost missing the train and being invited to jump on through the same door after the doors had closed. "Don't worry mate, we don't go until you're on!" calls the guard as he comes barrelling down the ramp.
The bloke ended up giving me advice on dashing from West Worthing to Worthing and gave me a friendly handshake before I disappeared off into the night. I don't think any journey can top that one this year.
He quickly comes into the saloon after he gives the right away and says "you can probably get some decent shots from the back cab" and invites me to stand at the back with him as I get a few shots of the sun hitting the tracks along the West Coastway. Conversation turns to his role as a Southern guard and he seemed pretty emotional about it. "I just want to be out there, helping people, I love talking to passengers and doing something useful for them. And I can't even do that because they've given me a broken ticket machine. What's the use in one of those? Do I go up and down checking tickets but refusing to sell any?" We had a good chat and I saw myself off at Chichester before realising that on my linear shack visiting spree (killing time before meeting a friend) he'd reappear at Goring-by-Sea.
Sure enough, the 313 pulls in again and i'm ushered straight into the back cab and we resume our conversation, with another bloke almost missing the train and being invited to jump on through the same door after the doors had closed. "Don't worry mate, we don't go until you're on!" calls the guard as he comes barrelling down the ramp.
The bloke ended up giving me advice on dashing from West Worthing to Worthing and gave me a friendly handshake before I disappeared off into the night. I don't think any journey can top that one this year.
- Status