Private cars, also called “private varnish”, represent a mode of passenger railroading that’s intriguing and seemingly elusive to most viewing trackside. Who’s in that car? Where is it going? How are they able to do that? All questions that Trains.com staffer Bryson Sleppy has also pondered…and can now help us answer!
Follow video highlights of Bryson’s private train trip, hosted by Lowell Smith of Railsmith Models/Silver Smith Tours in the Milwaukee Road Super Dome, as it’s towed behind Amtrak’s California Zephyr between Emeryville, Calif., and Chicago, Ill. Then, enjoy the associated Trains.com article that reveals what it’s really like “inside” the world of private varnish.
Rode that train on its westbound leg from Chicago to Omaha. A dome car is the best way to go. Got to ride Superdomes before Amtrak, what a flashback! Thanx for posting!