Most Frequently Asked Questions About Chartering Private Railcars
The following questions are those that we hear quite frequently, and while the answers are used to illustrate the complexity of what we do, it is always wise to ask for more specific information.
Why is it so expensive to charter a private rail car?
Why can't you quote me an exact cost over the phone?
I want to take a train trip on a private rail car, but
I have absolutely no idea where to go. Can you offer some suggestions?
Why can't I get a break on my fare if I don't drink alcoholic
beverages? Can't these be sold separately so that it doesn't get added
to our fare?
We would like to take our children along on a trip and
were wondering if you can accommodate us?
I would like to do a one-way trip to Denver, but the
cost for a one-way trip is almost the same as for the round-trip. How
can this be?
How far in advance should I plan on booking my trip?
Can you operate in conjunction with the Napa Valley Wine
Train?
What is the most scenic route that you can take in the
West?
I sure would like to take a trip on your car, but those
prices are way beyond my means! Can you recommend an alternative?
Q: Why is it so expensive to charter a private rail car?
A: There is no one simple answer to this question, and every operator fixes their pricing strategy differently. However, the one thing we all have in common is that most of our costs are fixed. Amtrak charges us a flat per mile fee of $1.80 per mile when we are operating in live charter service. Amtrak also charges us even when we are traveling without passengers, although a minor discount is applied to a portion of the trip. We also have fixed costs in positioning our car from Redwood City to Oakland. These charges add about $3000 to the tab even before our passengers set foot on the car!
If there are special services required to complete your itinerary that are not covered under the current Amtrak contract, we will be responsible for paying them. Among these charges would be for switching the car at a destination such as Sparks, NV. If Amtrak has to add an extra engine to the train in order to accommodate our car on the rear, the cost for that extra locomotive will run $2.50 per mile in addition to the $1.80 per mile charge. Sometimes, the fee for adding the extra engine can also extend to having to pay for bringing an engine in from another part of the country, and to return it once we are done with it! All in all, a pretty expensive proposition.
Also figured into the cost of operating the car is the insurance we must pay for liability coverage and for property damage. Both policies are also expensive to obtain in order to receive good coverage. In order to cover this cost and wheel wear, we attach a $0.50 per mile charge for the duration of the itinerary.
Another fixed cost is your crew of chef and steward. While this is a relatively minor cost compared with some of the other fees, it does add up depending on how long your trip will be. Normally, we charge full rate while we are live whether moving or laying over in a rail facility. If you opt to stay elsewhere at your destination(s), the rate for the crew drops to one half of their regular rate of pay. This is also true of positioning moves and one-way trips.
The rental of the car is a fixed amount per day, and is also flexible as to whether the car is operated live or "dead". This fee covers not only the rental but the wear and tear of a normal charter. This fee can also cover the cleaning of table and bed linens, upholstery, and carpets.
Finally, we are also responsible for paying for parking in the various destinations on the Amtrak system. Amtrak charges us $100 per night at most locations for occupied storage, and $130 per night at "Key Facilities" on the system. One exception to this is Denver where the facilities are owned by an entity other than Amtrak, and the rate is somewhat higher. Your charter operator should be able to let you know what these costs will be in advance.
So much for our fixed costs. This leaves food and beverage as the only area where we can have some flexibility to adjust our costs. However, this amount is so minimal compared to the rest of the fees, it really doesn't amount to a significant savings overall!
Q: Why can't you quote me an exact cost over the phone?
A: We can only give you a "ballpark" quote for your overall budgeting purposes. An exact quote can take from several hours to several days depending on the complexity of your itinerary. Among the things taken into consideration are the destination(s) involved, positioning charges, Amtrak mileage, parking charges, switching fees, extra engine charges, and the current schedule of Amtrak trains that will be needed to complete your itinerary. Other factors that affect our pricing are the number of people traveling, whether or not you will be laying over with us in your destination(s), and if your trip is one-way or round-trip.
All in all, our "ballpark" figures are usually within a couple hundred dollars of the actual cost (once we determine what that will be), but it can vary by up to several thousand dollars on long and complex itineraries.
Q: I want to take a train trip on a private rail car, but I have absolutely no idea of where I can go? Can you offer some suggestions?
A: Of course we can! First, we would like you to take a look at Amtrak's Website which has a map of the United States showing the various destinations available. Please keep in mind that not all of the "stations" shown on the system can accommodate a private rail car laying over for the night, but most of the larger cities do have such facilities. Secondly, since we operate primarily in the West, we can offer several outstanding destinations including: Seattle, Denver, Whitefish (Glacier National Park or the Izzak Walton Inn), Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Houston, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Chicago. All of these destinations are either two or three day trips one-way depending on the route you select.
For shorter distances we highly recommend the Truckee-Tahoe/Reno/Sparks route, especially from January through the end of March. Traveling via private rail car over the Sierra Nevada Mountains in winter has to be experienced in order to be believed! This trip takes about eight hours from Oakland, and includes one full sit-down multi-course meal plus cocktails and Hors d'oeuvres in the late afternoon. (However, we cannot provide layover services for passengers on this trip at Sparks as this is an active freight yard, and this is not allowed by the railroad).
Los Angeles is also only a day away from the Bay Area, and offers some gorgeous coast side scenery from San Luis Obispo to just north of Los Angeles. This journey begins in San Jose, and takes about eleven hours to complete. Passengers will be treated to two full sit-down multi-course meals, with beverages and light snacks throughout the day.
We can also accommodate longer distance trips to the East including such destinations as Atlanta, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, and Boston, (just to name a few). However, the Virginia City cannot go to New York City because the car would have to be structurally altered in order to fit their boarding platforms, and the third electric rail.
Q: Why can't I get a break on my fare if I don't drink alcoholic beverages? Can't these be sold separately so that it doesn't get added to our fare?
A: Another good question. Normally, when we quote you a price for a trip, we also figure in alcoholic beverages as part of the service. If it is just you and your party on a private charter, we can take this into consideration and adjust the pricing accordingly. For our public trips, it is just too difficult to figure out how much (if any) savings there is per person.
As for selling alcoholic beverages onboard, we would be required to carry a liquor license to serve these drinks to our passengers. These licenses are very expensive and take time and plenty of red tape to obtain. For our purposes, we (and other operators) find it more economically feasible to include alcoholic beverages in the price of our fares. Again, the savings you would realize from not being charged for liquor service would be very minimal.
Q: We would like to take our children along on a trip, and were wondering if you can accommodate us?
A: In most cases, the answer is "yes!" We welcome children aboard the car to share in their family's wonderful adventure. However, there are a few things that you should know beforehand so that we can make it a pleasant experience for them and for you
First, a railcar can be a very dangerous place for a youngster if they are not properly supervised, and there are many things that are strictly off-limits to children. For instance, the Virginia City has several electrical cabinets near the vestibule end of the car that contain extremely high (and deadly) voltages. There is no second chance should a child find their way into one of these cabinets.
The open observation platform also presents many risks to young ones (and older passengers alike). It is not recommended, for instance, that parents carry babies or small children on the platform. Should an emergency braking occur, which could happen at any time, a parent may not be able to hold on to the child and maintain their balance, and injury could more than likely occur for both the child and the parent. Also, parents must be prepared to hold on to their child's hand for the entire duration of the trip, or to find another responsible party to accompany them and to share this responsibility! Our staff is ill-equipped to bear the responsibility for looking after a child while trying to provide first class service to the rest of our passengers.
While these are just a few of the more serious things to consider, we are more than happy to accommodate children. A special menu for a child or children is a very easy thing for our staff to accomplish. Also, if a child is restricted to a special diet or cannot have certain foods and beverages, we will be most happy to comply (provided we are given advance warning). Small infants and nursing mothers are no problem as we can set aside one stateroom for their use.
All in all, traveling with a child can be a delightful experience for you and for that special diminutive someone! With care and with proper preparation, this can really be a thrill that a child will always remember as being very, very special!
Q: I would like to do a one-way trip to Denver, but the cost for a one-way trip is almost the same as for the round-trip. How can this be?
A: Sadly, this brings us back to the "fixed costs" discussed above. Almost all of our expenses in operating a trip to Denver are fixed, including sending the car back to the Bay Area. We are given a slight break by Amtrak as far as mileage is concerned, however parking costs while laying over in Denver for the next train back to the Bay Area, staff, car rental, insurance, and positioning costs will remain very much the same as for a live charter.
Q: How far in advance should I plan on booking my trip?
A: The more notice you can give us the better! Ideally, we should have a minimum of at least 60 days notice of an upcoming charter. The reason for this is Amtrak accepts our Movement Requests on a first come, last position on the train. The earlier we have your request, the better chance we have of guaranteeing that we can reserve the highly coveted, rear most position.
We would normally require a $500 deposit about 60 days out, and the balance will be due 30 days prior to scheduled departure.
We cannot emphasize the point of planning ahead strongly enough as it is important for your comfort in being able to deal with the financial implications that such a journey can present. It is no fun for you to be "under-the-gun" and having to struggle to make payment deadlines in order to be assured of having a charter that is a "go!" Planning the journey and developing ideas, menus, and making plans are all a part of the fun of chartering a private rail car. After all, we really do take care of you through all phases of the chartering process!
Q: Can you operate in conjunction with the Napa Valley Wine Train?
A: Oh boy, do we wish we could! Probably of all the questions we get asked, this is certainly a very popular idea! Unfortunately (for us), the Napa Valley Wine Train is inaccessible to us from a standpoint of positioning logistics. The cost to bring The Virginia City to Napa and return her would be prohibitive unless your name happens to be Bill Gates! While we think that this would be a very special opportunity for a corporate charter, or if the wineries found value in having us there, however it is very doubtful that the operators of the wine train would necessarily agree to our presence.
Sadly, this is one charter request that shall remain out of our reach for some time to come.
Q: What is the most scenic route that you can take in the West?
A: Any of them. Actually, it all depends on what you are looking for. The trip between Oakland and Denver is certainly spectacular in that you get to cross two major mountain ranges (the Sierras and the Rockies), and spend quite a bit of time winding through spectacular canyons and following the famous Colorado River; not to mention, crossing the Continental Divide!
However, the Coast Starlight route is also exceptionally beautiful and offers coastal scenery, mountains, the Columbia River, as well as bucolic pastures and farmlands, and major cities such as Seattle, Portland, Oakland/San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles.
We would be hard pressed to have to chose between these two routes as each has its own unique beauty to bestow on travelers. Either destination would be a worthwhile journey; the only differentiation would have to do with the season in which to travel, and that is up to you!
Q: I sure would like to take a trip on your car, but those prices are way beyond my means! Can you recommend another alternative?
A: You bet! Try our Public Trips that we operate to various destinations throughout the year. You can "try on" a trip to Seattle, Denver, Los Angeles, or Reno, for a mere fraction of what it would cost to charter the car yourselves.
Actually, we recommend this practice highly to new customers who are not quite sure if travel by private rail car is their cup of tea. By taking a public trip, you will get a feel for the services you could expect to find on a private charter. You will become familiar with many of the various aspects of travel by rail including the wonderful passengers who often go out of their way to take these trips. It has become a real "habit" with many of our passengers, and we really do endeavor to make each successive trip a memorable experience!
