I would have to say, the 1984 New Orleans Worlds Fair Daylight trip (Portland, OR to New Orleans, LA and return).

the route of the sunset limited. nice.

Well, Im going on the 261 tomorrow with Mill City but I want to go on a real steam train trip and put some mileage behind me

I've ridden steam excursions all over the east coast and mid-west. This ranges to the Mount Washington Cog Railway (when it was 100% steam) to N&W 611 to NKP 765 around horseshoe curve to the local museum 0-4-0T putzing along at 10 MPH, among many, many others.

My all time favorite steam train ride was this summer and is probably not what many here are thinking it may be.

I had the real pleasure to visit Greenfield Village, The Henry Ford, and ride 2 roundtrips on the Wieser Railroad - the ~ 2 mile railroad surrounding Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. The train was 3 open air cars pulled by the Thomas Edison, a 4-4-0 pieced together by Henry Ford in the 1930s from parts from several Manchester built 1800s locomotives. A super friendly crew was running that day - great group of guys. The 20 minute trip sort of reminded me about my time on the local park railroad. In the roundhouse, which can be walked through were two other operating steamers - another operable 4-4-0 and an operable 0-6-4T as well as a 4-4-2, Plymouth Switcher and GE 45 tonner. An 0-6-0 was in their "back 40" awaiting restoration. Lots of cool railroad type equipment around - coal tower, water tower, Wig-Wag crossing signals, etc

Just a really fun little operation (not to mention the Village and Museum are world-class facilities) with some really nice folks running it. The Edison was a neat loco - I forgot to ask the crew the story with the tender. It had a very "European" look to it. I wonder if it is original to the loco's building.

I've ridden alot of railroad excursions over the years, but a few really come to mind:

• The Cumbres & Toltec in early fall. It's as close to a time machine as you can have, standing in the yard at Chama.

• Behind N&W 1218, leaning out of a window in the crew car. At night, at track speed (no way I could say exactly how fast that was but we weren't creeping along) heading back to Jacksonville, FL. It felt like being inside an O Winston Link photo.

• 4449 hauling at quite a clip, for the NRHS convention in Tacoma in 2011. I rode the ferry run from Portland as well as the Stampede Pass trips. Both were amazing (the former for speed, the latter for scenery). Stampede is 'rare mileage' as passenger traffic is uber rare there. Such a great day.

In 2 days, I'll be riding the TVRM trip to Summerville, GA (assuming the hurricane coming to the coast doesn't swing wildly to the west). I called TVRM today and was told that 4501 should be on the head end. I was hoping for a double-header with 630, but I hardly have room to complain.

I've got two. The New River Train, although it's not nearly as good anymore pulled by the boring Amtrak P42's....and the Chessie Steam Special.

SJC posted:

I've ridden steam excursions all over the east coast and mid-west. This ranges to the Mount Washington Cog Railway (when it was 100% steam) to N&W 611 to NKP 765 around horseshoe curve to the local museum 0-4-0T putzing along at 10 MPH, among many, many others.

My all time favorite steam train ride was this summer and is probably not what many here are thinking it may be.

I had the real pleasure to visit Greenfield Village, The Henry Ford, and ride 2 roundtrips on the Wieser Railroad - the ~ 2 mile railroad surrounding Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. The train was 3 open air cars pulled by the Thomas Edison, a 4-4-0 pieced together by Henry Ford in the 1930s from parts from several Manchester built 1800s locomotives. A super friendly crew was running that day - great group of guys. The 20 minute trip sort of reminded me about my time on the local park railroad. In the roundhouse, which can be walked through were two other operating steamers - another operable 4-4-0 and an operable 0-6-4T as well as a 4-4-2, Plymouth Switcher and GE 45 tonner. An 0-6-0 was in their "back 40" awaiting restoration. Lots of cool railroad type equipment around - coal tower, water tower, Wig-Wag crossing signals, etc

Just a really fun little operation (not to mention the Village and Museum are world-class facilities) with some really nice folks running it. The Edison was a neat loco - I forgot to ask the crew the story with the tender. It had a very "European" look to it. I wonder if it is original to the loco's building.

 

I'm a bit biased and like that place too but I'm glad you enjoyed your trip.  That's where I work as an engineer/fireman (not sure if I was there that day or not).  For a small 3 mile railroad, we have some tricky operating conditions such as a couple 2%+ grades and some pretty tight curves.

As for the tender that is pulled by Edison, we're fairly certain it's from the original building of the locomotive.  It's identical to the one shown behind the Manchester engine in a photo taken before it got rebuilt as the Edison we know today.  Thomas Edison owned a Portland cement quarry in New Jersey where the locomotive operated.  Henry Ford wanted a Mason 4-4-0 for his museum but none were available, so his buddy Thomas Edison gave him the Manchester 0-4-0 which was rebuilt as a 4-4-0 in the Ford Rouge plant locomotive shop in 1932.  It sat in the museum after the makeover until it was operationally rebuilt and began running in the village when the railroad was built in the early 1970's.  Since it's original rebuild, it's been modified over the years and now resembles a locomotive that would have been rebuilt in the 1930's with electric lighting and a steel cab among other changes.

Most Memorable: A family trip behind N&W 611 at the NRHS convention in Richmond VA in the 80's.  Great run-bys at Balcony Falls, rode through a forest fire, we were detoured abound a heat kinked rail, A/C failed at 95 degrees (but there were plenty of seats in the open cars, hot but so much fun) , good southern bar-b-que, ice cream from the railroad YMCA (we cleaned them out), 14+ hours behind one of the icons of steam. And a night photo session the next evening at the triple crossing to top it off.  Ahh. The good old days.

Earl   

Well, my favorite steam excursion is whichever one I'm going on next! However, my favorite experience behind a steam locomotive was highballing towards the Twin Cities at 55mph behind the one and only 261. I stuck my head out the baggage car door and let the wind whip through my hair (getting lots of cinders in my face as a result). I hope to repeat this experience this weekend as i ride west behind the old girl on the old Milwaukee Road mainline.

I was on several of the High Iron trips out of Hoboken, Port Jervis and Horseshoe Curve. But my favorite was on the CN from Montreal to Quebec City. Had engine trouble and got back to Montreal about 10 hours late. Can't beat the snow and the cold.

Scotie

Scotie posted:

I was on several of the High Iron trips out of Hoboken, Port Jervis and Horseshoe Curve. But my favorite was on the CN from Montreal to Quebec City. Had engine trouble and got back to Montreal about 10 hours late. Can't beat the snow and the cold.

Scotie

I am a big fan of 6218. I even ran a fictional excursion in a simulator on Metro North's Harlem Line, from Southeastern to North White Plains. Kind of hard to do with the third rail. 

My next. And as Matt mentioned above, that will be the 261.

1. Chessie Steam Special; 1977-78  Ross Rowland and xRDG. #2101 roam the Chessie System.
I was lucky at the age of 18, to ride behind her twice in 1978, and also witness the train conquer Mance curve on Sand Patch in a pouring rain.

2. Any trip on the East Broad Top, I would visit 6 times from 1973-2008, I would eat more cinders on the "Eastie" than any other steam ride.

3. September 4 , 2015; on the "Phoebe Snow" and Nickel Plate #765 out of Steamtown, stalling in Nay Aug tunnel. Then experiencing one of the guttiest performances in modern times as 765 walked the train back through the tunnel, and then crawling upgrade through Dunmore. On the same trip, riding an open vestibule on "Stampede Pass" (x-NP dome) upgrade from East Stroudsburg to Mount Pocono, just enjoying open-air exposure  to a steam engine working.

Oh man I was so excited about tomorrow I forgot about the Durango & Silverton, ABSOLUTLY SPECTACULAR. If you went to Colorado and only took that train ride it would be worth it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZt83PevSyM

Did you know that the Polar Express, Steam Locomotive, that is a famous Christmas Movie. Is based in Owosso, Michigan. Get all the details in this video from my YT Channel.  They have several fall tour trips and North Pole Trips. All aboard.

For more information & tickets:  http://www.michigansteamtrain.com/

Gary - Railfan 

August 31st, 1958:  Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 4-6-4 #3001, Chicago-Rock Island, via Barstow.   As was the custom on fantrips of the era, we were profoundly late leaving Barstow, and 3001 had to rip to get in at some faint approximation of a decent hour. The engineer really opened her wide, and undoubtedly we were running at the allowed steam maximum of 90 mph, maybe even a nudge more. As we raced across the farmland, with whistle screaming for rural crossings, doors would come open in farm houses, as the country folk were seemingly saying goodbye to an old friend.

I was perched in a half dutch door in the vestibule of my car, as we came curving into Mendota, IL, to drop a few passengers. It was about midnight, one lone auto pulled up to a crossing gate, otherwise the streets were empty. As we pulled out from the station, the booming exhaust ricochetted from the buildings on one side of the street, to the other, as did the whistle. Majestic !  For a 13 year old lad in the 1950's, life was never better !

As they say, "Any excursion you can walk away from is a good one." 

Durango & Silverton, especially when it was the real D&RGW in the 1950's.

Cumbres and Toltec

New River Gorge to Hinton and back, behind Steam 

Tough one.  I've only been on two, and both were on the Cuyahoga Valley Line.  The first in 1976 and the second just a couple of weeks ago.  In 76, the 4070 pulled the train.  In 2016 it was the 767.  I was 6 the first time around and don't remember much more than "big, black, loud".  And while "big, black, loud" certainly befits a Berkshire, I obviously remember a lot more than just that.

So what's my dilemma?  There were several family members who rode the 1976 trip who are no longer with us.  I hate to play Debbie Downer, but how could I choose?

Durango!

Dick

1. Cumbres and Toltec.   The ultimate time machine.  Nothing finer than listening to a K-36 barking its way up to Cumbres Pass from Chama. 
2. 261 excursion across the North Shore Scenic from Duluth to Two Harbors, and then across the DM&IR all the way back thru Proctor, down the hill, back to Duluth.  That excursion was somewhere around 2000. 
3. Durango and Southern.  Absolute breathtaking scenery, and a fine railway and narrow gauge steam operation.  

Regards,

Jerry

A slow crawl for the 2 mile ride home in a boxcar, after slipping out of puiblic schools class early, then jumping off in time to calmly walk past the small group of dropped jawed private students, to say hi to my pals, making them much cooler 

Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village are only about 4 miles from there. They have a few engines running and retired to the musuem both.

Algoma Central Railway

129 Bay St, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 6Y2,   

Phone: 705-946-7300 / 800-242-9287

No steam at this time.  Three Diesels, and twenty modern passenger cars. Into Northern Canada.

390 Miles North of my train room. Detroit, Michigan

Tickets & information for fall trips   http://www.agawatrain.com/    Gary

Not steam and not really an excursion as such.  In 1983 IRM sent 6 heavyweights to Chicago for use in the made for TV movie "The Dollmalker" and their 15 seconds of fame.

About a dozen of us rode along from Union to Western Avenue to "make sure everything went OK."

Rusty

Cumbres and Toltec.   very authentic rather than circus.    I used to really like the EBT as best, but they have not run for 2-3 years.

1) N&W 611

2) EBT 15

3) WMSRR 734

Oregon Coast Crawler on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railway!

Cumbres and Toltec!!!   Ride in the parlor car!!!

Bob

10/7/2016, Chanhassen, Minnesota

p51 posted:

In 2 days, I'll be riding the TVRM trip to Summerville, GA (assuming the hurricane coming to the coast doesn't swing wildly to the west). I called TVRM today and was told that 4501 should be on the head end. I was hoping for a double-header with 630, but I hardly have room to complain.

I rode most of the Cumbres and Toltec in an open gon with yellow aspens in Sept.  Colorado with a capital "C"!!

Durango & Silverton and the Cumbres & Toltec (from both ends).

I've been lucky to have gone on a large number of excursions (US, NZ, Uruguay, Europe, etc.) - and each and every one of them is memorable.

My favorite right now is the CASS Railway in WV.  

We'll be going on that train again right before York (that is, next week).

#1:  N&W #611 during the 80's and early 90's before the restoration; and 2015 & 2016 excursions after the restoration.  Awesome!

#2:  NKP #765 with the "Horseshoe Curve" special.  Memorable!

#3:  #261 pulling the New River Train excursion in West Virginia. Spectacular!

#4:  #6 Cass Scenic Railroad all the way to the top of the mountain!  Always Unique!

The 3 best for me 

Durango and Silverton.....Amtrak California Zephyr west of Denver........VIA Canadian Vancouver to Toronto.

Clem