Roaring Camp Train (Santa Cruz) or Skunk Train (Mendocino)?

[eureka1]

Why don't you take them or send them on a REAL train trip? Amtrak to Chicago takes two days and costs around $170.

[marcopolo666]

For me, it would be too long and too expensive. The "California Zephyr" (same train all the way) from Martinez to ChiTown :

- takes 50 hours
- costs $161 ONE WAY, $322 round trip (for the "value" price)
- is for a SEAT and not a BED (50 hours in a SEAT? No thank you!)

I'd rather take a plane, personally.

[Mr5150]

Originally Posted by srjth

Did you find skunk to be a real train because it was an all day adventure or because of some other reasons?

Unlike the Roaring camp train, the Skunk line was a working line until 2001. Roaring camp has always been a tourist attraction. Roaring Camp and Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[srjth]

Originally Posted by marcopolo666

I didn't provide info on two other possibilities in the bay area, because I'm not quite sure what you mean by "an adult train experience" (my "adult train experience" would involve Scarlett Johansson or Jessica Alba, and lots of champagne ...).

The two "real" trains that I mentioned earlier (Roaring Camp and Niles Canyon) are restored, historical trains. Depending on where you live, you could also take either CalTrain (to go up or down the peninsula) or Amtrak (up/down the east bay). These are actual, current train routes that run just about every day - but they use diesel, not steam, engines. This could be a fun outing for you and the kids - "hey, let's visit Aunt Sue in Martinez, AND TAKE THE TRAIN TO GET THERE". Or "let's head up to see a Giants game - AND TAKE THE TRAIN". Or take the train to visit Stanford, which is a fun afternoon outing in itself (Stanford has some great architecture, a great view of the south bay from Hoover tower, a collection of Rodin bronzes, and almost 100 pieces of outdoor art). They might get a kick out of using the train as an actual mode of transportation instead of just a fun ride. Both CalTrain and Amtrak load passengers in San Jose (Diridon station).

CalTrain Schedules

Train & Bus Tickets - Amtrak

(Amtrak is VERY expensive, IMHO. I'd use CalTrain. A single adult round-trip from SJ to Sac is $80 on Amtrak - a round trip from SJ to SF is $18 on CalTrain.)

Thanks again. I live in the north bay, btw, and thought it would be nice to ride a steam train.