Excursion train

A steam powered excursion train stops at the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Passenger Station in Iowa City, Iowa in 2006

An excursion train is a chartered train run for a special event or purpose. Examples of excursion trains are: a train to a major sporting event; a train run for railfans or tourism; a chartered train such as the Reno Fun Train that runs to the casinos in the winter on weekends;^[1] a special train operated by the railway for employees and prominent customers.

United Kingdom

A number of excursion trains are run in the United Kingdom and some examples are pictured below.

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  46303 Princess Margaret Rose at Holyhead, Wales, operating the Intercity Sunset railtour in 1992

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  60019 Bittern at London King's Cross railway station with the Silver Jubilee railtour in 2010

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  60163 Tornado in Lancashire, England, operating the Cathedrals Express in 2012

Tour operators in the UK include Steam Dreams,^[2] Torbay Express,^[3] Orient-Express,^[4] UK Railtours.^[5] Further details can be found on the Main Line Steam Tours index page.^[6]

United States

Preserved China Railways QJ class locomotives 6988 and 7081 operating a triple-headed excursion train with Milwaukee Road 261 on the Iowa Interstate Railroad in 2006.

The Pennsylvania Railroad ran special excursion trains from New York City and Washington, D.C. to the Army–Navy Game in years when the game was held in Philadelphia at Municipal Stadium (1936–1941, 1945–1975).^[7] The special Pennsylvania trains were discontinued as the railroad, then known as Penn Central was on the brink of declaring bankruptcy, with the last trains running for the 1975 game. The tradition of running excursion trains to the Army-Navy college football game was resurrected in 2005 when philanthropists Bennett and Vivian Levin chartered a special train composed of their own locomotives and some donated passenger cars^[8] to take recuperating wounded veterans from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland to the game in Philadelphia.^{[9][10][11][12]} The Army-Navy Game trains ran in 2005–2008, were suspended in 2009 due to a death in the sponsors' family, and again in 2010.^[9] The Army-Navy football game is a big enough event in Philadelphia that the local rail transit company SEPTA also runs extra trains on game day.^[13]

Since 1908 an excursion train has carried travelers between Denver, Colorado's Union Station and the Cheyenne Depot Museum to attend the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo event.^[14]

Since 2013, Amtrak has operated the Autumn Express every year during late October or early November. It is an excursion train that runs on lines normally used only for freight. The train originates and ends at the same station. Past trips have included Philadelphia - Harrisburg via the NEC, the port road branch, and the keystone corridor; Philadelphia - Harrisburg via Reading, and Albany/Schenectady to East Deerfield, Massachusetts via the Hoosac Tunnel.

Other countries

Pictures of excursion trains in various countries.

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  Australia

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  Austria

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  Czech Republic

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  Germany

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  Japan

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  Poland

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  South Korea

Seasonal trains

Seasonal trains tend to run on a schedule at certain times of the year. Examples are:

• Ski trains which operate in winter, with emphasis on weekend service
• Train to the Game in the New York City area goes to Yankee Stadium in the summer and to the New Jersey Meadowlands in the fall

See also

• List of heritage railways
• Joyful Train
• Dinner trains usually operate on a schedule instead of for special events
• Union Pacific 844
• Private railroad car that may be hauled by special arrangements

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charter trains.