Retro rail

EMERYVILLE, Calif. — The minute we climbed onboard the 1950s-era private Pullman car, we were transported to another era in travel entirely.

Porters dressed in neatly pressed white shirts with black bow ties helped us bring our luggage onboard, instructed us on how to operate the car’s vintage accoutrements such as porter call buttons, then invited the passengers into the art deco-furnished dining car for a nightcap.

As the train whistle blew and the Pullman car pulled away from the station here, hitched to the back of an Amtrak train heading north toward Oregon and Washington, the entire Uncommon Journeys experience became the complete antithesis of the high-paced, high-volume, high-traffic travel experience to which we have all grown so accustomed.

And while a slower-paced scenic train trip such as those offered by Uncommon Journeys might not be for everyone, rail-based vacations are seeing a steady increase in interest, perhaps as travelers look to the past for a less hurried, arguably more sophisticated alternative to many of today’s travel options.

“Does anyone know anyone who looks forward to a long airplane trip in coach?” asked Christopher Kyte, founder and chairman of Oakland, Calif.-based Uncommon Journeys. He created the company 23 years ago as a niche luxury rail and cruise company.

The company’s model hasn’t changed much since then, but business has continued to increase steadily at about 15% per year, Kyte said. He observed that a growing dissatisfaction with air travel has undoubtedly helped boost Uncommon Journeys’ business, along with the fact that there aren’t too many players in the vintage luxury rail travel market.

“We’ve been helped by a lot of previous competitors going out of business,” Kyte said.

In 2008, one of Uncommon Journeys’ competitors, GrandLuxe Rail Journeys, ceased operations. The company had operated the GrandLuxe Express, a luxury train consisting of restored rail cars from the ’40s and ’50s.
“I think in most of the previous cases, you either had companies that were badly managed for whatever reason or not great at marketing,” he said.

But in addition to that, he said, running a luxury rail vacation business is “very hard. I understand how to work with Amtrak, but it’s very difficult to work with Amtrak.”

Indeed, on an Uncommon Journeys trip last month, a train that was supposed to pull out of the Emeryville station at 10:30 p.m. on a Friday didn’t show up until at least an hour later. But once onboard Uncommon Journeys’ Pullman, some of the unavoidable inefficiencies and delays that plague all modes of travel seemed to fade along with the tracks disappearing into the darkness, and the upscale service and amenities onboard hastily replaced any lingering frustration with an air of satisfaction.

Over the next 18 hours, what this mode of travel has to offer revealed itself in the form of cozy sleeping cabins (most with wash basins and toilets, at least one with a standing shower), sweeping views of vibrant and changing landscapes, meals made to order and served elegantly by the porters in the dining car, unlimited alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages and ample time to catch up on reading, writing, chatting or just gazing out the window and pondering life.

For the other passengers, the rail portion of the trip was part of a larger 17-day Uncommon Journeys itinerary, Yosemite to Denali, which started in San Francisco and included an overnight in Yosemite. That was followed by the train ride to Seattle, where there was a two-night hotel stay. In Seattle, they would then switch to a Holland America Line cruise-tour that included a seven-day cruise and another train experience — this time in Holland America’s dedicated rail cars on the Alaska Railroad — to Denali National Park.

For 2014, Uncommon Journeys is adding 35% more capacity to its inventory to meet what Kyte said “seems to be no limit to the demand” for a product that an aging population looking for “enrichment vacations” is increasingly requesting. He said that Uncommon Journeys’ customers are people who have traveled internationally and are revisiting their homeland.

This year, the company partnered with the American Queen Steamboat Co., where Kyte serves as a co-owner and member of the board, to create itineraries that combine the train trips with cruises onboard the American Queen.

Uncommon Journeys isn’t the only North American operator seeing a growing desire for rail vacations. For 2013, Amtrak Vacations more than doubled the number of departure dates for its escorted rail journeys and is offering triple the amount of product for its independent travel packages compared with 2012.

Frank Marini, president of Yankee Leisure Group, which operates the Amtrak Vacations brands, has said he also believes rail is benefiting from the perception that air travel is becoming more of a hassle, as well as from the rising cost of gas.

Amtrak Vacations has seen bookings increase 110% in 2013 compared with 2012, he said.

“The forecast for 2014 looks even stronger as the excitement and opportunity for rail travel experiences continue to grow stronger,” said Marini, who added that the company is increasing capacity on most of its programs in 2014.

Amtrak Vacations’ escorted rail journeys are multi-day tours with a tour guide who travels with groups no larger than 28 people. The independent rail journeys are set itineraries with set pricing that travelers can do on their own. For 2013, Amtrak Vacations also has 14 rail getaways to cities including New York, Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, San Antonio, Seattle, Toronto and Montreal.

Earlier this year, Amtrak Vacations launched a Family Adventures program: nine itineraries designed for families with kids of all ages in destinations throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Both Uncommon Journeys and Amtrak Vacations are boosting capacity in their national parks programs, train trips that go through Glacier National Park, Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, among others.

Rocky Mountaineer

Another North American rail vacation operator that continues to grow its business is luxury Canadian rail company Rocky Mountaineer, which has served up sightseeing rail trips in Western Canada since 1990. This year, the company added its first itinerary that crosses the U.S. border.

The three-day Coastal Passage itinerary picks up or deposits passengers in Seattle as part of a journey via Vancouver. Coastal Passage customers can choose Jasper or Banff as their starting or ending point on the Alberta end of the itinerary.

The year is proving to be one of Rocky Mountaineer’s best on record, according to Karen Wiseman, director of USA sales for Rocky Mountaineer. The company is currently 20% ahead of last year in revenue, and its groups business has tripled over the last three years.

“To keep up with demand and remain best in class, we have focused on innovation for the last few years,” Wiseman said. As a result, the company introduced its higher-level SilverLeaf service (the company offers GoldLeaf, SilverLeaf and RedLeaf services onboard its trains) on its First Passage to the West route (from Van to Banff, Canada) last season, as well as on its Journey Through the Clouds route (from Van to Jasper) this year.

Clearly the interest in vacations via rail is there. And according to Marini, the reason for this renewed thirst for rail travel is a desire to slow down the vacation experience and take in the sights. “When you’re on a train, you really see America going by,” Marini said. “It might not be as fast, but that’s kind of the point.”

Follow Michelle Baran on Twitter @mbtravelweekly.