Not Far from Idaho is a Tourist Train for the Ages

I like trains.  It runs in the family.  When I was a little boy, my dad had his own train set in the house.  With the heavy metal cars, you could get a shock from one part of the tracks.  You learned fast not to put a foot or hand there.  When I was about five years old, he took me on my first train ride.  The old line still exists, as I saw it several years ago in a scene from a Hallmark film about a prince who falls in love with an American woman.  There was a re-enactment of a hold-up when I was on board, and a guy played the guitar and sang for the passengers.

Love of Trains Spans Generations

Years later, when my daughter was about the same age, I took her on a fall foliage excursion.  I wouldn’t characterize her as excited, but also not bored.  There was a smaller working railroad that the kids could ride in circles, and she thought we should have one at home.

This Rail Line is Worth the Drive

One of my favorites in our neck of the woods is in Eli.  It operates year-round, with Halloween trains and a Christmas train (dress for cold!)  I caught a ride one summer day a couple of years ago, and let me tell you, I highly recommend you do the same.  The entire trip lasted roughly two hours, and you climb a mountain, and then come back down.  There’s an open observation car to enhance the view.  I caught a break on the boarding fee.  They gave me the senior discount.  There’s also a museum on site.  You can get more details at this link.

I made a few days out of the trip, with another day spent at Great Basin National Park, where you can explore a cave, too!