Looking to hop a train....

[Fake Healer]

My daughter(5) recently got interested in trains and wants to ride a fancy type of train, with a dining car and the whole nine yards. She thinks it would be 'really neat and fun'.
Does anyone know of a train that has a dining car and travels a reasonable distance within the US? I really am in unfamiliar territory but I know Paizo, and someone here will have some advice that will be good. Please help me figure out how to fulfill this dream of hers.
BTW I live in Delaware so if there are any that run from somewhere within a couple hundred miles that would be really cool, but anywhere in the US is useful also.

[Heathansson]

I took my kids to day out with Thomas; not dining car fancy--$20 for a half hour ride, and there's a locomotive mocked up like the Thomas engine.
They come around once a year; no dining car though.
I rode an Amtrak home from Basic Training in the Carolinas to Florida once; they had a dining car.

[Adam Daigle]

At first search I found this and this, but I will continue looking. My boss' kids is a self-proclaimed 'train addict' and they've taken a steam train in Texas. The kid loved it.

[Gavgoyle]

I know of a couple of trains in the Southwest... not great for you if you aren't doing the family vacation thing, but still.

There is the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, my in-law took a ride on the Chalma to Osier roundtrip and had a great time.

There is also a line that runs from Williams, AZ up to the Grand Canyon on the GC Railway. I can't recommend it enough. It's gorgeous country, the Canyon is absolutely awe inspiring. Flying into Flagstaff which is just east of Williams could make it relatively easy.

My father-in-law is an engineer (who designs the suspenson/break systems for trains, not the toot the horn kind). I'll ask him if he knows of any others.

[Molech]

There's got to be something from Baltimore through West Virginia into Ohio. I mean, there's got to be. And that's what, an hour away from you.

Or, if you ever make it out to Alaska -- Damn. Best train ride tours EVER.

-W. E. Ray

[Mark Moreland]

I don't know how far you'd want to travel, but there are a lot of historical trains you can ride throughout the west, some longer rides than others. If you're looking for a modern train, I recommend the Acela, which is run by Amtrak, and goes express through Boston, NY, Philly and DC. It's nice and new and, yes, it has a dining car. It's also pretty convenient from Delaware, I'd imagine.

[Lilith]

Cumbres & Toltec is indeed awesome. My dad is a big railroad fan, and we went on the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge in Colorado. A real experience - it's still coal-driven and the views are quite spectacular.

[Fake Healer]

I knew I could count on these boards!
I had forgotten about the Strasburg Railroad, Daigle. It's just over an hour from my house and I am gonna extend a Hershey Park trip into a weekend trip and hit that also (which just happens to fall on a Thomas the Train week at Strasburg!) so that is what I am going with.
I also kept all the links because my wife and I want to do a Route 66 RV trip in a few years and I liked some of the other options, including the Grand Canyon train.

Thanks all!

[Heathansson]

Just letcha know--that Thomas the Train Engine ride is about $20 a pop for 1/2 hour ride, so it's a bit pricey.

[Fake Healer]

Heathansson wrote:

Just letcha know--that Thomas the Train Engine ride is about $20 a pop for 1/2 hour ride, so it's a bit pricey.

Yeah, I saw that and it looks like a combo ticket(A 20 minute ride on Thomas and a 45 minute ride on the regular train) is like $25ish each which I don't mind much to let them have a cool memory. It is like double the regular ticket price for half the ride but meh...who cares if the kobolds like it, and my boy is starting to really get into him so I hope it connects with him.

[Heathansson]

Fake Healer wrote:

Heathansson wrote:

Just letcha know--that Thomas the Train Engine ride is about $20 a pop for 1/2 hour ride, so it's a bit pricey.

Yeah, I saw that and it looks like a combo ticket(A 20 minute ride on Thomas and a 45 minute ride on the regular train) is like $25ish each which I don't mind much to let them have a cool memory. It is like double the regular ticket price for half the ride but meh...who cares if the kobolds like it, and my boy is starting to really get into him so I hope it connects with him.

Right on--I just didn't want to sense a disturbance in the force whilst you were cursing my name.

[Fake Healer]

Heathansson wrote:

Fake Healer wrote:

Heathansson wrote:

Just letcha know--that Thomas the Train Engine ride is about $20 a pop for 1/2 hour ride, so it's a bit pricey.

Yeah, I saw that and it looks like a combo ticket(A 20 minute ride on Thomas and a 45 minute ride on the regular train) is like $25ish each which I don't mind much to let them have a cool memory. It is like double the regular ticket price for half the ride but meh...who cares if the kobolds like it, and my boy is starting to really get into him so I hope it connects with him.

Right on--I just didn't want to sense a disturbance in the force whilst you were cursing my name.

Your name shall remain uncursed, padawan.