Pennsylvania Railroad Private Business Car 7503
Francis L Suter in service on the Strasburg Rail Road
Sample itinerary for a 15-day circle trip to the West Coast
Philadelphia · Washington · Chicago
· San Francisco · Seattle · Chicago · New York
Day 1
If you wish, board the car at Strasburg, Pa, or join
at Philadelphia or Washington. In Washington, we join the Capitol Limited
for our trip to Chicago. An elegant dinner is served as we pass through
the mountains of Maryland and West Virginia. The style of moguls of previous
generations is yours as our 90 tons of elegance speeds toward the Windy
City.
Day 2
Morning arrival in Chicago. The car is your base in Chicago,
as you shop and sightsee during the day. In the afternoon we are switched
onto the back of the California Zephyr, and we wave farewell to
Chicago from the open platform. We pass through the heartlands of America
and reflect on the vast distances in our country, which cannot be appreciated
from an airplane. Almost a thousand miles of plains passes under us as
we dash through the night to our rendezvous with the Rockies.
Day 3
The train is standing in Denver station as you enjoy
your gourmet breakfast and Blue Mountain coffee. We have climbed thousands
of feet during the night. Today will see the most breathtaking rail scenery
in the United States. Leaving Denver we begin climbing again, and the train
curves in its slow ascent of the Rockies. Through openings in the forest
you see the city retreating beneath you. We pass through the Moffat Tunnel,
which shortened the trip to California by eight hours when it opened in
1927. There are no highways here and motorists can never enjoy this scenery.
The train carefully snakes along a ledge in the Colorado Gorge. The Amtrak
passengers must admire this view through glass, but you can sit on the
open platform, nearly able to touch the rock on one side. By evening, we
are in Utah and during the night we speed across the desert flats.
Day 4
Today's travel takes us through Reno, across the heights
of the Sierra Nevada, and past Donner Lake and the American River Canyon.
We pass through the wine country, and on our arrival in the bay area, you
transfer to an elegant hotel in downtown San Francisco.
Day 5 - Day 6
Visit vineyards, eat well, and sightsee in the Bay Area
and the Wine Country.
Day 7
Departure for Seattle in the evening on the Coast
Starlight, Amtrak's answer to Interstate 5.
Day 8
We cross the Cascades of Oregon, as deer graze by the
right-of-way and clouds float above the valleys. Mount Ranier commands
your view as we draw closer to Puget Sound. At eight o'clock, we draw to
a stop in Seattle, the land of Dungeness Crab and Sockeye Salmon.
Day 9 - Day 10
As you sightsee in Seattle, the chef and steward are
replenishing the pantry of the Francis L. Suter from Seattle's limitless
offerings.
Day 11
Enjoy a lunch in Seattle, but return to the car afterwards,
as we leave for Chicago on the Empire Builder. Your gourmet dinner
is served as we cross the fruit groves of Washington State.
Day 12
We pass by Glacier Park and appreciate John Steinbeck's
favorite state, Montana. During the night we cross eight hundred miles
of grasslands and plains.
Day 13
Passing through St Paul and Minneapolis, we cross the
gentle dairylands of Wisconsin. During the afternoon we see the approaching
skyline of Chicago, leaving the Great West behind.
Day 14
Sightsee in Chicago. At six o'clock we leave for New
York on the Lake Shore Limited.
Day 15
Awake in upstate New York, following the gentle terrain
of the old Mohawk Trail as we approach Albany. We turn south and follow
the Hudson River as it winds past cliffs and mountains. Our mid-afternoon
arrival in New York is convenient for transfer to your hotel.
Price: $53,630.00, inclusive of food, beverage,
and staff.
