All aboard! America's best excursion trains offer stunning scenery on nostalgic rides into yesteryear

Travel America, Sept-Oct, 2003 by Randy Mink

Contact: Montana Rockies Rail Tours, 1055 Baldy Park Ave., Sandpoint, ID 83864; (800) 519-7245; www.montanarailtours.com.

The Rocky Mountaineer, another daylight-only train, spotlights snowy peaks, glacial lakes, waterfalls and wildlife in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia. On two-day, 585-mile trips between the coastal city of Vancouver and Jasper or Banff and Calgary, the overnight stop is Kamloops, British Columbia.

Contact: Rocky Mountaineer, 100-1150 Station St., Vancouver, BC V6A 2X7, Canada; (800) 665-7245; www.rocky mountaineer.com

MAKING TRACKS

FOR PRICES AND SCHEDULES, CONTACT THE FOLLOWING SCENIC RAILROADS:

* Agawa Canyon Tour Train P.O. Box 130, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada P6A 6Y2; (800) 242-9287; www.agawacanyontourtrain.com.

* Big South Fork Scenic Railway, PO Box 368, Stearns, KY 42647; (800) 462-5664; www.bsfsry.com.

* Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, P.O. Box 107, Cass, WV 24927; (800) 225-5982; www.cassrailroad.com.

* Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, PO Box 158, Peninsula, OH 44264; (800) 468-4070; www.cvsr.com.

* Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad 479 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301; (888) 872-4607; www.durangotrain.com.

* Georgetown Loop Railroad, P.O. Box 217, Georgetown, CO 80444; (800) 691-4386; www.georgetown loop.com.

* Grand Canyon Railway, 235 N. Grand Canyon Blvd., Williams, AZ 86046; (800) 843-8724; www.the train.com.

* Great Smoky Mountains Railway, Box 397 Dillsboro, NC 28725; (800) 872-4681; www.gsmr.corn

* Illinois Railway Museum, P.O. Box 427 Union, IL 60108; (800) BIG-RAIL; www.irm.org.

* Mid-Continent Railway Museum, P.O. Box 358, North Freedom, WI 53951;(800) 930-1385; www.mid continent.org.

* Mount Washington Cog Railway, Route 302, Bretton Woods, NH 03589; (800) 922-8825; www.the cog.com.

* Napa Valley Wine Train, 1275 McKinstry St., Napa, CA 94559; (800) 427-4124; www.wine train.com.

* Strasburg Rail Road P.O. Box 96, Strasburg, PA 17579; (717) 687-7522; www.strasburgrailroad.com.

* Western Maryland Scenic Railway, 13 Canal St, Cumberland, MD 21502; (800) 872-4650; www. wmsr.com.

TWO RECENT GUIDEBOOKS ARE PACKED WITH INFORMATION ON scenic railroads and organized by state. Riding the Rails: Tourist Guide to America's Scenic Train Rides by William C. Herow (232 pages) describes 151 excursions in 44 states. It's available for $12.95 postpaid from Roundabout Publications, P.O. Box 12935, Lenexa, KS 66285; (800) 455-2207; www.TravelBooksUSA.com.

Also see Empire State Railway Museum's Tourist Trains 2003 ($16.95, 482 pages), available in bookstores or by mail (add $5.50 shipping and handing) from Kalmbach Publisbing Co., P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612; (800) 533-6644: www.kalmbach.com. The book features more than 500 railroad-related attractions, including museums.