The Napa Valley Wine Train

The Napa Valley Wine Train has become a very popular excursion since it began operations in 1989. The train itself is operated by the Napa Valley Railroad, which is a reborn railroad that dates as far back as 1864 and connected Calistoga and Vallejo, California, a distance of 42 miles. The purpose of the original railroad, just like the operation today, was to bring in tourists to the beautiful Napa Valley region (in this case to Calistoga, a resort city). Today, if you are vacationing or traveling through the famous vineyards of the Napa Valley you may want to consider stopping by and visiting this very posh tourist train, which spares no expense in the meal and the journey to make sure that you have the most enjoyable experience possible!

The Napa Valley Wine Train was initially started in 1987 by local preservationists and railroad enthusiasts among stiff opposition from local communities. After a lengthy court battle the railroad won out and was granted the right to operate the then ex-Southern Pacific trackage between Napa and St. Helena, California (the Southern Pacific came to own the original Napa Valley Railroad, later named the California Pacific Railroad, in 1889). While today’s Napa Valley Railroad does see sparse freight service to complement its popular passenger trains, there is talk that the NVRR may soon be hauling much more significant freight traffic making it a full-fledged freight railroad.

Here is a bit more on the Napa Valley Wine Train courtesy of the Napa Valley Railroad: “The Napa Valley Wine Train begins its journey at the McKinstry Street Station in Napa. The train then travels north to St. Helena, where the locomotive disconnects from the north facing side of the train and reconnects to the south facing side of the train in preparation for the return journey. Depending on the day of the week, the Napa Valley Wine Train makes two stops.

On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, guests who have purchased the Domaine Chandon Tour will disembark at Yountville during the southbound leg of the trip. Guests on the Domiane Chandon tour will be transported back to the McKinstry Street station by motor coach upon the conclusion of the tour. On weekdays (Monday through Friday), guests who have purchased the Grgich Hills Tour will disembark at Grgich Hills Winery on the northbound leg of the trip, and be picked up by the Wine Train as the train travels southbound.”

Currently the Napa Valley Wine Train operates four Milwaukee Locomotive Works FPA-4 diesel locomotives (MLW was the American Locomotive Company’s Canadian division) plus one General Electric 65-tonner switcher. Entire fleet information can be found below:

· #52 – GE 65-tonner: Originally owned by the U.S. Navy.

· #70 – MLW FPA-4: Originally owned by the Canadian National and later VIA Rail.

· #71 – MLW FPA-4: Originally owned by the Canadian National and later VIA Rail.

· #72 – MLW FPA-4: Originally owned by the Canadian National and later VIA Rail.

· #73 – MLW FPA-4: Originally owned by the Canadian National and later VIA Rail.

Today, the Napa Valley Wine Train offers everything from dinners in dome cars and murder mystery specials to wine tours of the local area. Along with the trains’ former Milwaukee Road dome car it also features diner and lounge cars for the journey. To learn more about the fabulous dinners and wines served aboard the train please click here to open a menu in PDF (you will need Adobe Acrobat to open this file which you can download for free here if you do not already have the software). - Many thanks to the good folks of the Napa Valley Wine Train for providing the menu. - All in all, with regal interior designs using mahogany and other fine materials (not to mention a splendid matching paint scheme) a trip aboard the Napa Valley Wine Train is certainly a unique, memorable, and lasting experience not afforded by most other tourist trains. To learn more about everything the Napa Valley Wine Train has to offer please click here to visit their website.

For more information on tourist trains like the Napa Valley Wine Train you might want to consider the book Empire State Railway Museum's Tourist Trains 2006 from the Empire State Railway Museum. Given excellent reviews this guidebook covers nearly all of the tourist railroads and museums operating in the country in fine detail. So, if you’re interested in locating a tourist train or railroad near you, or simply want to know more about a particular one, you will certainly not be disappointed in Empire State Railway Museum’s guidebook to tourist railroads and museums. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit The Railroad Diamond by clicking the tab in the menu to your left marked "TRD Store".