Private train service in the US?

Question

Does anyone know the name of the private train service in the US that uses older train tracks that haven't been used in years? It is not affiliated with Amtrak and I believe it only travels out west.

Answer 1

there are several-the biggest being American Orient Express

also, there are companies that will lease you a deluxe rail car by the week. check with your travel agent or google.

Answer 2

There are a couple of active narrow gauge lines in Colorado and New Mexico that mainly haul tourists, but their tracks are heavily used and fairly well maintained.

One is the Cumbres and Toltec Narrow Gauge, which runs along former Denver and Rio Grande Western tracks over Cumbres Pass.  This is part of the former line between Alamosa, Colorado, and Durango.

The other is the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge, which is also former Denver and Rio Grande trackage.  The D&SNG is privately-owned, and the C&T is operated by a state sponsored group as a tourist attraction.  The last private rail service I know of was the Colorado Zephyr, operated by the Denver and Rio Grande before it was acquired by the Southern Pacific.  This was a standard gauge primarily freight line that has been in continuous service for more than a century.

That line is now operated by Amtrak as part of the route of the California Zephyr.