Well with the offical notice that the Dinner Train will end it's service on July 31st, 2007 I went out to chase the Dinner Train. I must say the people onboard guessing where I would be at next =D

Here is a preview of some of the shots I got. The rest will be posted on my website this weekend.

Leaving Renton Depot


Unloading at the Columbia Winery.


Reflections of the Spirit


Crossing the Wilburton Trestle in Bellevue

 

As always the nicest pics!! lol! you need to come to vegas and find a place and take some pics of my car when I get it lowered!

 

Beautiful shots. Its going to be the saddest day when the Spirit of Washington is gone

Do they plan on selling the renton event center or are they going to keep that open without the train?

Anyone up for a trip before this route is closed?

 

That would be cool, I would go.

 

Current List:
1. CoreyAnn
2. Mo
3. Brian?
4. Glen

What day/month works best?

 

Macster, very nice. I really, really love the Reflections one. That and the first one look very professional.

I've never been on the SoW. You have dinner and ride? Any idea on cost (or I could look it up myself, lol).

 

There are different rates depending on where you sit. And dinner is included...mmmm (for our anniversary we went on the mystery train and they even had a bouquet on our table for me).

http://www.spiritofwashingtondinnert...trainrates.cfm

It says that through April, up to 2 kids per adult can ride for free on the Events page.

 

Yeah, Chris and I were gonna go to the Space Needle for our anniversary (this coming Saturday).. but when he called months and months ago they said they were going to be closed for remodeling. Lame. So we came up with another plan, which had to change also.. then the Dinner Train (which I've been on once).. but on our anniversary they're doing the Mystery Dinner Train.. I was like, sweet, I haven't done that yet.. and I've heard that's really good. He calls. No reservations available. ARGH!!

So if there was an event and everything, especially if it was the Mystery Dinner Train, and probably even more so now that they're getting rid of it.. reservations would have to be made pretty decently in advance.

 

Did they say why they were stopping the service? Another piece of Americana bites the dust. What a shame.

 

Yes...the last date of service is July 31st on its current route.

The hope is that maybe they are able to move the train to another route or line but that hasn't been decided/solidified yet.

Its a shame. And one of the major reasons...is because they are going to turn the rail tracks into a hiking/biking trail (http://www.spiritofwashingtondinnert...om/support.cfm). My only problem with that is that there are PLEANTY of hiking/biking trails here in Western Washington but less than half a dozen train operations...doesn't make sense...

 

ive heard the food on the dinner train is not good. any truth to it?

 

Nat,

The food on the Dinner Train is in my opinion, equal to the Keg Steakhouse.

It's official. The King County officals now favor the Rails-to-Trails method.

Which is funny about this however is the fact that there is already a bike trail that runs parallel to the Dinner Train tracks

 

I thought the food was good. Mo had a hard time thought because there weren't as many options with his dietary needs. They post up a menu on their site so take a look.

 

Advisory panel decides in favor of rail-to-trail idea

By Ashley Bach

Seattle Times Eastside bureau

If a regional committee meeting held Friday is any indication, the King County Council will probably see some political fireworks this year when it considers a plan to buy a 47-mile rail corridor running from Renton to Snohomish.

The 24-member Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) rail-corridor advisory committee recommended that the corridor be converted into a trail for most of its length. The real decisions will be made by the county, but that didn't stop about 15 protesters from standing in the rain to support keeping the railroad tracks, or committee members from arguing over the future of the corridor.

King County Executive Ron Sims wants to buy the corridor as part of a complicated land swap and convert the line to a trail within county limits and a trail-rail combo from Woodinville to Snohomish. The advisory committee, meeting in Redmond, approved the same plan, while leaving open the possibility the corridor could revert to train use in 20 to 40 years.

"The priority is implementing the first viable use, which is trail," said Tom Hodgson, a committee member and Kirkland city councilman.

Members of All Aboard Washington, a Seattle pro-rail group, protested that idea. They stood with signs reading "Trains are Green" and "Do the Obvious ... Use These Tracks Now!"

With tracks already in place, commuter rail could be built relatively quickly and cheaply, group members said. By contrast, the light-rail extension to Lynnwood and Redmond — if approved by voters this fall — would not be complete until 2027.

"Why are we the last city in the United States of America to be catching on [to rail transit]?" asked Al Runte, a group member and former Seattle mayoral candidate.

Several committee members said the Renton-to-Snohomish rail corridor would not work for commuter rail in the short term. The corridor has too many curves for trains to go much faster than 10 mph and would require an expensive retrofit, including removal of the tracks, they said.

"The current rails are irrelevant and useless for commuter rail today," said King Cushman, a PSRC policy adviser.

Only two committee members — Snohomish City Councilman Larry Countryman and Thomas Till, a director of Discovery Institute's Cascadia Center — voted against the trail-only option on the corridor in King County.

Till said there weren't enough protections in place to ensure the corridor could be converted back to rail use in the future.

Other committee members include representatives from King and Snohomish counties, Bellevue, Redmond, BNSF Railway, Boeing, Weyerhaeuser, Sound Transit, Port of Seattle and bicycle and environmental groups.