BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – All aboard the Champlain Valley Dinner Train! The seasonal experience takes you on a relaxing ride through Vermont, where you can enjoy food and drinks with a view.
“I think the dinner train is one of the best Vermont hidden secrets that’s out there,” said Steve Shover, the passenger services manager for Vermont Rail System.
Inside the old-timey train cars built in the 1930s, guests sip their drinks and nibble on snacks.
As the train departs for the first leg of the journey, Shover says it’s the perfect bucket list item for tourists and locals alike.
“People come up here, usually for the foliage, and when they get here, it’s like, ‘What do we do now?’ So, I mean, this gives them a chance to ride the rails, look out the window and see the foliage, which is coming up real, real soon,” he said.
“We love trains and it just seemed like a fun thing to do,” said Neil Chaffee of Isle La Motte.
As the train rolls from Burlington to Vergennes, passengers can select one of four dinner options.
“It’s really different than regular serving. We only get six or seven tables a night, we’re not turning everybody over, obviously. Then, you really take care of really everybody,” said Maddie Hagger, a Champlain Valley Dinner Train server. “So, while we’re doing salads and dinners and desserts, we make sure all of the cars are set and it’s not just your section.”
As guests chow down, the train brakes at the Vergennes and Ferrisburgh stop, where the engineer will head to the other side of the train, do a quick brake test, and then head back to Burlington.
On the ride back, dessert is served.
Prices start at $260 for two people at a shared table, where you’re seated with two other guests. For a private table for up to four people, it’s between $390 and $520.
Shover says you get what you pay for.
“The diesel fuel, the engineer, the conductor, myself, all the waitstaff– there’s a lot of not seen expenses. So, when you see the prices, don’t get sticker shock. And I think you’re getting good value for your dollar,” he said.
If you are on a tighter budget, just one train car over is Cocktails on the Rails, a speakeasy-type ambiance offering one complementary drink of choice and hors d’oeuvres.
As the sun starts to set across the landscape, two-and-a-half hours after departure, the train rolls back into Burlington.
The train runs Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through Nov. 1.
