zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Beyond Cars
/
Amtrak Will Tow Your Private Railcar Around if Your Pockets Are Deep Enough
Amtrak Will Tow Your Private Railcar Around if Your Pockets Are Deep Enough-July 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:13:49

Image for article titled Amtrak Will Tow Your Private Railcar Around if Your Pockets Are Deep Enough

These days, with the rich jet setting off to exotic locales in , the era of puttering around in a private railcar is far from most folks’ minds. But if you’re rich enough and want to stand apart from the folks who just fly everywhere, details how you can purchase your own railcar and pay to have Amtrak pull you around the nation on its routes.

The ability to do this comes by way of Amtrak and a little known side hustle of towing privately owned rail cars. It’s not as simple as calling them up and asking if you can hook your car up to a train. There’s a specific that have to be followed, and it’s not cheap. The American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners President Tony Marchiando that basic towing fees start at a little over $4 per mile. Storage fees run even higher, at $2,000 to $3,000 per month.

And with Amtrak being a federally charted company, getting the ball rolling means lots of red tape:

Modern-day Vanderbilts should expect a trainload of paperwork. Amtrak typically requires 30 days’ notice per trip, and cars must meet stringent safety requirements, says Marchiando, including annual inspections, insurance, and specific wiring to comply with Amtrak’s power system.

None of this, of course, is including the price of the railcar itself. I couldn’t find exact pricing myself due to many companies that sell these things wanting you to either register to get pricing information or go through a lengthy process of contacting them for a price as if you’re an interested buyer. spoke with one rail car brokerage. The price for these railcars can cost as much as a house:

The biggest brokerage is , which sells cars ranging from 40 to 100 years old. A “deluxe” renovation, Marchiando says, will cost “close to a million dollars, [for] new air-conditioning, new plumbing, new electrical systems,” and other structural considerations. And that’s before you start “redoing the interior totally to modern tastes.

So if you ever come into some money, don’t be so quick to head to Gulfstream for a jet. Consider how much more relaxing and cool it would be to take a private train to New York or L.A.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Beyond Cars
String Of Boeing Failures Continues With 737-800 Flight Turning Back With Cracked Cockpit Windshield
String Of Boeing Failures Continues With 737-800 Flight Turning Back With Cracked Cockpit Windshield
In the wake of recent major , including , , and the debacle that was , it isn’t a good time for further failures by the company. that would , an unrelated 737-800 with a cracked windshield, became international news this weekend. The flight took off from Sapporo-New Chitose...
Jul 17, 2025
Crystal Chunks Are Bursting Through The Road In China
Crystal Chunks Are Bursting Through The Road In China
A video of what looks like quartz breaking through the surface of a is making the rounds on . I don’t get over there much, being suspicious of the Chinese over concerns of it spying on its users, as the reports. OK, fine. Actually, I just don’t get the humor...
Jul 17, 2025
Aircraft Touch Tips During Blizzard At Japanese Airport
Aircraft Touch Tips During Blizzard At Japanese Airport
As at , its port side wing the starboard vertical stabilizer of bound for Hong Kong. This comes at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, and . “Our aircraft, which was stationary at the time with no customers nor crew onboard, was struck by a Korean Air A330 which was taxiing past,”...
Jul 17, 2025
Marshmallow Treats Ended Up On The Royal Air Force's No-Fly List
Marshmallow Treats Ended Up On The Royal Air Force's No-Fly List
Over in the United Kingdom, there’s a certain dessert known as a “teacake” — or, as a British friend kindly informed me, it’s more accurately known as a “Tunnock” in Scotland. Basically, the food in question for this particular story are actually a cookie base topped with marshmallow, coated...
Jul 17, 2025
Deadliest Train In America Kills 3 People In 2 Separate Collisions At The Same Crossing
Deadliest Train In America Kills 3 People In 2 Separate Collisions At The Same Crossing
operate between Orlando and Miami and hold the unwelcome distinction of being both the first intra-city high speed rail in the U.S. and the , by far. After three people died at a single grade crossing in two separate incidents last week it seems the feds are finally perking...
Jul 17, 2025
2023 Zero DSR/X: The Bike Of The Future, But Not Our Future
2023 Zero DSR/X: The Bike Of The Future, But Not Our Future
The world, in 2023, is cyberpunk. We’ve got the , the , and the that keeps the and the . But in cyberpunk media, people are always riding . Why are we stuck with the same bikes we’ve always had? , it seems, wants to address this grievous wrong....
Jul 17, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved