The finest steam railroads in the USA (2024)

Thesix best steam train rides in the USA... and some more

For more general information about trains in the USA, see: ►Taking the train

There are over 100 heritage railroads in the USA offeringsteam trainrides, so picking the best among them might seem like a difficultchoice. In the event, it isn't, as most herritage railroads that runsteam locomotives do so only on limited services, or just at weekends,or on special occasions.
There are actually less than a dozenheritage railroad lines in the USA that offer steam services every day(in season) or on all services, so choosing the best among these is notso hard.
And the winner is.... has to be.... canonly be... one of two railroads in the American West that were oncepart of the same narrow-gauge (3 ft.) system, but are now 156 milesapart by road. Of the two, we go for...

1. The Cumbresand Toltec Railroad

Location: Colorado / New Mexico. Length: 64 miles.Photo: top of page.
This has to be one of the world's greatsurviving steam experiences. Compared to other US steam railroads, weplace it first in terms of length, scenery and authenticity.
Sixty-four miles (103 km) in length, thenarrow gauge (3-foot) line, built in 1880, has never really stoppedoperating. It wasoriginally part of the San Juan extension of the Denver & RioGrande Railroad, which survived until late 1968. Very quickly it wasbought, on account of its historic and tourist interest, by the statesof New Mexico and Colarado, and is now a publicly owned NationalHistoric Landmark.
The railroad operates two trains a dayfrom April to October, one in each direction, between the small townsof Antonito, Colorado, and Chama, New Mexico. The journey from end toend takes six and a half hours, with the trains crossing midway at thestation in Osier. Visitors who take the whole route can return by busin the late afternoon. The alternative is to take the trip as far asOsier, then return to the departure point.
The section from Antonito to Osier isthe most interesting; the line sets off across barren sagebrush desert,before beginning its climb into the hills. Before long it is in forestcountry, emerging from the trees high up on the steep side ofthe Toltec gorge on the Rio Los Piños river, before reachinga grassymountain plateau with the station of Osier, in the middle of nowhere.
Passengers continuing on to the end ofthe line at Chama, or those coming from Chama, will cross the CumbresPass, elevation 10,022 ft (3,055 m), in the San JuanMountains... the highest point for a normal adhesion railroad (i.e. notrack-and-pinion) in the USA. In winter the pass can get blocked bysnow,and the C&T still operates historic rotary snowplows to clearthe tracks. Website
► See accommodation in Antonito.

2. The Durangoand Silverton

Location: Colorado. Length: 45 miles.
Located in the Colorado mountains, andnow run by a private company, theDurango and Silverton was once the historic end of the line section ofthe San Juanextension of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. With a length of45 miles... long by most heritage railroad standards, it isnevertheless shorter than the Cumbres and Toltec.. The history of thetwo railroads is fairly similar - apart from the fact that the Durangoand Silverton is more commerically oriented, and busier, with up tothree departures each day.
All services begin at Durango in themorning, returning in the afternoon – and the sight at theDurangolocomotive depot early in the moring, with three or fourlocomotives getting up steam, is a sight from another age.... or usedto be. However following a serious forest fire in 2018 attributed tosparks from a locomotive, the company is converting its coal burninglocomotives to oil burners.... still steam locomotives, but without thesparks, and faster to start up.
The route out of Durango follows theAnimas river,starting out along the floor of the valley, before beginning the longascent to Silverton, passing over trestle bridges and along the side ofa rocky river gorge before reaching the historic old mining town ofSilverton, where the train line runs into the middle of the town, alocation that seems to have stepped out of a Wild West movie. Website
► See accommodation in Durango.

3. The Cass scenic railroad

Location: West Virginia.Length 11 miles.
The Cass scenic railroad is aformer logging railroad in the Allegheny Mountains in West Virginia..The standard gauge line, built at the start of the 20th century, runsfrom Cass (2,452-feet) to Bald Knob (4,842-feet), the highestpeak on Back Allegheny Mountain. It has been running as a historicscenic railroad since 1963.
The line is noted for its collection ofeight "Shay" steam locomotives, the largest collection in theworld of these very powerful and unusual geared steamlocomotives, designed to pullheavy lumber trains up and down steep inclines. Five of the line'seight Shays are in operating condition.Website
► See accommodation in and around Cass.

4. Black Hills Central Railroad

Location:South Dakota.Length 10 miles.
This standard gauge heritage railroad operates over a ten mile stretchof the former Keystone Branch of the Burlington NorthernRailroad, opened in 1900. The route runs through South Dakota'sbeautiful Black Hills, from Hill City to Keystone, a short distancefrom Mount Rushmore.
The line's "1880 Train" takes an hour tocover the ten mile route, and an hour back.
The railroad has a proacativeenvironmental policy, its three operating steam locomotivesnow burn recycled oil, and the station at Hill City provides freerecharging for electric vehicles (subject to availability).Website .
► See accommodation in and around Hill City.

5 The Essex Steam Train,

Location:Connecticut.Length 5 or 12 miles
This New England standard gauge steam railway runs along theConnecticut River on a five mile route from Essex to Deep RiverLanding. Here passengers can connect to a historic river steamboat.Some trains use an extended 12-mile route.
The line is part of the formerConnecticut Valley Railroad, from Hartford to Saybrook Point, whichopened in 1871.
With its three operating steamlocomotives, and another being rebuilt, the Essex Steam Train SteamTrains runs on up to five days a week, depending on theseason. Website
► See accommodation in and around Hartford.

6.The Strasburg Rail Road

Location: Pennsylvania.Length 4 miles
This is a truly historic railroad.First builtaround1837, the Strasburg Rail Road was was one of the first railroads in theAmericas, and is the oldest line that has remained in permant operationsince the beginning. It runs between the Railroad Museum ofPennsylvania in East Strasburg, and a junction with the KeystoneCorridor main line at Leaman Place Junction
The Museum is one of the best railroadmuseums in the USA, with over 100 diesel, steam and electriclocomotives.
The line currently has four workingsteam locomotives, and trains operate daily from April through toOctober.Website

And some other interesting lines, butshorter and/or without regular steam services

7. Great Smoky Mountains Railroad

Location: West Virginia. Length 38 miles
Thisstandard gauge railroad is the longest regular steam train route in theeastern half of the USA. Services operate out of Bryson City,in themiddle of the route, eastwards up the Tuckasgee River as far asDillsboro, or westwards further into the hills, past FontanaLake, asfar as Nantahala. The twisting track follows wooded valleys along verypicturesque routes
The line is run by American HeritageRailways, who also run the Durango and Silverton. As of 2024, motivepower includes only one operating steam locomotive, so most servicesare diesel powered. However a second steam locomotive isbeingrenovated and should be brought into service in 2026.

8. Sacramento Southern Railroad. California.Steam trains from the Railroad museum in Sacramento.

9. The Mount Washington cog railway.New Hampshire. This was the world's first mountain cog railway. Due tothe cost - both financial and environmental - of maintaining and usingthe historic steam locos, most services are now run using dieselengines running on bio-diesel fuel.

10. The Grand Canyon Railroad,at Williams, Arizona (on I-40). Once the only way for visitors to getto the Grand Canyon, this 60 mile route operates sporadic steamservices, notably on the first saturday of the month May to September.Passengers traveling across the USA by rail on the Southwest Chieftrain have to get off at Flagstaff and take a connecting bus toWilliams, as the Amtrak Williams stop was discontinued in 2017.

11. The Yosemite Mountain Sugar PineRailroad, near Mariposa and Yosemite National Park. Part of anarrow-gauge former lumber railroad, with steam rides through theforest, using two Shay steam locos, built 1913 and 1928.

For more background to the USA.....

► Book / ebook ABackground to modern America -people, places andeventsthat have played a significant role in the shaping of modernAmerica. A C1-level Advanced English reader for speakers of otherlanguages, and anyone wanting to learn some of the backgroundtotoday's USA. Twenty-two texts, with vocabulary guides andexercises.

For California, discover About-California.com, a shortguide forvisitors.