Before the widespread adoption of air travel and automobiles, private train cars were the preferred mode of exclusive travel for many prominent figures, including U.S. presidents, actors, and religious leaders. Although much diminished in scale, private rail travel remains viable today through Amtrak’s Privately-Owned Rail Car Program, which allows private car owners to attach their cars to scheduled Amtrak trains for a fee.
In the fiscal year 2025, private rail cars operated over Amtrak routes for a combined total of 429,000 miles, generating approximately $2.5 million in revenue for the national rail service— a fractional portion of Amtrak’s overall $3.9 billion income. Nonetheless, private car owners view their role as custodians of a historic mode of transport that preceded the jet age.
Patrick Henry, a private rail car owner based in Chicago, exemplifies this niche community. Henry owns three Amtrak-certified private cars, including the 1954 Pullman named Santa Fe, honoring his father’s four-decade career with the railroad. His first two cars, named after his parents Warren R. and Evelyn Henry, were purchased in 2004 for $900,000, with maintenance costs totaling around $140,000 annually across the three cars. Henry uses the cars personally and rents them out for charter trips at $16,000 per day, inclusive of meals, beverages, and Amtrak fees.
On a recent trip from Chicago’s Union Station to St. Louis aboard Henry’s private cars, passengers experienced amenities such as dome lounges with panoramic windows, leather seating, satellite internet, dining rooms with stained glass ceilings, and private bedrooms—some with en suite bathrooms and showers. The experience offers a distinct contrast to standard Amtrak accommodations, emphasizing privacy and luxury amid scenic routes.
Enthusiasts like Leonard Cherry from Houston have found private rail travel a preferred leisure pursuit, comparing it to the immersive, leisurely nature of yachting. Cherry, who has chartered Henry’s trains multiple times, highlighted the social atmosphere onboard, from card games to dining and conversation while enjoying passing landscapes. A typical weeklong private rail trip may cost around $10,000 per person.
Efforts to expand private rail offerings include companies like Halloway, founded in 2025 with the intent to serve as an “Airbnb” for private rail cars. Halloway operates charter services and other tourist trains, attempting to modernize an industry that has largely relied on paper-based management and been slow to engage younger travelers.
However, rising operational costs and regulatory challenges have limited the growth of private rail travel. Amtrak instituted significant fee increases since 2019 following an audit that criticized its program’s financial oversight. As of October 2023, private car owners pay nearly $5 per mile for the first car hooked to an Amtrak train, with additional cars charged separately. These fees, alongside operational issues such as required speed restrictions due to braking system limitations on private cars, have contributed to a decline in participants, with the number of Amtrak-certified private cars dropping from 125 a decade ago to just 38 today.
Some owners, like Borden McGahee of Georgia, have ceased using their private cars on Amtrak routes due to prohibitive costs and logistical difficulties, choosing instead to place their historic rail cars on tourist lines. Amtrak acknowledges challenges related to private car integration, noting that attaching private cars can delay train departures and necessitate the temporary shutdown of onboard services for other passengers. Recent changes by Amtrak also reduced the number of cities where private cars can connect, complicating logistics further.
Despite these hurdles, private rail car operators and their clientele continue to preserve and promote an experience regarded as a living piece of transportation history. Passengers aboard these cars traverse routes offering views of industrial towns, sprawling farmland, and iconic landmarks such as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, all while enjoying an upscale and intimate mode of travel that harkens back to an earlier era of American railroading.