Las Vegas Railway Express seeks passengers for private rail cars

The company in recent days parked a pair of early 1950s vintage cars, one a first-class lounge and the other a diner, on a local siding ending at Martin Luther King Boulevard. The company has said it would start running the cars, leased from Mid-America Railcar Leasing LLC in Greenwood, Ind., in February hitched to the back of Amtrak trains running between San Diego and Los Angeles.

The company hopes to expand its geographic scope, much like dozens of other private car owners.

Las Vegas Railway Express wrote in its annual report July 1 that it would launch its X Train service, which would couple its cars to Amtrak trains as a first-class option, on the Houston-to-New Orleans corridor in the fourth quarter.

But it didn’t happen.

The company’s quarterly report, filed Nov. 12, said the service would start Dec. 2 on an unidentified route. That didn’t happen either.

This time, said Penny Stegeman-White, chief operating officer for passenger services, one group has booked cars for a bachelorette party in May.

“Passengers are looking for an alternative to current offering in rail travel,” she said, “and the X Train provides that exclusive product.”

Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said her company does not have a contract with Las Vegas Railway Express. However, the passenger railroad does accept private cars, with applications due at least two weeks before departure dates.

All of this is separate from the Las Vegas Railway Express’ more widely advertised strategy to start its own train between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area; the inaugural run was most recently set for New Year’s Eve. The November report, however, said the company would no longer try to finance the venture on its own but seek partners.

Borden Black, executive director of the American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners, said that the members own about 120 cars. Others that keep cars for in-house use, such as railroad companies, may raise the total to about 200.

Many car owners, like Mike Mulder, owner of Pacific & Southwest Rail Adventures in Denair, Calif., do not make a full-time business of it. He estimates that he leases out his 1936-built lounge car about six times yearly.

L.A. Rail.com, which is five owners who pooled their five cars under one brand, finds customers about a half dozen times a month, Vice President Bill Hatrick said. The company couples a Pullman sleeping car on a weekend train that departs from Los Angeles and spends a Saturday night in San Diego at a hotel, returning on Sunday evening.

However, said Bert Hermey, president of California Zephyr Railcar Charters, his company still feels the recent recession’s sting.

“We have had zero party trips since then,” he said.

“The problem is that a lot of people don’t know this is possible,” Mulder said. “But we are starting to get the word out to more of the general public.”