Re:Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway
by kortilla on Wednesday June 10, 2026 @08:32AM
(#48475342)
Is there someone that does this frequently with a breakdown in costs and their experience? This sounds lit as a goal for an eccentric millionaire.
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Re:Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway
by dabluecaboose on Wednesday June 10, 2026 @09:34AM
(#48476075)
There are clubs[1][2] of owners, and they'll generally rent them out to people. We looked into doing it for my bachelor party. Unfortunately, the cost is akin to renting a yacht for the same amount of time (On the order of thousands per day, minimum), so we quickly shelved that plan for an AirBnB.
Re:Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway
by bluGill on Wednesday June 10, 2026 @09:19AM
(#48475888)
There are a few clubs that have cars that do this for a club outing. Members pay a small amount of dues, but the largest cost is labor - you are expected to help rebuild their cars. Most of the club money seems to come from renting the cars out.
The above is what I gather from reading their websites. However there is no club close enough to me for joining to be reasonable and so I didn't verify the above.
Re:Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway
by fineIllregister on Wednesday June 10, 2026 @09:00AM
(#48475663)
I don't have personal experience, but I've heard it's not viable. The biggest issue is that Amtrak offers the service on a "best effort" basis, which means that if the train you want to hook up to is running late (which this frequently are due to conflicts with cargo traffic), they won't hook your car up, and you have to wait for the next train, which also might not be able to hook you up.
Re:Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway
by bombcar on Thursday June 11, 2026 @05:32AM
(#48488170)
Part of doing this is knowing the rules and the “real rules” - you have the car attached at an end node (Los Angeles or San Diego, say) even if your group gets on in Burbank.
Re:Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway
by skinfaxi on Wednesday June 10, 2026 @08:53AM
(#48475573)
There is a fee schedule available: https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/p...
Re:Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway
by mplanchard on Wednesday June 10, 2026 @08:40AM
(#48475424)
If I ever get to be a millionaire, it’s certainly on my list!
Re:Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway
by sailfast on Wednesday June 10, 2026 @10:44AM
(#48477087)
Buy a house first - then make another 20 million, then maybe consider this haha
Re:Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway
by kirubakaran on Wednesday June 10, 2026 @11:56AM
(#48478271)
"Mark, do you have live quite so relentlessly in the real world?"
-- Jeremy, Peep Show
Re:Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway
by sailfast on Wednesday June 17, 2026 @09:33AM
(#48570349)
It’s a question I ask my therapist all the time :)
Re:Buy a train, bridge or tracks from the Swiss Railway
by Cassell on Wednesday June 10, 2026 @06:42PM
(#48483781)
Somewhere, the locomotove nomads travel the wastes of North America in their reinforced rail cars. They never speak to one another, but sometimes you can glimpse the deisel smoke of a distant train on the horizon at sunset…