Spirit of Washington Dinner Train

Written by Scott Messmore

The Spirit of Washington Dinner Train is a unique and fun way to see the beautiful sights around Seattle, Lake Washington and Mount Rainier. The Spirit of Washington departs the station from the city of Renton, Washington, situated near the southern end of Lake Washington. Hop onto an old style train complete with dinner cars and dome cars that are pulled along by a 1950s era locomotive on a three and a half hour rail trip. Diners can select prime rib, oven roasted chicken or cherry smoked roasted salmon

for dinner while enjoying the Pacific Northwest views.

Spirit of Washington Dinner Train Highlights

The Spirit of Washington Dinner Train leaves the Renton train station and takes you by Seattle's best scenery. At the Boeing plant you'll see jumbo jet airliners being built at the rate of one a day. The architecture of Mercer Island's lake front homes and the city of Bellevue are on the route and you'll ride across the Wilburton Trestle built in 1891. The Wilburton Trestle is the longest in the Northwest at 975 long by 102 feet tall. The famous skyline of Seattle is easy to see from the Spirit of Washington, as is the smaller settlement of Kirkland that was founded in 1888. You'll also ride through the Sammamish River Valley on your way to the final stop, the Columbia Winery. The Columbia

Winery was started in 1962 by six professors from the University of Washington and businessmen. The Spirit of Washington makes a 45-minute whistle stop at the winery for train riders to tour the grounds and sample the wine. Columbia Winery produces as much as 125,000 cases of wine per year and is home to Master of Wine David Lake, the only master presently working in the United States. Dessert is served as the Spirit of Washington returns to Renton.

Spirit of Washington Train Facts

The Spirit of Washington itself is an interesting feature of the three-hour trip. The kitchen car, the Cascade was built in 1937 as was the Olympic and Chateau Ste. Michelle cars. The domed City of Seattle can seat 59 people for dinner with the best views on the train. Pullman Standard Company built the car in 1950 for the Santa Fe Spirit of Washington Dinner Train

Railroad. The Mount Rainier, another domed car, is a Union Pacific car built in 1952 with seating for 52 diners. With seating for 72, the City of Renton dome car saw service in Alaska running tours from Denali National Park to Fairbanks. The two diesel and electric locomotive were built during the Fifties and create 1,750 horsepower each. The Spirit of Washington carries as much as 370 people per trip.

Hours of Operation and Location

The Spirit of Washington Dinner Train is located 625 South Fourth Street in Renton, Washington. The Spirit of Washington runs 12 months a year with daily trips during the summer months. From Tuesday through Friday the dinner train departs at 6:30 p.m. Saturday trips leave at noon and 6:30 p.m. Sunday trips depart the station at 11 a.m. for brunch and 5:30 p.m. for dinner. Train boarding is a half an hour before departure. Tickets for parlor seating are: dinner, $59.99; lunch and brunch, $49.99; mystery events, $79.99. To ride in the dome cars is: $64.99 for lunch or brunch, $74.99 for dinner. Reservations are required. Parking is available at the Fourth Street train station.

For more information about the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train, call 800-876-RAILS.