Santa Fe Southern Railway

5++++++++ stars! My husband and I went on their star gazing train ride for our first anniversary. The service and attention was AMAZING!!! It was an unforgettable night. The train was so neat! We sat in the old boxcar part. We stayed on the stargazing «deck» outside for the majority of the ride. It was beautiful and fun. The best part was the service though. They were so nice, went out of their way to make our anniversary special, and were just one of a kind. We would recommend this to ANYONE! Thank you thank you!

A highlight of our recent visit to Santa Fe was the Sunsets and Stargazing dinner train on the Santa Fe Southern Railway. We were in the diamond class, which was very comfortable, and the attendants (Shane and James) and bartender (Jay) were fantastic! The gourmet meal was delicious, starting with three varieties of scrumptious hors d’oeuvres, leading to a wonderful (and beautifully presented) dinner of osso buco-​style chicken with rice and beets (I’ve never had beets that tasty!), and ending with a delicious dessert of salted caramel ice cream and a warm cookie. Jay was extremely knowledgeable of wine and we very much enjoyed his selections. The diamond class seating is well designed for conversation with a group or a romantic meal for two. Another highpoint was viewing the stars from the open air flatbed car. I’ve never seen the sky filled with so many stars. It was gorgeous! Overall, we had a wonderful evening with excellent food, beautiful views of the Santa Fe sunset and night sky, and a delightful setting for great conversation with friends and the staff (among them a painter, writer, and singer, with interesting information about the Santa Fe area). Thank you, Santa Fe Southern Railway, for an amazing evening! We will definitely return on our next visit to Santa Fe.

We decided to do this when my mother came to visit. Purchased the diamond class tickets for the extra luxury of A/​C. Our bartender (Bonnie) and car attendant (Julian) were very nice and attentive to our needs. I loved the hors d’oeuvres and the brunch buffet was so good. My favorites were the fritatta and cucumber slices with smoked salmon and cream cheese!
There was an open station for hot tea and coffee, but everything else was from the cash bar (meaning you had to pay for it. They did sell mimosas and had a bloodmary bar.
The train stopped in Lamy for ~20 min. The town isn’t much but there is a bar which is historic and now a is also a train museum. Only $ 2 per person to enter and the gentleman that owns it is very knowledgeable and friendly. On the way back the Julian (car attendant) pointed out the famous bridge that was in Breaking Bad and also featured in Longmire. He was also very knowledgeable about all the buildings and cars that we saw and had questions about. That was a wonderful perk to have such a knowledgeable tour guide.
We were served a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie on the way back, just wish we had a glass of milk to go with it :)
The sights were just beautiful and the many old bridges we traveled over were also really cool to see. Be sure to travel with plenty of battery life and photo space because there is plenty to see.
A few tips for the company, to make this even better:
1) In diamond class you pay $ 89 and this only includes the tea and coffee bar. It would be better to include at least one non-​alcoholic drink voucher. (Not everyone drinks hot beverages for brunch)
2) On the back, other than a cookie, there wasn’t much to eat. A full meal isn’t necessary but having the option of a few hors d’oeuvres would have been a nice touch.
3) The price of the Museum in Lamy is only $ 2 and if SFSR worked with the Museum both could benefit from the business. I’m thinking an $ 89 ticket could cover the museum price.

They just reopened the Santa Fe’ to Lamy train ride line.
3 hours round trip of sigh seen train. Old original 1920 train. Excellent, fun ride.
Lunch or dinner served.
Can sit in;
1) air conditioned modern car
2) remade in style car with wooden seats
3) open wagon
4) original 1920 car.
Totally loved it, do not miss it. I highly recommend.
Quick top at Old Lamy Legal Tender, historical wonderful place.

The Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railroads never really merged, thanks to the ICC. But that hasn’t stopped some rolling stock from being painted in the group’s color scheme.
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway was one of the grand old names in railroading. Along with the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific, they controlled most of the routes going into and out of California and many western states.
This station is one of those built echoing that grand period for the Santa Fe and is the namesake for that line. After the failed merger with the Southern pacific (1983), rail buffs and fans took to calling the ill fated merger of the SP and SF, «Shouldn’t Paint So Fast.» LOL
I have taken several picture of the station and the rolling stock painted in that «Kodachrome» color scheme. I also took a few of an incoming commuter train from Albuquerque. Today, the Santa Fe is part of the Burlington Northern Railroad, which form the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, or BNSF in 1995.
Both companies waited until approval by the ICC before painting their rolling stock the new colors. LOL
Enjoy the history!

Where is the old station?

There is a train station in the center of Santa Fe which offers all sorts of tours ranging from day trips to Albuquerque to dinner stops in front of camp fires. We went with a holiday trip that included a reading of the Polar Express, Holiday songs and SANTA. All topped off with Hot chocolate and cookies.
If over-​stimulated kids and hot chocolate don’t tickle your fancy, I would guess they would have a trip that would appeal to you. Time well spend and worth checking in to when you’e in town.

A bunch of us did the 3.5 hour ride from Santa Fe to Lamy. (its only a few miles, but the train runs real slow for the scenery).
This is one awesome holiday experience. We really enjoyed the snow covered scenery.
We were on the «silver» class, which is like first class. This was only 15 $ more than regular tickets. And we got on the upper deck, which has great viewing angles with swivel chairs. THe upper level gets really hot though.
There is one car that is completely open and empty… so you can go out and take more pictures!
We went on christmas eve… guess who joined us? SANTA! of course!
All kids had a blast.
There was also an entertainer guy who sang carols, etc.
In some cars, the attendant was actually talking about the scenery. however, in our car, the attendant didnt do that.
However, this is a great trip… totally worth the money.