You sit down at your table in the beautiful 1920s dining car. You unfold your cloth napkin, which matches the white linen tablecloth, and lay it in your lap. You’re looking forward to a divine meal served on fine china. But first, you slowly roll along the railroad tracks, feeling like you have gone back in time on the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad Dinner Train’s 18-mile roundtrip journey.
You watch out the window as the landscape rolls by, looking at a scene you normally don’t notice on your fast daily drive. No cell phones are out. This is about the experience, about connecting. You begin conversing with the couple you’re seated with. Each table holds four diners, so you may or may not know your dinner companions. But it doesn’t matter. You start discussing the restored dining car, compare your other experiences on trains and talk about the amazing weather today. Then you ask each other, “Where are you from?” and, “What entree did you order?”
Before long, the skilled wait staff brings your dinner, not missing a beat as they move fluidly with the rocking train car. Everyone looks over each other’s dishes, admiring how wonderful it all looks. Conversations slow a bit as you each take a small bite. You eat slowly, savoring the flavors. The quiet allows you to experience even more of the sound and movement of the train ride.
After you feel so full you can’t eat another bite, you still can’t turn down dessert. So you don’t. More conversation takes place with your new-found friends, as you enjoy the end of your meal.
It starts getting quiet again when you’re almost back to the station. You know your time on this ride is almost over. You don’t want it to end. You feel like you “got away,” like you left your worries in the future as you traveled like someone who lived a century ago. But you know you have to come back to the present, so you sigh a deep sigh of resignation. And then you remember – you could do this again next month!
Chehalis-Centralia Railroad Dinner Trains are held monthly from May to October. The first of 2018 was held on Mother’s Day but other opportunities to ride and dine happen on July 14, August 11 and September 15.
The fabulous meal is catered by Kit Carson restaurant, and their skilled employees serve as the dinner trains’ wait staff. The train holds 50-60 riders, with four to a table. There is also a small dining room which holds a very tiny group of five to seven people. “I make sure they know it will be crowded in there so, if they don’t mind being really close to the people they’re with, it will work,” laughs Wanda Thompson secretary/treasurer and special event coordinator.
Thompson also works the dinner trains. “I really enjoy visiting with the people,” she says. “Around 85 to 90 percent of our dinner train people are from out of the area.” Guests come from the Tacoma and Seattle areas, as well as Bremerton, Silverdale, Wenatchee, Oregon, eastern Washington and beyond.
Thompson has several favorite dinner train memories. One was of a gentleman who proposed to his girlfriend on the train. Another couple took a ride and enjoyed it so much they had their wedding on the train. A few times, a group has arrived dressed up in clothing from the time period. One time, a group didn’t show and didn’t answer a phone call. Shortly after the train left, they arrived. Thompson’s husband picked them up and drove them out to the train. “We go out of our way to help people,” Thompson says with a smile. “They were so happy. It was a special occasion for them.”
Because the railroad assigns seating, you may not know who you’re going to be seated with. But it works out. “We’ve had people tell us they came as strangers and left as friends,” says Thompson. “They’ll take a picture together and then exchange emails or phone calls to stay in touch.”
But don’t worry, if you’re not comfortable being seated with strangers, you don’t have to be. Simply let staff know when you call and they will arrange for you to be seated alone.
If you have any issues sitting on a bench, communicate that when making your reservation and a chair will be provided for you. “We try our best to make sure we make everybody happy,” Thompson assures.
Visit the dinner train website to see the menu. Tickets are $52 for adults and $23 for children ages 10 and under, plus a convenience fee.
Centralia Chehalis Railroad & Museum
1101 Southwest Sylvenus Street
Chehalis, WA 98532
360-748-9593
info@steamtrainride.com
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