Halloway Private Varnish Trips

Bobharbison · **Joined:** Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:42 pm **Posts:** 3011

Saw this in Afar Magazine this weekend, first I've heard of it.

Quote:

Starting in mid-January 2026, a new company called Halloway is offering a more luxurious rail experience. It is launching exclusive-use private railcar journeys on two of the most scenic routes in the American West.

Rather than operating its own luxury train, Halloway will attach a pair of restored historic railcars to regularly scheduled Amtrak trains, creating what the company describes as a fully private onboard experience: sleeping, dining, and lounging reserved entirely for one group. The initial itineraries will operate on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight route, connecting Los Angeles and Oakland (across the bay from San Francisco), and on the California Zephyr line, which links Oakland with Denver in Colorado.

Quote:

Your booking grants you exclusive use of both the Evelyn Henry (sleeping car) and the Warren R. Henry (vista dome lounge car) for your entire party—plus breakfast, lunch, and dinner crafted fresh by your onboard chef. This is not just travel. It’s a rolling, all-inclusive California escape—private, pampered, and unforgettable.

The fare includes exclusive occupancy of both cars for up to 6 guests. With such a small capacity, plenty of room to spread out.

It's not cheap, $10K for Los Angeles to Oakland, a 12-hour journey up the legendary Coast Starlight route, and $18.5K for Oakland to Denver, roughly a day and a half journey.

https://www.afar.com/magazine/halloway- ... a-colorado

Bobharbison · **Joined:** Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:42 pm **Posts:** 3011

Their website doesn't seem to work well. The only trip that it offers for booking is the trips on 1/15 and 1/16 which the article states is sold out.

No other trips are shown, so it's unclear if this is a single move or there are more trips offered. The article read as if they'll be doing this on a regular basis.

Of course, at $18,500, I'm not the client they are looking for, and maybe if you contact them they'll have other options. I didn't try that as I'd just be wasting their time.