Richard was our conductor and a very charming one at that. In no time he had everyone completely at ease. He makes his home just across the river in Minnesota but spends his weekends playing his role as the man in charge of the passengers.
We were allowed to board about 10 minutes to eleven and found our tables, complete with name reservations on real table cloths -- and brunch served on real china - no plastic cups or plates, thank you. We were in the "first class" car and were very well taken care of by the staff.
Brunch was catered and really very good. It included scrambled eggs with cheese, regular and blueberry pancakes, very meaty, crispy bacon, pork links done to a lovely brown, glasses of orange juice, fresh coffee, fresh fruit cocktail, and miniature muffins.
As you can see from the photos, this is the creme de la creme of the train cars and back in the day was reserved for the movers and shakers of business and government.
When we reached the switchback area, we watched as the engine came past our windows to the opposite end of the train and the journey back to Osceola began.
This left the rear of the James Hill car as the caboose, complete with a walk out platform that we were invited to use on the way back.
It gave us an opportunity to take some air and get some incredible photos of the river and the trestle.
When we returned to our seats we found that the staff had left champagne for us in flutes bearing the railway's logo. Unfortunately, the sudden braking had knocked one of the glasses into the other and shattered it.
Again, the gracious staff came to our rescue and offered us new flutes as we exited the train.
All in all, it was a great trip - one that I would recommend heartily for anyone looking for a special way to celebrate a special occasion.
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