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The thought might be triggered by seeing an old movie with scenes on a train. Or maybe you’ll hear an old person recount a long ago train trip remembered many decades later for it’s luxurious dining car with fine china and white linen table cloth. It could be the reading of a novel set in the nineteen twenties that makes the reader yearn for the glamor, romance and adventure of luxury train travel.

Fortunately the old fashioned, luxurious kind of travel most people nowadays only dream about has been recreated. Since Rovos Rail was founded in South Africa in the 1980s Rohan Vos has made it the ultimate in rail travel adventure.

Passenger cars on a Rovos train are divided up into private suites. In the most exclusive cars there are only two suites, each of them huge compared to compartments on any other train. They are furnished with every luxury including old fashioned clawfoot bathtubs.

Occupants of all of the private suites will find that they have been provided with all of the modern comforts and conveniences. However the modern touches only add to the sense of luxury one feels when looking around the vintage rail car they are traveling in. All of the cars are vintage rolling stock, the oldest dating back to 1911. All have been meticulously restored to their former wood and brass perfection.

Rohan Vos first took an interest in trains when his used auto parts business was contacted by a group involved in the restoration and preservation of old steam engines. By the mid 1980s Vos was hooked and purchased his first steam locomotive and four passenger carriages. These he restored for the use of his family but eventually realized he had an expensive toy. The solution was to sell tickets.

Since then Vos has dedicated much of his time to flying his private plane over the countryside looking for old coaches and locomotives. He rescues them from scrap yards, and purchases them rail roads who have put them out to pasture. He has even bought rail cars from individuals who had turned them into restaurants and other business venues.

Beautifully restored rolling stock is just the beginning of the Rovos time travel experience. The illusion of traveling in a more elegant time-gone-by is completed by excellent friendly but unobtrusive service. Expert chefs prepare gourmet foods and fine wines flow freely. A journey through some of the most diverse and beautiful landscapes in the world is enhanced by modern convenience and old fashioned comfort.

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Would you like to go back in time, and experience luxury train travel when it was the height of elegance, catered to the elite? Would you like to know what it is like to be in a five star hotel on wheels, with some of the most beautiful and varied scenery in the world going by right outside your window?

All that is required is that you book a trip on Rovos Rail, a private railway serving South Africa. Regardless, if your journey is for two days or two weeks, it is going to be at the top of your all-time vacation memories. The trains are all vintage carriages, restored to mint condition. These are not replicas.

The motif of deep glossy wood you will find throughout the train, is a kind of elegance you might find in the finest of hotels. The traditional luxury furniture and decor from a bygone era, creates a mood of rare grandeur and sophistication in the Lounge, Dining and Observation cars.

Please make no mistake, there is no bus or airplane seating on the Pride of South Africa. You will nestle into deep couches, wing tip chairs and other fine furniture. All passengers have their own quarters, comfortable for parties of 2.

There are 3 suite styles and prices to choose from. They all offer double beds, or double twin beds. Do you love fresh air? You can open you windows, but with the climate controlled carriages, you certainly will never have to do so. The rooms come with full bathrooms, and that includes a shower. The Royal Suites even include a Victorian vintage bathtub, as well. Bring your own bubbles, to be on the safe side.

You will enjoy 5 star dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the elegant dining car. The dining gong is rung before each meal, which is only served once. If you miss it, there is always room service, available twenty four hours a day. Dinner is formal. Jackets and ties are mandatory.

The carriages are from the 1930′s, restored to full glory, and better. They include the modern conveniences of air conditioning, heating, and have electrical receptacles for hair dryers and and shavers. However, modern technology is only allowed in your room.

One of the things that makes Rovos so special is the atmosphere of going back into time, before cell phones and computers. You can use them in your room, but cell phone reception is not good, and there is no wifi broadcast provided. This trip can be a short reprieve from all that.

Rovos is at the very top of the list when it comes to luxury train travel. By the way, your train could be powered by diesel, steam or electricity.

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Are you looking for adventure and new lands to explore? Have you seen the power and the beauty of a wild animal as it stalks out its territory? Do you want to venture deep into the once unknown continent and experience the mystery and the beauty of Africa first hand? This is the world that luxury train travel opens up to travelers from across the globe.

Journey from the Tavern of the Seas, as Cape Town was known by Portuguese, Dutch and English sailors of times gone by when sailing ships crossed the great oceans, deep into the heart of Southern Africa where the mighty Zambezi River thunders over the edge and down to the deep abyss below creating the magnificent Victoria Falls.

Jet into Cape Town and begin your train safari the moment that you step aboard the restored Rovos Rail train with its wood-paneled coaches remodeled and refurbished to take you back to a romantic era when train travel was the only way for ladies and gentlemen to enjoy a trip in style.

You will enjoy the convenience of first class accommodation, five star cuisine and impeccable service as the train glides out of Cape Town station, following the tracks of early settlers to Stellenbosch and across the towering Hottentots Holland Mountain range where baboons will casually glance your way as they groom their young ones on rocky outcrops.

Enjoy a drink with your traveling companions as the train speeds across miles of seemingly deserted land. Raise your glass to the thousands of pink flamingo at home in the wetlands outside Kimberley.

Further northwards you encounter Pretoria, the city of Jacarandas, before heading up to the Tropics. Sit back in comfort as you search the vast tracks of land in Botswana across which the animals roam. You see herds of buck and zebra, lumbering elephant and tall giraffe, graceful and ungainly at the same time.

Leaving Botswana you approach the little town of Victoria Falls. You see the spray plume and hear the rush of great quantities of water and you know that you have reached your destination.

Step out of your luxury train and through the stone entrance to the Victoria Falls Park. Close your raincoat tightly as you step up to the rails overlooking one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Your camera clicks rapidly as the spray engulfs you on its thundering way over the edge and into the river far below.

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If you think of luxury train travel one thing should come to mind that is Rovos Rail. It’s called the pride of Africa this wonderful collection of high class locomotives that can take you on a wonderful journey. Whether it is to have a romantic getaway or just go site seeing, this should be the place you look too.

Though it has taken some time to get many of the fleet in their selection. It is something that has been accomplished very well. Through years of searching and refurbishing you now have a chance to ride a classic train with modern pluses.

The oldest of the locomotives they have is the 1893, it is the 439 Tiffany. Built back in that year by the Company of Dubs and Co. Located in Scotland. During that time it was something that was built for the Cape Government to use. At that time the trip it would take would be the one that lead from Johannesburg into Cape Town.

Taking the time to refurbish and rebuilt the engine to a much more efficient model. The original firebox boiler would be replaced by that of the Belpair firebox. It was due to Rohan seeing this beautiful engine during travels that it would be purchased in the year of 1987.

Another three beautiful engines would be added during later times to the stock, they would be those 19D class engine. Overall only a total of 235 of this type of model would be built from the years of 1937 up to 1948.

They have also be modified from the original built into something that will give it more area to cover. Replacing the tenders that were originally in them with ones of Vanderbilt that are able to hold much more coal and water.

The first of these models that would be acquired would be the 2702 Bianca that was built during 1938. It would be acquired by the family during 1986 when it was found in a scrap metal yard. Again it would be given the right touch to get it back into working condition.

Again hitting another scrap metal yard the next purchase would be of the 2701 Brenda. Once again with a loving touch it would be fixed up and made possible to run once again.

The last of the 19D class that would be added was something that Rohan would come across while checking the yard where the other trains were fixed up. It was the 3360 Shaun, and it would of course be done up just perfect again.

This is really a once in a lifetime chance that many should think of taking. A chance of riding in a classic train that has all the modern needs that you seek. The inside of these trains is completely wonderful.

A true chance for the train lover too out there to enjoy something that would offer a fantastic journey. Not only can you enjoy the scenery of Africa when you travel this way. But you will also have the chance to be on some of the most beautiful locomotives that are out there currently.

If you think of luxury train travel one thing should come to mind that is Rovos Victoria Falls . It’s referred to as the pride of Africa this wonderful collection of top quality locomotives that can take you on an exciting journey.

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, more commonly known as the Orient Express, is something that conjures up visions of mystery and intrigue. It has been the subject of many books, and many movies and novels have taken their settings from this luxurious train. It has a powerful grasp on the imagination, and in many ways, it is still the epitome of luxury travel.

Luxury train travel has a long history, with George Pullman being one of the first to hit upon the idea of offering luxury travel to passengers with all of the amenities available. By the mid 1800s there were train cars, which featured parlours for relaxing and sleeping berths. In Europe, Georges Nagelmackers began building luxury trains to provide upmarket travellers with comfortable travel by train.

The Orient Express first run was from Paris to Giurgiu, Romania, stopping in Strasbourg, Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest along the way. The train quickly acquired a reputation as a luxurious means of reaching the then-exotic (for travellers from Western Europe) destinations of Hungary and Romania. By 1900, the Orient Express was running an extended route travelling all the way to Istanbul via the Simplon Tunnel.

The twenties and thirties saw the reputation of this luxury train come into full flower, but the advent of World War II put a halt to it, and due to economy constraints and the advent of air travel, the train made its final run in 1977.

The Orient Express has found new life in recent years. Two of the Orient Express carriages were purchased at auction and 16 million dollars were invested in acquiring and restoring the 35 cars of the train.

It runs today and taking a trip in this historic train is for many one of the most romantic and historic trips that they will ever take. You can enjoy a truly international experience as you take the train to all of the cities that the train once travelled to. While the cities have changed, the loving recreation of the train allows you to step back in time.

Your personal steward will greet you and direct you to your compartment as you board. While you ride the Orient Express, you will dine like royalty. Expert French chefs are in the kitchen crafting exquisite meals from the finest ingredients obtained in each city where the train stops. There are three dining cars, which offer an atmospheric setting for each meal.

Choose from a single compartment or a double compartment, or combine two cabins into a private lounge with a banquette sofa and a sleeping compartment.

Sure, you could just continue to daydream about the experience of riding the Orient Express; but now that it?s something, which you really can enjoy for yourself, there?s no reason to! Stop dreaming and start experiencing the Orient Express.