Luxury Train Travel Takes Passengers Back To A More Elegant Age
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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.
A luxury train travel vacation tickle your fancy? Get the exclusive low down on all you need to know now in our comprehensive Rovos Train Royal Suite review.