I guess that the “third time” really is the charm!  On Saturday, April 29, 2006 fourteen RJC members and guest drove from Reno to McCloud California for the “Shasta Train Dinner”.  This was the third time that the RJC has done this trip. 

We all met at the North end of the Hilton parking lot. We left Reno at around 9:30 AM and had lunch in Susanville at the Black Bear Restaurant.  The service there was remarkable!  We had a nice lunch and then headed off for our final destination – McCloud, CA.  We arrived around 2:30 PM.  We were scattered around at four different hotels.  Poor Iain and Wendy Buxton, their hotels lost their reservation and were incredibly lucky to find a room at all! Oh what a room they found as well.  They described it as “cozy” and “how to brush your teeth from your bed”! 

At 4:30 we all met at the McCloud Hotel for appetizers and wine then walked across the street for our train adventure.

We were able to secure the Caboose once again.  We had this car last year and the other dinner guest on the train thought that we were very special and called our car “The Presidential Car”.  Ten members were able to eat in the Caboose and the other four were just outside the private room in a very nice, comfortable booth.  What was so wonderful about the Caboose was that we had access to the outside landing.  We had spectacular views from this vantage point.  Please check out the pictures.

Rich Wilder was asked by the Conductor if he wanted to “switch the track”.  Of course he said, “Yes”!  That was quite an experience that not too many people get to do. 

Our four course dinners were delicious, hot and tasty.  I still don’t know how the cooking staff and waitress’s can serve the entire dinner guest in such tight cooking quarters?

We still had another surprise in store for us!  When I was on the back deck of the Caboose the Conductor asked me if I could keep a secret, I said, “ah Sure” (for those who know me well, know that my keeping a secret is a fate almost worse then death!)  He told me that he had arranged it that just our group would be able to go up to the engine room and get a private tour and that we MUST keep it quiet from the other dinner guest!  He told me he would let me know when I could tell the others. Well, when I went back into our private dining car I looked like a cat with a canary in her mouth!  I was so excited for our group.  The time finally came and I was allowed to share this special privilege with our RJC group.  We were divided into two groups.  Each group was to act like they were just going up to the gift car to buy souvenirs.  When they got to the end of the gift car, the Conductor opened the door and members were then able to “jump” up to the engine!  Some members, well let’s just say, preferred to buy “souvenirs”.  It was an incredible sight to see the track from the front of the train as well as from the very back.  We were even able to go out the engine room door to the very front of the train.  This was like being in a “Dudley Do Right” cartoon!

We disembarked at 9:00 PM and went back to our various hotels for the remainder of the night.

We met around 10:00 Sunday morning and headed home.  Some members went to Burney Falls, others had other destinations in mind.  All arrived safely back home.

As I mentioned earlier, the third time on the Shasta Dinner Train truly was the Charm!

By Patti Wilder

 

Members and Guest that went were:

Iain & Wendy Buxton

Mike & Kathy Glass

Larry & Ellie Richardson

Joan Shonnard and her three guests

Rich & Patti Wilder

John Wittrig & Debbie McMurtrey

Click on any photo for a larger view.