200 Years on Track – Brand USA Invites Visitors to Experience American Rail in 2027

In 2027, the United States marks 200 years since the beginning of its railroad era, providing travelers with a timely reason to experience the country from a different perspective: through the window of a train. From crossing the Rocky Mountains and following the path of Route 66 to riding vintage trains through historic landscapes and sleeping inside restored railway carriages, Brand USA is highlighting unique and unforgettable ways to experience 200 years of American rail.

“Rail is where America’s travel story began, and 200 years later, the romance of the rails endures. The 2027 bicentennial is a timely invitation for travelers to slow down, look out the window, and take in the unique beauty of the USA mile by mile. There’s no better year to let the tracks lead the way,” said Fred Dixon, president and CEO of Brand USA.

Two centuries later, America’s rail story is still evolving. New trains and passenger services are joining legendary long-distance routes, while historic railways, restored stations and inventive rail-themed hotels are giving travelers new ways to experience the country’s railroad heritage. For international visitors accustomed to thinking of the United States as a destination best explored by car or plane, 2027 presents another possibility: letting the tracks lead the way.

See America’s epic landscapes from the rails

The vast distances that can make traveling around the United States daunting are also what make its long-distance trains so memorable. Instead of flying over mountains, deserts and forests, rail passengers watch the landscape gradually transform outside their windows, making the journey as important as the destination.

In the American West, Canyon Spirit turns that idea into a multiday vacation. Its daylight-only journeys are designed around the scenery, allowing passengers to take in dramatic canyons, mountains and red-rock landscapes rather than sleeping through them. The experience can also serve as part of a larger western U.S. itinerary, linking major cities like Denver and Salt Lake City,  with national parks and outdoor destinations.

Travelers looking to cover even greater distances can experience some of America’s classic long-distance Amtrak routes. The California Zephyr travels between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area, crossing the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada along the way, while the Coast Starlight connects Seattle and Los Angeles on a journey through the Pacific Northwest and California. Farther north, the Empire Builder travels between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest, stopping at Glacier National Park and following a route through plains, mountains and landscapes that underscore the enormous geographic scale of the country.

Ride the new generation of American trains

New trains and expanded services are changing where—and how—visitors can explore the United States by rail. In the Pacific Northwest, Amtrak’s upcoming Airo trains are expected to introduce a new generation of equipment to Amtrak Cascades, the rail corridor connecting cities including Seattle and Portland. For overseas travelers, the route makes it possible to build a rail-focused itinerary around some of the region’s biggest draws, combining city stays with access to forests, mountains, wine regions and the coast.

Thousands of miles away, another passenger service is reconnecting communities along the Gulf Coast. Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service links New Orleans with Mobile, Alabama, creating an easy way for visitors to extend a stay in one of America’s best-known cultural destinations into a broader exploration of the Gulf Coast. Rather than ending a trip after experiencing New Orleans’ jazz clubs, Creole and Cajun cuisine and historic neighborhoods, travelers can continue east by rail, stopping in smaller coastal communities along the way.

Take the Mother Road — without driving

Few journeys are as synonymous with American travel as Route 66, which celebrated its centennial this year. Stretching between Chicago and Los Angeles, the legendary highway has inspired generations of road trips through small towns, desert landscapes and roadside Americana.

A rail itinerary can parallel portions of the historic Route 66 corridor, granting a different take on the quintessential American road trip. Beginning in Chicago, travelers can use Amtrak’s Southwest Chief to travel west through Mother Road communities and into the Southwestern desert, forest and city landscapes. In New Mexico, a stop in Albuquerque introduces visitors to Southwestern architecture, cuisine and culture before the tracks continue toward Arizona. Here, Flagstaff provides a gateway to the Grand Canyon, before the journey eventually reaches Los Angeles.

The experience isn’t a mile-for-mile recreation of Route 66. Instead, it suggests a creative way to connect two enduring symbols of American travel—the railway journey and the open road—while allowing international visitors to experience several dramatically different regions of the country in a single trip.

Ride into America’s railroad past aboard restored trains

Some of the country’s most memorable train journeys operate on tracks where history is part of the attraction. Across the United States, smaller, heritage railways preserve locomotives, routes and stations while carrying modern-day travelers through landscapes that can feel remarkably unchanged.

Colorado and the surrounding Mountain West afford dramatic examples, where historic trains travel through rugged mountain scenery, traversing the former mining regions that originally made rail connections so important. The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad carries passengers through the San Juan Mountains between two historic Colorado communities, while the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad crosses the Colorado-New Mexico border through remote high-country scenery. The latter also offers themed steam train rides that focus on geology, or that include live music, dinner and beer tastings.

Elsewhere, heritage railways tell different chapters of the American story. Pennsylvania‘s Strasburg Rail Road operates in one of the country’s oldest railroad regions, while West Virginia‘s Cass Scenic Railroad carries passengers into the Appalachian Mountains on tracks once associated with the logging industry. In the Finger Lakes region of New York State, the Finger Lakes Rail Experience offers sightseeing, sunset, fall foliage, and holiday rides throughout the year.

These excursions not only preserve old trains; they also grant access to historic towns, rural landscapes and regions international visitors might otherwise miss.

Discover the stations and museums that tell America’s rail story

To understand how deeply railways shaped the United States, travelers can step off the train and into the museums and former railway buildings that preserve that history.

Baltimore, Maryland provides a natural starting point during the 200th-anniversary year, as the city played a foundational role in American railroad history through its Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The city’s National Museum of Railroad History & Innovation (formerly the B&O Railroad Museum) preserves one of the country’s most significant collections of railroad artifacts and historic equipment. Bicentennial exhibitions and programming in 2027 (including a new Innovation Hall, set to open in January 2027) afford additional opportunities to explore the story where much of it began. Also scheduled for early 2027 is the new ADA-accessible Roundhouse at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, offering up-close access to six historic steam locomotives.

Across the country, historic stations have also found new lives as destinations in their own right. Denver Union Station combines an active transportation hub with dining, shopping and hospitality, and houses the Crawford Hotel, which features Pullman-style rooms designed to mimic vintage sleeper cars. Omaha, Nebraska’s Durham Museum is a history museum housed inside the 1931 Art Deco Union Station where visitors can climb aboard restored 1940s passenger train cars and buy a malted milkshake from a working 1931 soda fountain. Kansas City’s Union Station and Cincinnati’s monumental Union Terminal similarly demonstrate how the grand railway stations of the past continue to play a role in modern American cities by hosting art exhibits, film screenings, model train shows, yoga classes, historical lectures and cooking demonstrations. Los Angeles Union Station remains one of Southern California’s great architectural landmarks and hosts tours exploring the station’s design, history and extensive artwork.

Sleep in a piece of railroad history

The train doesn’t necessarily have to leave the station for travelers to spend a night immersed in America’s rail heritage. Around the country, historic railway buildings and retired train cars have been transformed into unusual places to stay.

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, Hotel Chalet at The Choo Choo gives guests the opportunity to sleep in restored Pullman train carriages within a historic railway complex. The property occupies Chattanooga‘s former Terminal Station, tying a contemporary hotel stay to the city’s long relationship with passenger rail. Also in Chattanooga is the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, which showcases the history of rail travel and features themed rides aboard historic and restored trains.

Old train depots have been revived and transformed into modern hotels operated by large chains, including several by Marriott. Salt Lake City’s Union Pacific Depot was reimagined into the Asher Adams hotel with 13 historic suites, while Minneapolis’s Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot retains historic character and architecture in its exterior frame, event spaces, bar and restaurant.

A very different railway overnight awaits in rural Idaho, where Idaho Train Stays in Deary welcomes guests to spend the night in a restored 1909 train carriage, caboose and passenger room. Surrounded by the landscapes of northern Idaho, the experience pairs railroad nostalgia with an introduction to a part of the American West that few international travelers encounter.

In Madrid, New Mexico, the Antigua Inn features restored cabooses transformed into cozy guest accommodations, complete with patios and kiva fireplaces, while The Hamilton in nearby Lamy offers overnight stays in a restored 1920s Pullman railcar beside the historic Lamy Train Station. From Lamy (or Santa Fe), travelers can also board Sky Railway, a railroad dating to 1880 that was revived and restored in part by Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin. These so-called “imaginative adventure trains” host rail experiences with themes as diverse as stargazing, murder mystery, live jazz and margarita tastings.

For travelers and large groups who want a camping-like experience with all the amenities of home, ten retired and restored Union Pacific cabooses (complete with full kitchens and a fire pit) can be reserved during warm weather months in Two Rivers State Recreation Area, near Omaha, Nebraska.

Nationwide celebrations and special events

Throughout 2027, the anniversary will grant opportunities to experience American railroad history beyond regularly scheduled trains and attractions. Museums, historic stations, heritage railways and railroad communities around the country are expected to commemorate the milestone through exhibitions, special excursions and anniversary programming. For instance, Maryland is promoting rail-themed museums and scenic train rides across the state.

While some celebrations will be new, others will be a continuation of long-standing tradition, such as the Raylrode Daze Festivul, which launched in 1969 in Branchville, South Carolina (90 minutes west of Charleston). The city is the site of the oldest railroad junction in the United States and the home of the Branchville Railroad Museum.

Two hundred years after America’s railroad story began, the tracks remain more than a way of getting from one place to another. In 2027, they offer a route through the country’s history, landscapes and communities—and a different way to discover the United States as American rail enters its third century.

Start planning your rail adventure in the USA by visiting AmericaTheBeautiful.com.

About Brand USA
Brand USA is the nation’s destination marketing organization, dedicated to attracting legitimate international inbound travel to strengthen the U.S. economy, increase exports, create quality jobs, and promote community prosperity. By running data-driven campaigns and unifying messaging across industry and government, Brand USA positions the United States as a top global destination while providing current visa and entry information.

Over the past 13 years Brand USA has driven 11.3 million additional international visitors who spent $38.1 billion in the United States, leading to $82.9 billion in total economic impact and sustaining an average of more than 40,000 jobs each year. These efforts have generated nearly $11 billion in attributable tax receipts at the federal, state, and local levels.