In the early dawn, a 17-car train rumbles out of Union Station and heads west to Winter Park. Its 56-mile route winds through curving canyons, pristine mountain scenery and 28 tunnels. Each car’s soft lights glow while passengers, many not fully awake, settle into their seats for the next two hours. Jim Bain, the Ski Train’s president and general manager, walks through to make sure passengers are well cared for.
Bain, who is working his 16th season, strives to continue the Ski Train tradition, which has operated since the 1940s. For the estimated 700 to 800 passengers on each trip, Bain and his staff of mostly volunteers want to offer the Ski Train as a relaxing alternative to the automobile.
“I hope at the end of the day, it’s been a better day than if they’d just driven themselves up skiing,” he says.
