From the Society of American Travel Writers
1. The Rocky Mountaineer (rocky ) offers spectacular two-day journeys through the Canadian Rocky Mountains from Vancouver to Banff or Jasper.
2. The Glacier Express (glacierexpress .ch) is the famous Swiss mountain railway from St. Moritz to Zermatt, a 7 1/2- hour railway journey that crosses 291 bridges and burrows through 91 tunnels.
3. Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (durangotrain.com) winds through rugged canyons in the remote wilderness of Colorado’s 2-million-acre San Juan National Forest.
4. The Bernina Express (rhb.ch) from Chur, Switzerland, to Tirano, Italy, makes the highest rail crossing of the Alps, passing from glaciers to palm-shaded piazzas in just a few hours. It crosses 196 bridges and passes through 55 tunnels.
5. Peru Rail, Cusco to Machu Picchu (perurail.com), carries passengers on a spectacular journey through the high Andes. There are three levels of service, from backpacker trains to Vistadome cars to the luxurious blue and gold Hiram Bingham train, named in honor of Hiram Bingham, the explorer who discovered the Inca citadel in 1911.
6. The Coastal Classic Train on the Alaska Railroad (akrr.com) winds through the wilderness between Anchorage and Seward. Massive glaciers are visible from the track as the train climbs into the Kenai Mountains and travels to the shores of Resurrection Bay for convenient connection to Kenai Fjords National Park, offering whale watching, sea kayaking, tidewater glacier viewing, fishing and dog sled rides.
7. The Royal Scotsman (royalscotsman ) rolls through sweeping glens, towering peaks and mirror-calm lochs as the train weaves through wild countryside and along virgin stretches of coast on two- to seven-night journeys in the Scottish highlands.
8. The Whistler Mountaineer (whistler mountaineer) in Canada is a three-hour ride along the magnificent coast of British Columbia, from Vancouver to Whistler, famous for its views of cities, old- growth forests, deep valleys, snowcapped peaks and seascapes.
9. Mexico’s El Chepe (chepe.com.mx) ventures into the imposing landscapes of the Sierra Tarahumara and into Mexico’s famed Copper Canyon, passing through 87 tunnels and crossing 37 bridges. The Copper Canyon is four times the size of the Grand Canyon — and deeper.
10. The Flam Railway (norwaynutshell.com) is regarded as one of the highlights of the “Norway in a Nutshell” tour. The 12-mile train journey from the mountain station of Myrdal down to Flam, beside a fjord, takes 55 minutes.
