This is a special in-depth tour of the lovely Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas as the spring flowers bloom! The Ozark Spring Rail Tour travels round-trip from Chicago to Kansas City and Branson in Missouri and to Eureka Springs and Fort Smith in Arkansas. The tour begins with an evening ride from Chicago to Kansas City on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief Superliner. Ride the Ann Rutledge streamliner through the rolling hills of central Missouri from Kansas City to Sedalia and return to Chicago from Texarkana at the end of the tour on the famous Texas Eagle Superliner.

Unique sightseeing in Missouri includes the new National World War One Museum, the one-of-a-kind Steamboat Arabia Museum, and the Harry Truman Presidential Museum in the Kansas City area. In Branson enjoy no less than seven shows (not all of which are country music); experience a visit to the unusual College of the Ozarks; take a tram tour in the exquisite wildlife and floral reserve of Dogwood Canyon; visit the new Veterans and Titanic museums; and visit Silver Dollar City, with its steam railway, shows and crafts vendors. A highlight is the 40-mile journey through the heart of the Ozark Mountains on the Branson Scenic Railway’s “Branson Zephyr” domeliner.

In Arkansas you focus on the preserved Victorian resort of Eureka Springs and the wild-west “jumping off” point of Fort Smith. Enjoy a stay at the restored 1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa in Eureka Springs and tour the town by tram and on the Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway Dinner Train. From Springdale to Van Buren, take a breathtaking daylight ride over the crest of the Boston Range of the Ozarks on the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad, traveling in First Class Parlor Car service. At Fort Smith, ride a true streetcar at the Trolley Museum, then tour the historic area on a trackless trolley. Visit Fort Smith National Historic Site and explore Miss Laura’s, a notorious former “house of ill repute”! You also ascend to over 2,800 feet on the scenic drive through Queen Wilhelmina State Park and visit the restored Mena Depot Museum in the former Kansas City Southern Railroad depot which served the renowned “Southern Belle” streamliner.

Call 877-929-7245 for air or rail fares from your city to and from Chicago, IL.

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• Amtrak’s Southwest Chief
• Ann Rutledge Streamliner
• Amtrak's Texas Eagle
• Unique Sightseeing in Missouri
• Dogwood Canyon
• Branson Scenic Railway
• Eureka Springs
• Fort Smith
• Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway
• Numerous Branson Shows
• Arkansas and Missouri Railroad
• Queen Wilhelmina State Park
• Much Much More

• 9 Nights Lodging
• All Sightseeing
• All Shows in Branson as outlined
• 12 Meals
• Services of Professional Tour Manager
• All Rail and Motorcoach Transportation as outlined
• Luggage Handling

Day One, Friday, May 9
Amtrak’s Southwest Chief to Kansas City. The tour begins with the 3:15 p.m. departure of Amtrak’s legendary Southwest Chief from Chicago to Kansas City. Dinner can be purchased in the mid-train diner, while light meals and beverages are available in the mid-train dome-lounge car. Speed south through the rich farmlands of Illinois. From Chicago to Galesburg, the train follows the former Burlington “Zephyr” route, then switches to the former “Santa Fe All the Way” to Kansas City. At dinner time, you cross the Mississippi River at Fort Madison, Iowa and quickly enter Missouri.

Upon arrival in Kansas City, transfer to your hotel for the next two nights, the Hampton Inn Country Club Plaza. Your hotel is located in the unique Country Club Plaza complex. This was one of the first “shopping centers” ever built, completed shortly before World War II. Lovely landscaped grounds line a creek in a park-like setting. The stores and restaurants occupy their own free-standing buildings, so there is none of the feeling of a massive contemporary mall.

Day Two, Saturday, May 10 (B,L)
National World War One Museum - Steamboat Arabia Museum - Truman Presidential Library. Begin the day with a visit to America’s only museum devoted to the saga of the first World War. Kansas City’s new National World War One Museum tells this story with both multi-media exhibits and the Liberty Memorial Tower. American military commander, General John Pershing, was a Kansas City native; and the young Harry Truman served as an artillery officer in the American Expeditionary Force.

After an included lunch, you have a very special tour of the Steamboat Arabia Museum. The paddle-wheeler “Arabia” sank in the Missouri River in 1856. The silt-filled waters rapidly covered the wreck, almost perfectly preserving its contents. Later the river shifted its course, leaving the lost steamer deep under a farm field over a half-mile from the new channel. A volunteer group searched for the “Arabia” and, in an epic of marine archaeology, raised her from the field and the muck. The vessel was carrying cargo for up-river points in the Dakotas which made her, in effect, a floating department store. The museum tells the story of her last voyage and rediscovery. The displays show not only the remains of the vessel, including her engines and large parts of her hull, but more importantly the remarkable goods she carried. Here are clothes, canned goods, perfumes, toys and tools preserved as if they were made yesterday, from a cargo that sank in 1856!

Finally, you drive to Independence and visit the President Harry S Truman Presidential Museum and Library. Truman was a native of Missouri and lived in Independence until his death. His presidency is now seen by historians as one of the most important of the 20th century. On returning to the hotel, there is free time to explore the many shops, restaurants and cafes of Country Club Plaza. On Saturday evening, most shops remain open until at least 7:00 p.m., and many until later. There are 40 different restaurants and cafes and 17 venues offer outdoor dining on warm spring nights.

Day Three, Sunday, May 11 (B,L,D)
Amtrak’s Ann Rutledge - Lambert’s Café - on to Branson. Return to the magnificently restored Kansas City Union Depot this morning to board Amtrak’s Ann Rutledge streamliner for a pretty ride through the rolling hills of central Missouri on the former Missouri Pacific line. Reboard your motorcoach in Sedalia and drive south into the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. En route enjoy lunch at a Missouri institution, Lambert’s Café, home of the famous (literally) “thrown rolls”. In mid-afternoon you arrive in Branson for a relaxing four-night stay at the Radisson Hotel. Dinner is included this evening at the American Bandstand Grill.

Days Four, Five, and Six, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 12, 13 and 14 (B,D daily)
Branson area program: Included are no less than seven Branson shows in this tour, and additional artists perform at Silver Dollar City. Please note the acts listed below could change, as stars come and go, but these are the programs expected to be included. We are not listing shows or attractions by each day, because we may need to reorganize the sequence of performances if times change. Most days you will enjoy two shows. In addition, you have a very complete sightseeing program while in Branson.

Planned shows: Bill Medley with Paul Revere and the Raiders (60s rock and comedy); the New Shanghai Circus; Kirby Vanburch (wild animal magic show with white tigers and a backstage tour); Shoji Tabuchi (amazing violin virtuoso); Hamner Barber Variety Show (comedy ventriloquist); Brett Family Show (country and easy listening tunes); and the comedy and songs of Jim Stafford. Musical styles include 1950s pop, country, and Broadway and the violin pyrotechnics of Shoji Tabuchi. For contrast, enjoy the acrobatics of the New Shanghai Circus!

Branson area included sightseeing: The Patch Collection: 57th Heaven (amazing collection of the cars of 1957 in a re-created “Hometown”); the Foster Museum of the College of the Ozarks (antiques, furniture, clothing and crafts of the mountains); Silver Dollar City (re-created Ozarks traditional village with a ride on the steam narrow gauge railway and special shows); Veterans Memorial Museum (mementos of America’s veterans in the 20th century); and Titanic: the Legend Continues (original artifacts recovered from the wreck of the R.M.S. Titanic and re-created cabins). There is free time daily to purchase lunches and shop in the downtown Branson Historic District.

A highlight is a 40-mile round trip through the heart of the Ozarks riding the Branson Scenic Railway’s “Ozark Zephyr” domeliner on the former Missouri Pacific route. This line crosses high trestles, passes beautiful vistas and traverses mountain tunnels as it travels far from the main highways. Regular passenger service on this route ended in the 1950s.

Included meals in Branson: A breakfast buffet is included daily at the Radisson Hotel. Dinner also is included each day, with meals at Rails Catfish and Seafood Buffet, McFarlain’s Restaurant, and Landry’s.

Day Seven, Thursday, May 15 (B)
Dogwood Canyon - Eureka Springs. This morning you drive to a unique natural wonder, Dogwood Canyon, touring the forested floor by tram. The park should be filled with spring wildflower displays and (hopefully) the blooming dogwoods that give it its name! The canyon also is a wildlife preserve. See animals once native to the Ozarks, including buffalo, deer, and elk. Later you drive to the lovely Victorian resort of Eureka Springs, where you overnight at the restored 1886 Crescent Grand Hotel and Spa. There is free time here this afternoon to enjoy the 15 acres of formal gardens that adjoin the hotel or perhaps “take the cure” at the spa.

Day Eight, Friday, May 16 (B,D)
Tour Eureka Springs - Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway - Dinner Train. You can relax at the hotel this morning. At your convenience, you explore the exceptional Victorian precincts of Eureka Springs with an all-day pass on the Eureka Springs (trackless) Trolley, which continuously circuits the historic area. The downtown and residential areas offer one of the most significant collections of Victorian architecture in the country. This afternoon you board the Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway for dinner in the diner on their evening run. After dinner, you drive west through the hills to nearby Springdale, overnighting at the Sleep Inn and Suites.

Day Nine, Saturday, May 17 (CB,L)
Arkansas and Missouri Railroad over the Ozarks - Tour Fort Smith. You board the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad this morning, traveling in the First Class Parlor Car with included snacks and beverages. The A&M follows the former Frisco route through the high peaks of the Boston Range of the Ozarks. On your 66-mile trip south to Van Buren, you cross high trestles and view great panoramas of the peaks and valleys of the Ozarks.

The afternoon is spent in historic Fort Smith, the 19th century “jumping off” point for many wagon-train pioneers enroute to Texas and the southwest. You begin with a ride on the Fort Smith Trolley (a true streetcar line) and visit the Trolley Museum. After an included lunch, you visit Fort Smith National Historic Site, which displays buildings from the 19th century cavalry posts that defended the frontier. Later view Miss Laura’s mansion, once a very fancy “house of ill repute”. End with a trackless trolley tour of the historic district and overnight at the Holiday Inn Fort Smith.

Day Ten, Sunday, May 18 (L,D)
Queen Wilhelmina State Park - “Southern Belle” miniature train ride - Mena Depot Museum. You have a very scenic drive south into some of the highest ridges of the Ozarks. Pause at Mena to ride the miniature “Southern Belle” train, which evokes memories of the legendary crack train of the Kansas City Southern Lines. Then ascend over 2800 feet on the Talimena Scenic Drive to Queen Wilhelmina State Park. Have a luncheon buffet at the State Park Lodge before returning to Mena for a private tour of the Mena Depot Museum. Finally, you drive south to Texarkana, the unique town straddling the Texas/Arkansas line. Your Farewell Dinner is here before boarding Amtrak’s Texas Eagle Superliner. Overnight on the train. The basic tour price includes leg-rest reclining seats. As noted below, participants can upgrade to Pullman sleepers by paying the appropriate added cost. Sleeper fares include meals in the diner while on this train.

Day Eleven, Monday, May 19 (B,L for sleeper passengers)
Texas Eagle Superliner to Chicago - tour ends. The day is spent relaxing on the train as it rolls north through St. Louis and Springfield to a scheduled 2:14 p.m. arrival at Chicago Union Station. your route includes the former Missouri Pacific mainline to St. Louis and the former Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad speedway north from St. Louis across the rich farmlands of Illinois to Joliet and Chicago. Just after breakfast, you soar over the Mississippi River on the high bridge at St. Louis. The train offers a full-service dining car and a mid-train double-decker Superliner dome-lounge. Meals are included for sleeper passengers. The tour ends upon arrival in Chicago.

   

   

   

This tour has already departed in 2008. Dates for 2009 will be available soon.