Mt Rainier Scenic Railroad

We took our two daughters (8 months and 5 years) on the Santa Train ride today! We had such a great time! Yes, the drive is long. But it was a pretty drive & we stopped by this restaurant about 20 mins prior to our final destination and ate some yummy grub. I would def plan to give yourself plenty of time — as you never know how the weather and/​or traffic may be. But it was worth the drive! Our 5 year old, especially had a blast! Mrs. Clause was SO sweet and spent at LEAST 5 minutes specifically with our daughter– just talking to her about being kind… etc it truly was amazing to see. Our daughter was so infatuated with her! Of course, Santa was there too! It was such a great experience and we will go back again next year! Shoot, maybe it will become part of our family traditions! The ONLY downside, was waiting for the train outside. the area isn’t covered… so when it was raining… it wasn’t very nice. I would recommend them trying to build a covering and a better «line up» area– because they are right in front of the bathrooms too. But everything else was so fun!

I took my kids in the Santa train today and my kids fell in love. The people that were Santa and Mrs. Claus were awesome and very kind to my kiddos. My only complaint is I wish it was a little bit longer. But other than that every one is friendly and have great customer service!

For my first time riding a train, I had an absolute blast with my husband and my mother this past weekend for the last Fall run of the season! It was such a gorgeous ride and the museum was great. The whole staff on the train was friendly and upbeat and extremely informative with history of the railroad, tracks, and trains. My husband had such a fun time exploring the museum and learning a bunch of things! My mom isn’t able to walk much but she absolutely loved the gorgeous ride! It was worth every penny and I really would love to do the Christmas train in December as well!

Did the train ride on October 11. It was a gorgeous day so that helped. We rode in the concessions car and the chairs had some padding to them. Other seats were wood so we were glad we sat where we did. On the way to Mineral there isn’t much to see until you get to Nisqually River. Then the view of Rainer is fabulous if it is clear. Because it is fall now dress warm there isn’t any heat in the cars. I liked the swaying of the cars it is a train ride. Wish there would have been more information given. There was a brief history of the train and who owns the rail at the very end of the ride. I know there is a lot of history that could have been talked about on the way up and back.

Just went on our train ride this past weekend. We purchased a Groupon online. We had a great time. Staff was very friendly. definitely get there early so you can get in line to board.
In regards to all the reviews about the seats not being comfortable… Just ridiculous. This is an Amtrak people this is a scene train. We will definitely be back to support this nonprofit. We were also told that they are trying to expand with more live steam demonstrations and even different types of trains for tours.
Tips: make sure you bring cash. There is a small snack bar on the train but they only take cash no cards.
You can bring whatever food and beverages on the train you’d like as long as it’s nonalcoholic and no glass.

What a great trip — EVERYONE associated with the railroad was friendly, helpful and informative. I booked the 1000 trip today, and enjoyed it thoroughly. The conductors and the locomotive crew were superb. .. beautiful old steam engine, and the opportunity to hear it echo off of the hills was without equal. Ken was all over today answering questions on everything from history to scenery. The stop at Mineral highlighted all sorts of equipment, and stories about logging…
A great value, a great outing!

There are so many fun things about this trip that they override the minor issues. This is obviously not a well oiled, high-​end operation, but it’s a quaint, well loved experience run by people that are passionate about what they do, and are very nice people.
The conductor on our train today (⁸⁄₂₉) was knowledgeable and fun, and told great stories. The young guys who ran the snack bar on the train and at the museum were both polite and a pleasure to deal with, and everyone was happy to answer questions. The museum is well run, and the engines and exhibits are well kept and if you take the time to read the signs and look at the pictures then you will leave with a true appreciation for the love that is put into running this place and restoring the old engines.
The prices are great. Seriously. The ride is inexpensive, they don’t overcharge you for snacks (only soda is a bit high), and you can actually afford the souvenirs and toys for the kids. I bought a Lego knock off train that was really cool and cost $ 8.00. They have little electric trains that a kid would love for $ 10-​$ 15. At other places you’d spend $ 20-​$ 25. The clothes and conductor hats (both pink and blue) are great and they have a nice selection of collectible lapel pins and such.
The passenger cars are old budget rail cars, and some may find them uncomfortable so bring a seat pad. You’re riding on old track used by mining trains and such so this isn’t the smooth clickety clack rails Amtrak uses, but if you understand the significance of the idea that you’re experiencing history then it’s a lot of fun. Especially since you didn’t pay $ 100 per person to do it.
Bring the kids, because you should do it at least once. See the museum, support these people in their amazing hobby, and go home with a cheap train, or a cool one, because souvenirs are great and it supports the restoration of these wonderful old engines.
The ONLY downside was a rather rude blonde, frizzy haired (sorry, best way to describe) woman at the gift shop in the station. I write that only so someone could share with her what customer service is. All the young people working there were polite, and professional, and it was an adult that was rude. EVERYONE else was amazing.

I was surprised to see that the MRSR has an average of three stars. We’ve been out there several times and the staff, volunteers and train crew are very gracious and hard working. It’s a nice, not too log, not to brief train ride to Mineral where there is lots of stuff to look at.
They recently raised their prices and now charge for parking which is a bit annoying but still… at $ 60 for two adults they are less than half what the Eagle Cap Excursion train costs.
I don’t know what these other folks are complaining about. Everyone working at MRSR knocks themselves out to be helpful and to make the visit a memorable one. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon.
ps have lunch at Scaleburgers. :)

To me, this place is more like a 2.5.
The railroad has some great potential and my family enjoyed the museum. For the price and description, I expected more of a ride or some more entertainment.
My issues:
1) When arriving, the young lady at the ticket counter was not friendly and simply just handed me the information. No explanation of what to expect or where to go. She wasnt very welcoming either. Very poor first impression.
2) Open seating concept led to a chaotic boarding experience. There was very little direction or information from the staff during this as well. We have been on other trains that did not assign seats but rather a train car. This was more pleasant.
3) There was no tour guide informative stuff on the ride over. It would have been nice to have this on the ride to the museum rather than the last 10 minutes of
the ride where the information was drowned out my the whistle at every crossing.
4) Lastly, we were there on a hot day. Perhaps the railroad should have provided some water on the train. i know there were cash only concessions but a water cooler in each car and some paper cups can go a long way as far as comfort and customer service. There’s no AC and no water fountains that I could notice.
With all that, here is what I enjoyed:
1) the guy who talked to us about the tank engine was great! He was informative and did a great job of customer service! He offered to take a family photo too! I wish I had got his name to give him a personal shout out. Same goes with the man who punched tickets. Realistically, every staff member on the train was super nice.
2) The museum is a different layout than a traditional museum but my family does lots of different museums and this was nice. lots of things for little hands to touch and anything that shouldn’t or couldn’t be touched was properly secured or child proofed. Love that! Very toddler friendly!
3) There is obviously some ingenuity behind the scenes with the various themed rides that are offered. We took the everyday train ride but some of the other themed ones sound kind of cool.
Glad we booked through Groupon… otherwise I would have been more disappointed by the ride. I would give it a shot if improvements were made or try out a special event but my husband would rather go to another railroad.

I was really looking forward to this scenic train ride around/​near Mt. Rainier; however, it was a major disappointment. I strongly feel this train ride is falsely advertised or at least very misleading. The train ride isn’t through the mountains with a scenic view. You get one major opportunity to look at Mt Rainier as the train slows down and that’s the only reason they can get away with calling it Mt Rainier Scenic Railroad. To further the disappointment, the loggers museum is incredibly boring even for a history buff. They have a couple engines there that are interesting to peruse, but overall I’d consider this a bust. I paid full price, but even with a Groupon, I wouldn’t recommend it.

I purchased a groupon coupon and took the men in my family for Father’s Day. If you look at the name you’d think there would be great views of Mt. Rainier right? The conductor points out there is one place during the 40 min trip where you get a 20 SECOND VIEW OF THE MOUNTAIN! !! They thought it quite a joke, but those of us paying 50 plus dollars to sit on park benches inside an old train (which I didn’t mind at all) were quite shocked, becsuse that information is not available in any description of the event. We were also led to believe that a meal was offered at the END of the trip, it was actually in the middle and so the «two hour ride» was halted until everyone was fed. If you didn’t order the bbq, you walked around and saw old logging items and more trains. I just think the description should be more clear so you don’t feel like a victim of bait and switch once aboard.

Went here for Mother’s Day. The ride was nice and scenic. You can enjoy the peacefulness from traffic and the city. Was a nice and relaxing first time here.

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE customer service. THE WORST! I would have given this rating a 5 had it not been for the horrible customer service we experienced, but if they had a zero overall rating it would be that due to their staff.
I purchased this for my husband and I for Valentine’s weekend (which was also my birthday). My husband is a RR conductor and I thought this would be neat to take him on an old steam engine. We planned a weekend out of it and stayed at a B&B at the base of Mt. Rainier a short distance from Elbe, WA where the train departs from. I purchased our tickets online. I purchased the VIP package which included a bottle of wine and chocolates. When we arrived and parked at the entrance and went inside to retrieve our tickets we were told we did not have the package that included the wine and chocolates. I showed the gentleman my receipt from my cell phone which reflected in fact YES we did purchase this and the gentleman agreed and proceeded to consult with a woman (Who was EXTREMELY rude) and she stated that her «manifest» did not show this and therefore she would not honor this. Since there was less than 5 minutes to board the train and knowing my temper and impatience for rude and condescending people my husband just had us board with the regular tickets.
I posted a complaint on their FB page, which was quickly deleted and no response to it at all… no apology, nobody reached out… nothing.
This is very unfortunate because the train ride was beautiful, the staff on the train were great and it was an overall wonderful experience, however the experience with that woman completely turned this day around for me and I wished we had not gone. It’s quite a shame because we had many friends asking how it was that were interested in going on one of their future weekend deals, but I made sure that wasn’t going to happen. Something else to note is these rides and the entire experience is VERY unorganized from parking, the BIG, rude blonde rude lady unable to keep up with the line and NOT enough seating for everyone to sit… many people needed to stand. If you purchase a ticket there you should have a seat, period!
Hopefully someone there will read this and provide some customer service skills to this woman.

We had a Groupon or Amazon Local deal for this and since my 9-​year-​old nephew and mom were visiting from Michigan, we thought this would be a perfect trip for us.
Please don’t get me wrong, it was fun. It just wasn’t as fun as I expected it to be.
I guess I had hoped for better views on the train (though I knew going into it we wouldn’t be going close to Mount Rainier or anything) and had hoped for a bit more out of the train museum.
My nephew doesn’t particularly love trains but he was excited to see the museum when we stopped. He said to me, «It doesn’t look like a museum. It looks like a place where junk from trains goes to die».
Like I said, it was fun, it just wasn’t THAT fun. Had we not had the coupons (which were 50%), I would have been REALLY upset. Even with the 50% off it was FAR too pricy for us to go on again.

I dont know what people are thinking who wrote the negative comments. Their day started worse than mine which included our car breaking down half way there, barely making our train and accidentally booking two different dates on our tickets for which the extremely nice lady at the ticket counter overlooked.
The staff is pleasant, the cars were clean even though it was pouring rain. We got the last two bench seats in the green cars. Sure the seats aren’t soft and cushy and there are no tables like the orange cars but the windows open and I found the green cars less stuffy and decorated nicer for the Christmas holiday. Each car adorned with trees, garland with lights and Christmas music was a great touch.
Hot chocolate galore, and cookies on each car were awesome. Santa I think was the real guy. He was jolly, gave each child a gift and took as many pictures as you wanted at no additional charge. This beats the overpriced mall santa any day.
We stopped at the museum for about 20 min half way through. I wish we’d had more time, but the restrooms were nice.
The views were great, we crossed over a river, creeks a couple country roads, the highway a couple times and yes there were a couple of homes along the way that may have been a little shady looking to some people but that made it all country Christmas to me. We were able to look past this because the trees and streams outweighed the rest. No, I didn’t see Rainier we live in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a beautiful day when any of us can see the mountain in her splendor.
I’d love to do this again next year or perhaps this summer when the trees are more dense and I can open the windows on the green cars.

I went with my BF on a beautiful day. We enjoyed the ride on the train, but once was enough for both of our lifetimes. Tickets are $ 29 each for an adult, and for the ride we had, that was too much.
The name of the train is misleading. First, it isn’t near and doesn’t go anywhere close to Mt. Rainier. Next, the train ride is pretty noneventful in dirty cars. I got yelled at because I got up to walk around and went into a car that was full of people of all the same race. Someone who worked with the railroad told me that was just for them and I wasn’t welcome there. What the?! I hope that it was a car that was paid for just for a tourist group and that there wasn’t something worse going on.
The train goes over a bridge with nothing there on either side. That was cool but also terrifying.
I paid extra for us to ride inside the engine. We had to keep repeating ourselves that we had tickets to do that from the ticket booth, to 3 different people on the train, to a guy dressed like a conductor. After 15 minutes of the train going along and no one saying anything to us about when/​if we were going to do that, I told my BF that I’d fight them over it after the train ride to just be refunded the extra cash paid. Then the train stopped without warning. A blonde came and found us then said we were going into the engine.
No one warned us that the engine was hot as hell, something that we should have thought about beforehand but it hadn’t crossed our minds since we don’t work on/​near trains or the railroad. After 5 minutes I was the color of blood, I was so hot. There was a small handle to hold onto, and with the engine inches away from me, I was terrified that I was going to get burned. After 5 more minutes I couldn’t last any longer due to the insanely loud, burning hell I was in, and my boyfriend asked for them to stop so we could go back to a passenger car. They told him no, it wasn’t safe to stop yet and they kept going for about another 10 – 15 minutes. I started hyperventilating, my throat was dried out, and my hands and shoulders were killing from the pain of holding on as tightly as I could so I wouldn’t go lurching into the engine and burn off my skin. Finally they stopped the train on a steep hill. I had to crawl down a steep rail ladder that was about 4 feet from the ground. The conductor guy — not one of the guys driving the engine but the one dressed as a conductor — was there to help but he just kind of looked at me. I asked for his hand or something, and he offered it to me. I jumped and went sliding down the hill a little, knocking my shoulder out of place. My boyfriend helped me get up the rail steps into a passenger car and sit down. I was gasping for air. My skin was covered in black dust. I was red like a sunburn, all over my body. My boyfriend bought me a few bottles of water and I drank them faster than I think I’ve ever drank anything. My chiropractor has had several visits from me and I have a few weeks to go to get my shoulder back into place.
This company really needs to ask people and give warnings about riding in the engine car. That was brutal. Not to mention it costs an extra $ 80 a person to ride in the engine cab.

This event needs some help! Really only have access to see Mt. Rainer if clear day! The train ride we decided on was the BBQ and concert. The BBQ chicken was very dry and there were no other options available for a protein (they had hot dogs but not even enough for the amount of kids present)
The biggest problem we had was that the ride we took was extremely full. We had a group of 8 and the seating is in groups of 4, and a lot of 1 person riders taking up a whole bench even though this was a full train event. We were the first to show up to take our seats, but because of the confusion for lining up to enter the train we were almost the last on and our group had to completely split up with only 2 of us able to get a bench seat together. Not really fun when you are expecting to be able to be with your folks. The conductor seemed to be completely blind to this or simple did not care. My husband and I choose to stand but not the best way to enjoy this ride.
Some changes to the site when you buy the tickets and some signs at the location of this vendor and this could have been a really fun time.

We didn’t see Mt Rainier. Really didn’t see much of anything. :(the train was at best ok.
For the price the ticket taker could be in a conductor dress. The stop in Mineral there should be some kind of vending machines that offer cold sandwiches, drinks, chips, coffee, etc.
A few changes and this could be really fun.

First of all, this place should not be called «Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad.» It has nothing to do with Mount Rainier (we didn’t see it because of weather) and isn’t really scenic, unless you consider trees and a few views of the river scenic. «Elbe Historic Railroad» would be much more honest.
Second, it’s just too expensive. $ 25 a head (after military discount) was way too much for what you got, which was crammed into a car full of wooden benches with no narration or guidance from the staff. They could have helped families find seats together or, at the very least, offered some educational narration about the train we were riding on or the «scenic» things we were passing. They did none of these things.
Third, I’m not sure how they calculate the number of tickets they sell, but our train simply had too many people on it. We had four adults and a two year old who boarded the train at 12:20 for a 12:45 ride and we could not find four seats together. I felt bad for the young families who got on at the last minute and didn’t end up sitting together. We were there plenty early, but still had to sit across the aisle from each other on the way there (while awkwardly facing and bumping knees with strangers) and then sat together on the way back. People seemed very confused (and some, quite indignant) about whether it was ok to «take» someone else’s seat on the way back. Again, the staff could have just made an announcement one way or another and made things easier for everyone.
I would not recommend this place, even if you have kids who would enjoy it no matter what. Take them to the Snoqualmie train museum (it’s free!) to see old trains and take a drive through Mt Rainier National Park if you want scenic views of the mountain.

WOW! Thank you mount rainier scenic railroad for putting today down in our history books!
First– I Unilocal everything before I go. I believe in Unilocal and I trust in peoples reviews. I read the reviews from this R. R company and was slightly concerned based of everyone’s reviews of it not being so scenic.
Pros:
First off, the staff is AWESOME. Check in at will call was a breeze. The steam train is impressive!
Directions are accurate and the departing location is easy to find. When I first pulled up, I thought that I was out of luck as far as parking goes and almost went across the street to park. Then I noticed a little sign that said MRSR event parking with an arrow. Oh! there it is. Plenty of parking in the back. The sign is small so you really have to look for it.
The train was full, however plenty of seats to move around too if you want. We sat in the boxcar where our windows could go up if you wanted. We ventured up to the boxcar that had the coffee & popcorn. Nice little treat! Coffee and popcorn is $ 1.50 each. The train does sway and can get bumpy, so I would def not fill your coffee cups all the way to the top just in case!
Train staff comes by and answers questions and tells story of the steam engine train. Very knowledgeable !
We passed by several beautiful streams and rivers. Went over a really high bridge over a river. I could see if you were coming for the views you could be disappointed. You do pass some nice rivers but mostly forest/​brush.
Stopped at the train museum for about 45 minutes. My 2 year old loved going inside of the trains and getting a close up look at them.
It was my sons birthday, train staff had the entire train sing happy birthday to him. This made our day so special and I was so grateful that they went out of their way to do this for him!
Temperature was comfortable inside of the train. Bring a coat if your concerned. Don’t complain once you get there that your too cold.
Seats were comfortable (another complaint by Unilocalers. get up and walk around if your uncomfortable! sheesh not like your butt is glued to the seat).
We were able to bring on our bags and brought snacks in case anybody got hungry or thirsty.
Great for kids and adults.
Cons:
Honestly, I cannot think of one. If I could think of a negative, maybe regularly priced tickets. I got my tickets off of groupon but not sure if I would have paid 30 $ for this when I do return.
The steam train is beautiful. The staff is excellent.
as far as the bad reviews in Unilocal go:
Yes, the seats are made of wood and not padded. If for whatever reason you physically cannot stand to sit down for 45 minutes… get up and walk. OR bring a little pad to sit on. They are not that uncomfortable and I sat the entire time. Those with back issues. maybe bring a pad to sit on.
No, I don’t recall seeing Mount Rainier. Yes, you do pass some 1 – 2 old run down houses. Not the ghetto like a lot of these people make it sound. It is def not a deal breaker. I suppose if you thought you were going to be passing through the mountain side looking down on the valley– that would be disappointing. You are not ON mount rainier. You are in the shadows.
My 2 year old did not get bored at all. Kids have short attention spans in general. so if that’s your child then just plan on them getting bored no matter where they are. Don’t blame it on the R. R company!
YES OF COURSE ITS AN OLD TRAIN!!! Why do people complain its an «old dingy train» .ITS A STEAM ENGINE for crying out loud.
Thank you Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad company for going out of your way to make a 2 year olds day special. You guys rock
Go for the experience !