Santiam Excursions — Attraction in Lebanon

A good introduction to the vintage train experience. As others have already said, this is not the most scenic route, they use paper plates and plastic ware. The food is mediocre. We were concerned we had gotten ourselves into something we would regret. It was fine. Not over the top, but a leisurely Sunday morning adventure.

Our thoughts (we are a married couple): The train is updated but a little worn. It is not fancy, but comfortable. However, we were seated in the bar car. Some of the other guests had different accommodations in other cars (folding tables and chairs), not sure why. There was a fabric tablecloth on our table and padded seats. You had to mostly wait in a line to get drinks, which were reasonable priced and actually pretty good. We were both happy with our beverages (Mimosa and a Bloody Mary). We had brought our own water.

Staff were ALL very informative and pleasant. Overheard conversations between guests and staff: the staff knowledge of the train and the events through the year were commendable.

We were on the breakfast excursion--since it is buffet, it is sort of self-serve. Not great, but gives you something, it is on par with a free hotel breakfast. The food could be warmer. We did note that the website images feature porcelain dinnerware/glassware. However, after experiencing the movement and sway of the cars, we thought that perhaps they STARTED with glass dishware, but moved to disposables, especially if they expect guests to carry their own plates etc.

The bathroom we both used was small but workable. And clean. You are essentially using a porcelain RV toilet. Which we were fine with using. We would NOT consider the bathroom used as handicap accessible.

Yes, the train does go back on the exact same route you just took. For us, we switched seats, so we at least got the view the other saw before. The last half hour of our trip, we just packed up and hung out on the open car.

Overall, a pleasant experience. Nothing fancy, but as stated earlier, a good intro train trip experience. We both felt that the overall train was very clean and neat.

PLEASE NOTE--this does not seem to be overly handicap friendly. It is an OLD train. There are narrow passageways in the cars. One passenger had a walker that would not fit in these walkways. It had to be folded up and they used the walls to navigate. Someone else, somehow got all the way to the bar car with an electric scooter, we don't even know how that was possible. And another individual who had walking mobility issues--this was concerning with being on a moving/swaying vehicle. There should be staff available at the ready for such persons. There was some dramatics that seemed unnecessary had more planning and accommodation been put into place for these scenarios.

The lunch buffet was being set up for the next excursion when we went to the open car. If we have friends that want to try this, we are going to recommend trying the lunch...

I was pretty disappointed w/ the Candycane Express. 2yo just enjoyed being on a train so smooth sailing there. Staff was very friendly. However, the seating was not at all what I expected. There wasn't any seating available when my husband and I boarded 10mins early (I recommend getting there very early). So first we ended up on a hay bale with our toddler and two-week-old baby before my husband found some folding chairs but we ended up sitting in a sad boxcar that was very industrial (though they did try to decorate it for Christmas). You pay the same price as those few families sitting at tables in a cute dining car with windows doing crafts with their kids next to the consessions but end up sitting in a cold boxcar on a hay bale. I suppose I just wish I had known the seating was going to be so rough (they really could have configured that so much better or advertised more transparently). Brings out the crabby, aggressive side of people, as they seek to claim "good seats". After pacing the train for seats and finding none, we landed with the hay bale. Then my husband led us back to another train where he thought people had moved on from their crafts. We were told by a couple at another table they had left and were encouraged to sit. Two women and their kids came back and made it very clear it was their table, in tones as though it was completely obvious that it was their table and we were so inconsiderate to be there. Ended up crying and feeling embarrassed by the interaction and the whole seating situation. It was my son's Christmas present this year. He loves trains. This was his first trainride. I felt terrible to be crying during it. Lastly, like another reviewer said, you get one candycane and half a cup of lukewarm coco. We also were not able to do any of the crafts with our son due to lack of space. We won't be...

We rode this train on the 4th of July. We didn't like it then either. My husband decided to give it another try, we should never have! We rode the Mother's Day dinner train. It was awful. Yes I was sick with the stomach flu (which I didn't know till after we were in the train) of course not their fault. They did offer a private cart but it was not near the bathroom. That was very kind of them. There was only 2 bathrooms and stated to us 2 were broken down. They gave me plastic bags and napkins to puke in. The staff was nice enough to help with that. They barely decorated literally only a tiny flower arrangement on the table and some crinkled up table cloths. The food what i did taste 3 bites of was so bland even my family didn't like it. We had to serve ourselves, they did not serve us, not even water. The steak had no flavor. My teen kids didn't like the train ride and complained it was sooo boring and nothing to do. There was no activities on the table except Mother's day questions on paper! They could have done more decorations for the event like even adding some pretty lights. The dessert was awful tasted like cupcakes out of a box! There was only music on part of the time. The chairs were so uncomfortable my back hurt the next three days. The scenery was awful! Broken down homes that looked like the ghetto. A lake or pond that looked like the sewer. We paid $313 for absolutely nothing. My husband called them and they were suppose to get back to him about a refund today but never did. They stated they would probably only refund mine (which is great) BUT THE whole event even for my kids was awful not just from me being sick. My Mothers Day flower they gave at the end was half dead! I do however recommend checking out a train before you book it. We will not be back! My Mother's Day was...