The Vouga Historical Train offers a quaint ride through the rolling hillsides of Portugal’s Vouga Valley on a 1964 Basque Railway diesel locomotive, the country’s only remaining narrow-gauge railway. The colourful wooden carriages – painted in glossy red, hunter green and royal blue, with mint green interiors and varnished dark wood seats, also feature open-air platforms that allow passengers to get some air during the six-hour journey. The train, which only runs in the summer, stops in several towns including Macinhata do Vouga, where riders are greeted by a 10-piece folk band in regional dress, and Águeda, a colourful artistic city known for its urban artworks, installations and performances.
AlamyOpened in 1895, the Snaefell Mountain Railway carries tourists to the Isle of Man’s highest point for panoramic view (Credit: Alamy)
Journey high above the Irish Sea on the Snaefell Mountain Railway, which traverses the mountains above the Isle of Man. The only electric mountain railway in the British Isles, this train – along with the Manx Electric Railway – was integral in bringing tourism to the island in 1893 when it first opened.
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Today, both electric lines still retain much of their original Victorian-era features, such as wooden interiors, glazed vestibules and mirrored panels.
AlamyScotland’s Far North Line rolls through the highlands past one of the country’s Unesco heritage sites (Credit: Alamy)
The rugged and remote beauty of the Scottish Highlands is on full display on the Far North Line from Inverness to Thurso. The four-hour ride covers 168 miles through The Flow Country: the largest intact peat system in the world, and the only one designated a Unesco World Heritage Site.
AlamyMobile, Alabama, is a port city of wrought iron balconies and live oaks where the US’s first Mardi Gras is said to have taken place in the 1700s (Credit: Alamy)
Two decades after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area, Amtrak resumed service on the Gulf Coast line on 18 August 2025. Now called the Mardi Gras Service, the train winds through coastal wetlands, stunning beaches and colourful seaside towns, linking several of the southern US’s most storied cities, like Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, along the way.
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