Comment by ocdtrekkie

In addition to the scheduling comment below, there's a few really big issues that make this harder:

- There are a lot of rail lines owned by different companies, Amtrak already has agreements with all of them. Depending where you're going, you might need to negotiate with multiple just to schedule your private trip.

- Given the risk of collisions between trains, rail lines are very unlikely to permit random schmucks to drive trains down their tracks. Who's going to give a private engine owner permission to do that? And who's going to insure it?

- The article talked a lot about the expense to get a plain old rail car certified for use on an Amtrak. I'd imagine in addition to the much costlier nature of the engine itself, certifying it might also be an issue. For long haul trips, are there any environmental regulations in play?