Frequently Asked Questions

Yes.  This is a REAL train that travels along a working freight rail line serving Southwest Florida.  Our train, like all trains, does sway from side to side.  The approximately three and 1/2 hour trip will travel from Fort Myers across the Caloosahatchee River up into rural Lee and Charlotte Counties and back again to our Colonial Station.  The train will stop several times to enroute for you to enjoy your entrée served on board and the mystery show.

• Couples with be seated together at tables of four (4).
• Parties of 3 or 4 will be seated at their own 4-top table.
• Parties of 5 people or more will be seated at mutliple adjacent tables.
• There is no ability to combine tables together

We have special rates for groups of 24 or more paying passengers on our Murder Mystery Dinner Train trips.
Please contact Laura Fay for further details 239-940-7244.

Have a small group between 9 and 23 people?  Send an email or call 239-275-8487.

• The passenger cars in use were constructed before disability accessibility regulations came into existence. Vestibules, stairs, step-boxes, seating, and especially doorways, passageways, aisles, and onboard restrooms may not accommodate all passengers in all dining cars. 
• Seating for passengers with wheelchairs are available on a first-come-first-serve basis.  Due to the nature of the vintage railcars used on the dinner train, we have only one (1) dining car that can accommodate a standard size wheelchair.  That one dining car has one (1) wheelchair-accessible restroom. 
• Although one ramp is available at the Fort Myers Colonial Station, some passengers may have to ascend/descend up to ten (10) steps in order to ride the Murder Mystery Dinner Train.  Some special events, such as the Christmas Rail-Boat Trips will require ALL passengers to be able to ascend/descend not only the stairs on the train, but also those of the buses used to transport passengers to the boats, and possibly the at the boats themselves. Seminole Gulf Railway will provide step boxes and trained employees to assist with boarding/deboarding. However, passengers assume all liability and risk associated with boarding/deboarding the train, buses, boats, or other modes. Do not purchase tickets for these trips if you are unable to safely climb stairs or walk extended distances up to five hundred (500) ft (walkers may be used).

• milk
• peanuts
• tree nuts/seeds
• fish
• shellfish
• wheat
• soy
• eggs

• The motion of the train and the unnatural, high-pitched metallic sounds that the train makes as it goes over joints in the tracks may make some animals very uncomfortable.
• The train is narrow, and a walkway runs through it. Animals that are not accustomed to heavy and frequent foot traffic may be very uncomfortable. Service animals must not sit or lay down in a walkway as this presents a hazard to other guests and the animal. The service animal will not be permitted to sit on any of the seats but will be required to sit under the passenger’s seat or at his or her feet.
• Murder Mystery Dinner Train staff have been directed not to touch the service animal, but other customers may not understand the role of a service animal and may want to touch the service animal.
• Any food or water which the animal requires, and appropriate containers for serving food and water to the animal, should be provided by the owner. Sanitary toilet arrangements must also be made by the owner of the animal, and, in the interest of the health and safety of our guests, the staff of the train will not handle or dispose of animal droppings or urine for the owner.  Remember that our train trips are three and one-half hours or more in duration when deciding to bring a service animal onboard.
• Should the service animal make a mess, urinate, defecate, or vomit onboard the train, the owner will be subject to a cleaning fee of $300.00.
• Should the service animal damage or destroy property of the railroad, or of other passengers, the owner of the animal is fully liable and will bear the sole cost and expense of replacement.

ALL reserveations of 9 or more people are required to prepay the gratuity for the meal service for each person included in the headcount of the group.  The standard prepaid gratuity rate for regualrly scheduled Murder Mystery Dinner Trains on Wednesday through Sunday evenings, not includding special events like the New Year's Eve Gala is: $10.00 per person.

Seminole Gulf Railway asks for and collects a nominal amount of information from the person who books a reservation on one of its dinner/excursion trains.  This information such as name, address, telephone number, and email address is used to facilitate further contact with the individual about the upcoming reservation and for follow-up communication, including on-going marketing, directly or through third-party marketing firms, of future events and trains on Seminole Gulf Railway.  At no time does Seminole Gulf Railway sell its customer information.  All customer information is maintained on a secure, proprietary database.  Any customer wishing to have their information removed, or to opt-out of ongoing marketing communications, should notify Seminole Gulf Railway at reservations@semgulf.com.

At no time does Seminole Gulf Railway keep physically or store electronically its customers' credit card information.  Any credit card information collected for the purposes of conducting the approved by the customer transaction is immediately destroyed.  Any online transactions made directly by the customer are processed immediately by our secure online processor, Authorize.net.  Only the record of the transaction, and not the full credit card data is transmitted to Seminole Gulf Railway.