Atalanta Jay Gould's Railroad Car, Texas, United States
4.5 (79 reviews) Spent Ranking #6 in Jefferson Points of Interest & Landmarks
Informative tour
What a great tour. You have to go to the hotel to get tickets, and tours are 1-3pm. The Docent grew up in Jefferson, and shares a lot of her personal history growing up in Jefferson. Very interesting tour and the train car looks like it has never aged. Good chance to cool off and get out of the heat. About 30 minute tour.
Address
210 W Austin St, Jefferson, TX 75657-2204
Mobile
Website
http://theexcelsiorhouse.com/welcome-to-the-excelsior-house-hotel-in-jefferson-texas/jay-goulds-private-rail-car/
Current local date and time now
Tuesday, May 14, 2024, 9:32
User Ratings
4.5 based on (79 reviews)
Excellent
59%
Good
28%
Satisfactory
9%
Poor
3%
Terrible
1%
Reviews
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4melwashere81 5:00 PM Mar 12, 2022
Short tour packed with a lot of history
Jay Gould was one of the Richest men who ever lived....he was also one of the most hated men in America. Apparently he was a greedy man who refused to donate any of his money to charity...he also supposedly put a curse on Jefferson. It's ironic that they would end up with his private Railroad car but here it is. The hotel across the street actually owns it and does tours at certain times of the day for a fee. When we were there tours were from 1-3 pm and cost $7.50 each. The tour doesn't last long but it is a nice glimpse into a bit of history.
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5Emily Taravella 5:00 PM Jul 12, 2014
Fascinating bit of history!
Tickets for the tour are supposed to be available across the street at The Excelsior. We knew from reading trip advisor that the tours are hit-and-miss. Sure enough, the docent at Excelsior said no one was available to give us the tour. We planned to merely look in the windows of the train car, but all the curtains were closed. This was something we really wanted to see, so we went back across the street and explained to the gentleman at The Excelsior that the Jay Gould train car was something we *greatly* wanted to see. We asked if the curtains could be opened so we could just get a little peek inside. He locked up the hotel for a couple of minutes so he could escort us across the street and share with us a fascinating bit of history. He let us go all through the train car, so we could take pictures! I really appreciated this, and i just wish I had gotten his name. We got some great photos of the inside of the train car, and I've already shared them with my history-teacher friends. I previously taught U.S. History, and I loved teaching students about the railroad tycoons, aka robber barrons. How interesting to be able to tour this train car! Jay Gould's signature, where he signed the guest register at The Excelsior Hotel, is also on display. I wish we could have toured The Excelsior, but again, there was a shortage of volunteers available to give tours. We will definitely visit Jefferson again, and next time we hope to stay at The Excelsior! The train car is a must-see.
