Luxury train service to Yellowstone National Park and other Western landmarks was spiked before it launched, as billionaire Philip Anschutz pulled the plug on the American Railway Explorer project, set to launch in 2011.

Of course, such a plan had some logistical difficulties: the train line can get you as far as Livingston, Montana; from there bus coaches would transport folks south through the parks. And it's hard to imagine any bus tour worth $1,500 a day.

It sounds like the project is totally dead: a spokesperson said that "operations have ceased."

Bringing rail service back to Yellowstone National Park has been a goal for many activists in recent years. In many ways Yellowstone originally was a creation of the large American rail lines, who pushed the Park as America's Wonderland in an effort to spur traffic to the area. However, as passenger service declined in America, so did trains service to Yellowstone, and right now there are no rail lines leading to a Park gateway community.

RELATED STORIES: Anschutz Firms to Team on Luxury Train Service to Yellowstone National Park; Is Train Service to Yellowstone in the Cards?

Photo of Gardiner train station courtesy of Library of Congress.

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