Still want to go to the big event? All aboard for the luxury train

It's not cheap at $1,800, but the fare for this train trip includes gourmet grub and a place to sleep when you get to Washington, D.C. -- on the train itself, parked a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol.

That's where Barack Obama will be sworn in as president on Jan. 20. Highways will be clogged with throngs of Americans determined to attend the inauguration. Amtrak trains are sold out.

But beds are available on a pair of private rail cars swank enough to carry their own chef and their own names: "Hollywood Beach" and "J. Pinckney Henderson."

Obama will make his own grand entrance in Washington on a chartered train from Philadelphia, rolling into Union Station on Jan. 17.

The Beach and the Henderson will arrive the same day, from the south. They'll be hitched like mink-lined cabooses to the Amtrak Carolinian, which starts in Charlotte and runs north through Raleigh.

"It seemed to be a natural to take these rail cars to Washington, when all the hotel space there is at a premium right now for such a special event," said Bob Willetts, passenger services director for the Lancaster and Chester Railway.

The short-line railroad, based in Lancaster, S.C., does most of its business hauling freight in two counties. As a glamorous sideline, the company also charters private train trips across the United States for corporate clients and other well-heeled travelers.

Pictures and video clips at jphenderson.com show a luxurious mode of travel dating from the 19th century (when Abraham Lincoln rode his own inaugural train to Washington). The Beach boasts a posh solarium. The Henderson has cherry and maple beds.

Six of the eight bedrooms had been booked as of Friday. Four berths were open in Pullman-style bedrooms on the Beach.

The two cars will park at Union Station, serving as the passengers' hotel for four nights, before the Jan. 21 return to Charlotte.

The fare includes five days of drinks and meals served on linen and silver. Crabcakes Henderson is the chef's signature dish.

Passengers signed up so far include corporate types from the Carolinas and a Florida couple who will fly to Charlotte to catch the train. No one is scheduled yet to join the party when the Carolinian stops in Raleigh.

Willetts also hopes to fill about 10 lounge seats with day riders who have somewhere else to sleep in Washington. The round-trip fare is $600.

That's more than double the Amtrak Carolinian's standard rate between Charlotte and Washington, $226 -- that is, when Amtrak seats are available.

"Almost everything we've got into Washington from everywhere has been sold out since right after the election," said Jeff Mann, an Amtrak manager based in Raleigh. "It's going to be crazy. Everything running is going to be standing room only."

Not for some people.