Chris Homer
Google
First off, DON'T BUY TICKETS ONLINE. It doesn't guarantee you a time slot. The only reason they want you to buy online is to double dip by harvesting your personal information. Buy at the gate. Lots of people fell for this and STILL had to wait for a later train. It's very unorganized.
I read the reviews here before we went and was warned of the crowds, long lines and summer heat. It's a real thing if you go during the summer, especially on a weekend like we did.
Honestly, you're much better off driving to the top. The train ride is way way too expensive for what it is. You will wait no less than 30 minutes going up and 30+ minutes back down. It's hot. Especially inside the train. They do at least acknowledge the heat issue by using fans and a large portable cooler and solar screens on the rooftop of the train, but it's just not enough.
Another thing to be aware of is, they do sell one way rides, so make sure you buy a two way ticket.
Coming down can be frustrating waiting in line too. You have two trains running simultaneously. One going up while the other is going down. When you get in line to come down, you'll have a choice, line 1 or line 2. One train, the passengers enter and exit on line 1 (right side of line) and the other is line 2, the left side.
Pay attention to which train just left when leaving. If you choose the wrong line, you will have to wait an additional 15 to 20 minutes in the heat. There are no signs explaining this. Everyone in our line was confused too, until we saw the left train unload and load passengers, leaving our line behind until the other train (our line right side) arrived 15 or 20 minutes later. I'm probably not doing a good job explaining this. See my pictures and you'll see what I'm talking about.
Unfortunately, it was foggy at that elevation, but it did clear off when we came down and decided to drive up to the top. Save your $44 (2 people) and drive. It would probably be worth the ride in the fall, winter or spring.
And to the people complaining on here about run down houses you pass on the ride up, you do realize those houses you pass are from the 1860's and earlier. They are not run down, just historical. It's kind of amazing they are still in livable conditions all these years later.