Rail buffs are getting up a head...

Rail buffs are getting up a head of steam over an April 30-May 1 trip (Los Angeles/Sacramento) sponsored by the San Bernardino Historical Society. The idea is to recapture the spirit of the golden age of steam travel by re-creating Santa Fe’s old California Limited that debuted in 1892. Steam locomotive No. 3751 will be routed over the Cajon Pass to the Tehachapi Loop, with stops in San Bernardino, Victorville, Barstow, Bakersfield, Stockton. (Overnights in Barstow/Bakersfield.) In Sacramento, No. 3751 will be displayed alongside 30 other steam engines at the California State Museum’s 10-day RailFair ’91. California Limited returns to Los Angeles on May 13.

Passenger cars are being rounded up from as far away as Indiana. A vintage diner from Ashland, Ky., lounge/parlor coaches, a 1920s crew car, a ‘30s baggage car and a pullman dome car that served passengers on Santa Fe’s famous Super Chief. “A chance to experience what train travel was like before the days of freeways, microwave meals and supersaver airline fares,” says Chris Skow of Trains Unlimited.

Trains Unlimited, 235 W. Pueblo St., Reno, Nev. 89509, (800) 321-3751 or (916) 836-1745.

More on Rails: Other engines are letting off steam en route to the South Rim of Grand Canyon. For the second season, Grand Canyon Railway is offering passenger trips from the 1908 depot in Williams, Ariz. A 64-mile run across plains, through forests. Vintage coach cars pulled by steam engines. Refreshments served. Entertainment by singing cowboys, fiddlers. (Mock gunfights staged before leaving Williams.) Departures: 9:30 a.m. from Williams, arriving Grand Canyon, 12:15 p.m. Return from Grand Canyon at 4 p.m., arriving Williams, 6:45 p.m. The GCR is an authorized concessionaire of the National Park Service/Grand Canyon National Park/U.S. Park Service.

For reservations, call (800) 843-8724. Fares: adults, $54.76; children, $24.84.

Travel Assistance: If you’re traveling out of the country, consider joining Travel Assistance International, an affiliate of Europ Assistance Worldwide Services Inc. For $50 per person/$75 per family (two weeks), TAI provides medical/unlimited evacuation services. TAI will pay up to $95,000 for air-ambulance evacuation using private jets with doctors/nurses aboard. Nearly 500 offices in more than 200 countries. Cost for a one-year membership: $150 per person, $295 for families (up to six persons). Optional coverage for loss of luggage, accidental death, dismemberment, trip cancellation. Members are entitled to daily travel/health advisories from the State Department, details on worldwide weather conditions, immigration requirements, health warnings, money exchange rates. Other information on restaurants/hotels, buses/trains. Help available wherever you are.

Travel Assistance International, 1133 15th St. N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20005, (800) 821-2828.

The Big Luau: “Cuisines of the Sun” (a sellout last year) will be held again this summer at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii. Chefs from the Oriental Hotel, Bangkok; the Peninsula, Hong Kong, and the Pan Pacific, Singapore, will be heating up the hibachi. Joining them will be Roy Yamaguchi, chef/owner of the trendy Roy’s Restaurant on Oahu. The five-day, four-night spectacle (July 13-17) will feature cuisines from the islands as well as the Orient. Buffets, cooking classes, tastings, a beach party. Winds up with a gala dinner (all four chefs participating). A dozen events: $550 per guest.

Details from Susan Bredo, Mauna Lani Bay Hotel. Call (800) 367-2323.

New York Hotel: R.G. of Sunland asks for the name of “a reasonable hotel in New York near Lincoln Center.” The Esplanade on 74th Street is a bit weary but the price is right: $90 single, $99 double, $105 for suites that sleep four ($10 extra for each additional guest). This is an older property that’s being upgraded. The Esplanade is a block off Broadway, a short stroll from the Museum of Natural History. Popular with the young, budget traveler. Discounted parking, fitness equipment, a restaurant/piano bar. The Esplanade is a tourist-class hotel with a caring staff, no frills.

Hotel Esplanade, 305 West End Ave., New York 10023, (800) 367-1763.

For details on other Manhattan hotels, write to the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau, Two Columbus Circle, New York 10019. Ask for the “New York Hotel Guide” and the bureau’s 74-page “Tour Directory Package.”

Wilderness Hideaway: For years, Kirk Eimers traveled for a big corporation. And for years he missed Idaho, which is why he’s home again, operating Lake Fork Lodge. Only one structure so far, but a serene setting (six miles outside the village of McCall and 100 miles north of Boise). Lake Fork Lodge faces a creek that by California standards is a raging river. Boils with trout. “You have to toss back anything under 20 inches,” Eimers says. Other fishing in dozens of high mountain lakes/streams. During winter, guests use Lake Fork Lodge as a base for cross-country skiing. Twenty miles of groomed trails and a hill deep in powder snow. The lodge accommodates six guests. Rates: $125 a day in winter, $150 in summer. That’s the tab for the entire lodge. Fly or drive Highway 55 from Boise.

Lake Fork Lodge, P.O. Box 4336, McCall, Ida. 83638, (208) 634-3713.

The Inn Place: A new (free) edition of the California Bed & Breakfast Directory lists 274 inns throughout the state. Palm Springs to Laguna Beach, north to the Mendocino Coast. A San Francisco section describes Petite Auberge (push-button fireplaces) and the renowned Archbishop’s Mansion with its French chateau-style furnishings. In central California, the Ballard (a splendid New England-style inn) draws romantics of all ages. And on Catalina Island, vacationers are welcomed at the Inn at Mount Ida with its ocean views, fireplaces, tastefully furnished guest rooms. Others with fetching names: The Plough and the Stars, Arcata; Timberhill Ranch, Cazadero; Vintage Towers, Cloverdale; Pudding Creek Inn, Fort Bragg; Buttons & Bows, Red Bluff; the Babbling Brook, Santa Cruz; the Feather Bed, Quincy; the Jabberwock, Monterey, and La Mer, Ventura. These and dozens more.

Copies from the California Office of Tourism, P.O. Box 189, Sacramento 95812-0189.

For the Record: An item in last week’s Tips mentioned that a good deal was available between now and March 30 at the Pierre Marques resort in Acapulco. Seven nights with breakfast and dinner for $980 per couple. Reservations: (800) 223-1818. Due to a late change, the deal is only good through March 17, after which the hotel will close for renovations.

Reader Recommendations

California--Carroll Hauser, Manhattan Beach: “Lemon Cove B&B;, 33038 Sierra Highway, Lemon Cove 93244. Near Three Rivers, gateway to Sequoia National Park. Rates: $59/$79.”

Maryland--Ann Grace, San Pedro: “Broom Hall B&B;, 2425 Pocock Road, Fallston 21047. A delight on 40 acres.”

New Mexico--Chuck Silver, Los Angeles: “The W. E. Mauger Estate B&B;, 701 Roma Ave. NW, Albuquerque. An 1897 Queen Anne Victorian. Rates: $60/$70 double with breakfast.”

Switzerland--Mr. and Mrs. James Browne: “A truly outstanding Swiss country inn, Hostellerie Chez Chibrac, 1801 Mont-Pelerin, Vaud, Switzerland. Rooms with bath: $135/$188 per couple.”

England--Mr. and Mrs. George Yorg, Playa del Rey: “A tastefully furnished 18th-Century farmhouse, a hospitable hostess. The best breakfast during our stay in England. Within easy commuting distance of the M1 and M42. Ten minutes from a daily shuttle to Heathrow. Slade House, Rose Lane, Ticknall, Derbyshire, England. Rate: $68 per night.”

We regret that only a select few recommendations can be used. They must be brief (typewritten or printed). Only one recommendation per reader, please. Note: Recommendations will not be used unless prices and addresses are included.