These Mysteries Are on Track

When he boarded the express train from Istanbul to Paris, detective Hercule Poirot did not know he was about to embark on a runaway murder mystery involving a renowned kidnapper, a misplaced button and an elusive figure clad in a scarlet kimono. . . . Agatha Christie always knew trains were the perfect backdrop, especially for her famous “Murder on the Orient Express.” Now wannabe sleuths can climb aboard a few modern-day mystery trains for a live-action imitation that plays out before their very eyes.

Sean Wright, president of the Sherlock Holmes Society of Los Angeles, claims he originated the concept in 1983, when he ran his first mystery train to San Francisco. His company, the Plot Thickens, bases its original stories around literary characters like Sam Spade and Nancy Drew.

When guests board the train, they are given a plot summary.

“The idea is for them to imagine they have already read the first half of a mystery novel and that on the train, they are characters in the second half,” Wright explains.

The Plot Thickens presents mystery trains to San Juan Capistrano, the Grand Canyon and other destinations by appointment. When Wright receives enough calls, he schedules a tour, usually a few times a month.

Keith and Margo O’Leary’s Murder Mystery Train has also been leading guests through tales of terror since 1983, with actors in disguise who arrive alongside unsuspecting audience-participants. That’s when the fun begins. At any given moment guests could be talking to a murderer--or a victim.

The Murder Mystery Train runs monthly on Amtrak from L.A.’s Union Station to San Diego, with an overnight stay at the Westgate Hotel. The plot unravels throughout the two-day event with a lot of action and a series of clues. Before the mystery concludes Sunday morning, the guests are invited to hand in their own solutions.

It’s the interactive nature of the experience that has kept his company in business for 15 years, Keith O’Leary believes.

“This is a form of theater. You don’t have to sit in your chair all night. You can walk in and out of it. There’s also the challenge of solving the mystery.”

In the Ventura area, the Fillmore & Western Railway offers on-board mysteries produced by the P. Maxwell Productions theater ensemble. Shows include dinner and feature frontier western and 1930s motifs and spoofs, including the current production, “Mission Implausible.”

“It’s an interactive, improv type of evening. Actors play off the audience and play with the audience,” says Tim Grush, director of marketing for the railway. Actors wear period clothing, and many passengers dress up. “Passengers can join in or just enjoy being served and entertained.”

Each murder mystery takes place on the “Powhaten,” a vintage 1929 men’s lounge car that ran from Baltimore to Washington.

The Plot Thickens, (323) 465-6374; Keith & Margo O’Leary’s Murder Mystery Train, (818) 785-7700; the Fillmore & Western Railway, (800) 773-TRAIN.