Most scenic:

1) Vancouver to Winnepeg in 1969, not only the Canadian Rockies, but also the vast plains laced with rivers running with beautifully clear water.

2) Someone else already mentioned Nagoya to Takayama. Lovely!

Most fun:

1) Osaka to Koya-san, mostly via JR instead of private railway. Using my JR Pass required taking the long, slow way to Koya-san, and on the last leg before the switch to the private railway and funicular, I was on a real choo-choo that carried shoppers and schoolchildren from village to village. I happened to board the train at the same time as a group of junior high school kids who were astonished to find a foreigner on what was in effect their school bus. I had a great time joking around with the kids.

I could never choose a favorite among (in chronological order):

1. The Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto, past a snow-capped Mt. Fuji on a crystal-clear April day, complete with numerous local ekiben along the way.

2. The Indian Pacific from Perth to Sydney, complete with waking up in my private room to see the sun rising over the Nullarbor Plain and a herd (?) of kangaroo sproinging alongside the train.

3. The Canadian Pacific between Vancouver, Kamloops, Jasper, and Banff, complete with domed observation cars and views of the Rockies for which I have no words.

Yogokarta-Jakarta
 

Best train trip for me was between Yogakarta and Jakarta 1997.

I was standing on the platform when the train approached. The doors to all the cars were open and a female attendant was standing on the lower step with a male attendant on the upper. Both were standing with hand behind their back (US military parade rest).

Everything about that short 6 hour trip was professional. Clean, effeceint, modern, superior service, great meal, ect. I was traveling on a shoestring budget but could not pass up the fare...the equivilant of 28 USD one way.

I've been on many trains since at varying price levels, but this was by far the best.

YEah, it runs along the Elbe (Labe) almost the whole way into Prague, really an outstanding trip (did it two times last week).

In the U.S., the Seattle-Vancouver BC scenery is nice a lot of the way along the sound. The Empire Builder's track through Glacier NP is pretty amazing...during the summer you go through it close to sunset.

Wien-Muenchen is pretty nice also, going through Salzburg, etc. But my favorite is going on tiny little routes out in the sticks in places like Slovakia and Poland, one-car trains that creep through little towns and everyone on board has a bottle of liquor...

Another vote for The Ghan... it now runs all the way to Darwin but when I travelelled on it it stopped in Alice Springs...

Dropped in to the office in Adelaide to see about a last minute seat.. and scored a "standby" (heavily discounted!!) First Class ticket from a late cancellation...:D

Enjoyed the old Southern Aurora once (SYD-MEL) before it stopped running..

And even had a pretty good experience on the Southwest Chief! (once we got past the NASTY check in agent!:confused:)

ivyspice .."herd" gets the point across just fine - they do occasionally travel/gather in large numbers.. particularly on a local golf course here in Canberra!... the usual collective noun applied is however MOB of Kangaroos!

Several years ago four of us were planning a long week-end in San Antonio and while checking flights and fares I came across a super low fare CVG-ZRH; lower in fact than CVG-SAT. I suggested the train from Zurich to Como. We still marvel over the pure beauty of the scenery and the great lunch we had while enjoying the view and relaxing in comfort.

it's funny because it's true. some of my strangest interactions with people have occured in the dining car. i guess they're especially strange because, unlike most of the rest of the world, if you want to eat in the car, you have to sit there and just absorb whatever people have to say, regardless of how stupid or offensive (that said, a couple meals were really entertaining and fun and I made friends that I keep in touch with today).

never done a cruise, i imagine it's the same kind of deal

I'd have to agree about the Jungfraujoch, simply amazing.

Also nobody seems to have mentioned New Zealand, and the Transalpine Express is a great ride from Greymouth to Christchurch.

I also enjoyed travelling first class from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, it wasnt that the scenery was great, but the seat was like an armchair and all for less than £10.

Back in the 60's the AKRR from ANC to FAI was whistle stop.It was great fun to fish for king salmon on the Little Susitna river,catching the train north in the a.m. and south in the p.m.
All kinds of great characters lived off the tracks in those days.
The train still goes through parts of Mckinely park that have never seen a vehicle.
Needless to say the scenary is awesome.(I think I might be a little biased)

Bucharest-Chisinau
 

Bucharest-Chisinau is a fun one--an overnight on old Soviet-era rolling stock, with a bogie change at the border. After years of Shinkansen rides, it was nice to slow things down a bit.

-Kush

I'll second that one. Great service, comfortable seats and beautiful views of orange groves. Can't wait to do it again. ^

A country whose train system would deserve mention solely for doing things properly, even if there were no scenery. I was encouraged to check my luggage at the FERRY station in Wellington, to be picked up at the end of the TRAIN ride in Christchurch. Having spent ~26 years in the U.S., mostly flying United, I was pretty skeptical about this supposed boat to train transfer, and my Kiwi friends practically had to pry the suitcase out of my hands to get me to check it. Needless to say, my suitcase was handed to me in perfect condition in Christchurch seconds after we stepped off the train. This was the first moment at which I gave serious thought to moving to NZ. Y'all know how to run a country down there.

Stuttgart-Como...anything through the Alps...breathtaking!

Great list of trains, stut! I have now taken that Shimla-Kalka railway and it was as spectacular as I had expected. I do have to add though in reference to your comment that it seemed very much a working railway to me. Perhaps because I didn't take the more luxurious train that we passed going the other direction because of timing reasons, there were quite a few on and off passengers during the trip, and my colleague and I were the only non-Indians in the car.

I have travelled the Rhine Route hundreds of times. It is always breathtaking! I always remember the unique charme of a night train ride with my family along the Rhine when I was a little boy and other rides to Italy, Vienna and northern Germany. Consequently, as a student I worked as a night train conductor for CIWLT and my favourite trip was Cologne-Rome with a 24 h layover in Rome ^.