If you’ve listened to the lonesome moan...

If you’ve listened to the lonesome moan of a train at night and wished secretly that you could be at the controls, here’s your opportunity. Railroad buffs from Los Angeles to Long Island are living out their fantasies in Britain. Instruction is being given on the Fairbourne & Barnmouth narrow-gauge steam railway operating in Wales. Veteran engineers are teaching would-be engineers the art of operating steam locomotives on the Fairbourne & Barnmouth Railway. Lots of hands-on experience. Afterward, rail buffs take over at the controls as the locomotive rolls along tracks through sand dunes in mid-Wales. The entire package--lessons, hotel accommodations/meals--comes to about $640 for five days. It’s a steal.

Details from Fairbourne & Barnmouth Railway, Beach Road, Fairbourne, Gwynedd 2LL38 2EX, Wales.

Meanwhile, instruction for operating a full-size steam locomotive is being given on the privately owned Bluebell Railway line in Sussex, England. Courses are $560. Contact Clive Groome, Footplate Days & Ways, 40 Sidney Road, South Norwood, London SE25, England.

Other details from the British Tourist Authority, 350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 450, Los Angeles 90071, (213) 628-3525.

Customized Rail Tours: Customized tours aboard a couple of vintage rail cars is being booked by Abercrombie & Kent. The cars date from the mid-’20s. Completely refurbished. These are cars that have carried U.S. Presidents, film stars. Charters arranged to any destination in the United States (or Canada) served by Amtrak. Observation lounges. Private bedrooms. Formal dining-rooms. Meals arranged by a well-known San Francisco chef. Charter prices depend on the number of days/passengers/distance traveled. Example: A group of 10 would pay about $3,000 per person for a four-day San Francisco/Seattle trip. Cars are staffed, impeccably furnished. Trips from the West Coast to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and east to New England. Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner served onboard. Fully stocked bars. Stereo equipment. Open platforms with deck chairs at the rear of the cars.

Call Abercrombie & Kent at (800) 323-7308.

Hearts ‘n’ Flowers: Customized wedding/honeymoon packages in Hawaii are the latest offering by Creative Leisure International. Round-trip air, flower leis, limousine transfers. Three nights on Oahu. Four nights on Kauai. Creative Leisure provides champagne, entertainment, a rental car, a cruise up romantic Wailua River to Kauai’s Fern Grotto. Ceremonies performed on yachts, mountain tops, beaches, in gardens, beside waterfalls. Candlelight dinners, picnics, helicopter trips. Prices vary with selection of services.

Creative Leisure, 951 Transport Way, Petaluma, Calif. 94954, (800) 426-6367. (This is the company that pioneered condominium rentals in Hawaii.) Other customized vacations in Mexico/Europe.

Mountain Retreat: Halfway between Denver and Albuquerque the once-private 600,000-acre Vermejo Park Ranch in eastern New Mexico is hosting vacationers in its lodge/guest cottages. Fishing, riding, hiking. Visits to ghost towns. Twenty-four lakes (one at the 12,500-foot level). Twenty-five miles of streams. Trophy-class rainbow, cutthroat, brook trout. Deer, elk, buffalo herds. Wild turkey. Dozens of species of birds. The ranch with its scrub oak, pine, aspen trees stands at the 7,600-foot level in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Capacity: 60-75 guests. Wildlife roams freely across the ranch’s 800 square miles. Vermejo was a one-time secret hideaway for film stars/business moguls. Sunday through Thursday (Aug. 1-Sept. 2) guests 18 years old and younger accompanying their families will be hosted free. Adults: $250 per day (rooms, meals, riding, fishing, etc.).

Details from John Connor, Guest Services Manager, Vermejo Park Ranch, P.O. Drawer E, Raton, N.M. 87740, (505) 445-3097.

Packing Without Frills: A note from Mrs. Lynn Spear Merles of Costa Mesa in answer to the recent Travel Tips column on packing. “My husband and I went to the one-under-the-seat suitcase years ago. If it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t go. Like you, I make a list of essentials before packing. I also take several plastic bags for wet/dirty laundry. We travel to see and not be seen, so we don’t care if we wear the same outfit more than once. Women’s clothes are more involved than men’s. Basic colors (navy, black, white and beige) add to the number of different outfits. I lay pants across the bottom of the suitcase with half up the side and hanging over. I alternate them, pack everything else, and then fold the hanging part of the pants across the top. Never had a wrinkle this way. Also, I Xerox pages out of guides pertaining to where we are going. Saves carrying/buying the books. We leave our good jewelry home. A cheap watch works well.”

For Women Only: It’s called Women In The Wilderness--a company that specializes in vacations for canoers/hikers and other outdoor types. Coming up in October is a trip down Utah’s Green River through Labyrinth Canyon, with hikes in Arches National Park. Judith Niemi, who taught English at the University of Minnesota and Montreal’s McGill University for 15 years, launched Women In the Wilderness four years ago. Got the idea after teaching from a travel/adventure textbook. These are laid-back vacations. Opportunities for women to leave behind stressful jobs and unwind in the wilderness. Campfires at night. Canoeing/nature study by day. Ages 30-60, although Niemi hosted one vacationer in her 80s. The eight-day Green River trip (Oct. 12-19) figures out to $875 for meals, camping equipment, canoeing and two nights in a motel (before and after the trip).

Joining Niemi will be a Utah naturalist from Canyonlands Field Institute. The group will pitch camp on sand bars along the Green River. Fall colors for photographers. Says Niemi: “A peaceful journey with time to let your spirit expand in the quiet and space.” Niemi welcomes mainly mature travelers (“You need only an adventurous spirit”). Novices are coached in the game of canoeing. Groups paddle 10-15 miles daily. Pickups by van at the airport in Grand Junction, Colo. On the river the group will study hanging gardens, Indian petroglyphs. Sightings of beaver, bighorn sheep, uranium mines. Future trips planned by Niemi to Canada’s New Territories (“I’m an Arctic buff”). Coming up: dog sledding in Minnesota, hiking in Hawaii.

Women In The Wilderness, 566 Ottawa Ave., St. Paul, Minn. 55107, (612) 227-2284.

Week’s Best Giveaway: A free 108-page guide produced by the Denver Metro Convention & Visitor’s Bureau features state/local/regional maps, listings of hotels, restaurants, car rentals, airlines. Iteneraries for day trips out of Denver. Other sections deal with rail/bus travel. Details on museums, balloon rides, shopping, riding, free tours. Information on Boulder, Buena Vista, Colorado Springs, Central City, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, Cripple Creek, Durango, Estes Park, Ft. Collins, Glenwood Springs, Granby, Grand Junction, Golden, Keystone, Ledville, Loveland, Manitou Springs, Montrose, Ouray, Rifle, Sedalia, Steamboat Springs, Vail/Beaver Creek, Winterpark.

Copies from the Denver Metro Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, 225 W. Colfax, Dept. A, Denver, Colo. 80202, (303) 892-1505.

Reader Recommendations

California--Robert C. Wagoner, San Diego: “Garden St. Inn, 1212 Garden St., San Luis Obispo 93401. Rates: $80/$160.”

Colorado--Lauren and Barbara Lackey, Thousand Oaks: “Stayed at the wonderful Damn Yankee Bed & Breakfast, P.O. Box 709, 100 6th Ave., Ouray, Colo. Rates: $70/$125.”

Fiji--Barry and Rosemarie Nicoll, Covina: “In Fiji we had a very comfortable experience at the Casablanca Hotel, Box 575, Sigatoka, Fiji Islands. Rates: $35 double. Eight units facing the beach.”

Northern Ireland--Samuel Eric Wilson, Palos Verdes Estates: “Strongly recommend the country home of Ralph and Norah Brown, Grange Lodge, Grange Road, Dungannon, County Tyrane. Bed and breakfast, about $35 per person.”