Starting in Moscow the White Nights II Steam Express traveled to the Golden Ring towns of Vladimir and Suzdal before continuing to Nizhny Novgorod - formerly Gorky. The train's main destination of Vorkuta is at the end of the 1000 mile long railway built using forced labour during World War 2 by Stalin to access the coal and other minerals deep beneath the permafrost in this artic city. Indeed Vorkuta epitomizes the infamous Gulags. Hundreds of thousands of people died here in the 1930's and 1940's.

Returning west the White Nights II visited other Golden Ring towns including Veliky Ustyug and Vologda before spending two days in St. Petersburg. Finally the train returned to Moscow. In total 4,500 miles of 100% steam haulage with 6 different locomotive classes and a total of 10 different engines. These were the famous 4-8-4 P36 and SU 2-6-2 Passenger Locomotives, The E Class 0-10-0, the L Class 2-10-0, The LV 2-10-2 and the Ov 0-8-0.