It burned to the ground some years back, but the neatest place I ever stayed in to watch trains was the Hotel Ferrocarril in Zacapa, Guatemala. A nights lodging was $4.50 US and that included a 3 course dinner & also breakfast the next morning. The waiter would always usher you into the bar where the bartender would proudly show off the bullet holes in the wall from the 1953 Revolution. They had good beer too! Ceilings were very high & slow moving fans hung from them. At any minute, you expected Bogie & Bacall to walk into the room...the place had lots of character.
Rooms were not special, but you could walk outside & seat yourself in an old oaken chair on the veranda and take in the steam switcher working the yard. It was an even better show after it got dark. There was a 6 stall open air roundhouse that always had steam power in it. Nearby was a shop that had its own boiler under steam on my first visit. Tropical birds calling out at all hours, a real adventure & experience...I was able to stay there 3 times.