Dome car
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A dome car is a type of
In North America, dome cars were manufactured by the
Configuration
A portion of the car, usually in the center of the car but offset towards one end, is split between two levels. The offset results in floorplans having a "long end" and a "short end" on the main level. Stairs then go up to the dome and down to the lower level, with the lower level below the dome usually offering restrooms or a small lounge area, while the upper portion is usually coach or lounge seating within a "bubble" of glass on the car's roof. Passengers in the upper portion of the dome are able to see in all directions from a vantage point above the train's roofline.
In the United States, the
The
Several railroads operated dome sleeping cars. Those of the Northern Pacific Railway had four bedrooms in the "long end", four roomettes in the "short end" and four duplex single rooms under the dome.[citation needed]
The
Several railroads operated dome observation cars, usually at the rear of the train. These cars have a dome on top of the car with a rounded-end or flat-end rear "observation" section (on the main floor) where passengers can sit and look out at the receding scenery. These cars often have additional sleeping compartments under the dome and/or in the "short end" as well as a bar and/or additional lounge spaces.
The original
Variations
While the partial dome cars were the most common, a number of variations on the dome car (typically called "observation" cars) were developed. In particular the full length dome car, the
In 1956, the Santa Fe introduced Hi-Level cars on its El Capitan chair car train. These were built like dome cars, with high floors along their length and a low section between their bogie trucks. The lower level contained low entrance doors and restrooms on chair cars, kitchens on diners, and a wet bar on the "Top of the Cap" lounge cars (which were the only cars of the group that could be called dome cars). Most vestibules were on the upper level. Transition cars were similar to full length chair cars, save in one regard. These cars were intended to serve as a transition between regular rolling stock, and double deck stock. To facilitate this, one vestibule of the car was lower, while the other was at the height of the upper vestibule of the double deck stock. Amtrak utilized these cars for a time, primarily in situations where cars inherited from other railroads made up the bulk of Amtrak's rolling stock. All these El Capitan cars were used heavily in the early days of Amtrak, and served as a pattern when Amtrak began to purchase, or produce, its own double deck cars. The majority of transition cars were scrapped, though a few were kept in service and rebuilt into more "traditional" high-vestibule double-deck cars.
Dome lounge
A dome lounge is a type of domed railroad passenger car that includes lounge, cafe, dining or other space on the upper level or both levels of the car. Examples include both short (approximately half the length of the car, with the dome located just forward or just rearward of the car's center) and full (taking almost the entire length of the car). Some examples include sleeping compartments or coach seating.
Classic dome lounges (built during the streamliner era in the U.S. and Canada) include: "
"Big Dome" full-length cars built by the Budd Company in 1954 for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe for the railroad's passenger train fleet. Fourteen of these were built in two groups, one group of which included crew dormitory space on the lower level.
"Great Dome" full-length cars built by the Budd Company in 1956 for the Great Northern Railway for its Empire Builder train.[3]: 112 Six of these were built; one of them was actually owned by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, over which the train operated between Chicago and the Twin Cities. One former Great Northern car number 1391, Ocean View, remains in Amtrak ownership.[4][5]
"Pleasure Dome" short dome cars built by Pullman-Standard in 1950 for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe for its Super Chief train.[6] The six cars had both lounge and dining facilities, including the unique "Turquoise Room", a small dining area identified by the turquoise Native American medallion displayed on one of the room's walls.[7][8]
"
"Vista Dome" short dome cars built for the Wabash Railroad. The Budd Company built a dome-parlor-observation in 1950 for the railroad's Blue Bird; Pullman-Standard built a dome-parlor for the same train in 1952.
"Astra Dome" short dome cars built by American Car & Foundry in 1955 for the Union Pacific Railroad and operated on the City of Los Angeles, City of Portland and other UP passenger trains. The railroad purchased 15 dome-lounge-observations.
"
"
Waning years of original passenger train use
Most of these cars remained in service for their original owners up to the end of privately run passenger trains in North America in the 1970s. In the U.S., most cars moved on to Amtrak[9][14] or to operators such as Auto Train. A few remained in business car service for their original railroads. In Canada, the entire Canadian Pacific fleet went to Via Rail.[15]
History
The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (March 2013) |
Although the design of a dome car can be likened to a cupola caboose, the dome car's development is not directly related. The earliest documented predecessor of the dome car was first developed in the 1880s; known at the time as the "birdcage car", it was used on an 1882 sightseeing tour on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. In 1891, T. J. McBride received a patent for a car design called an "observation-sleeper"; illustrations of the design in Scientific American at the time showed a car with three observation domes.[16] Canadian Pacific Railway used "tourist cars" with raised, glass-sided viewing cupolas on their trains through the Canadian Rocky Mountains in the 1920s.
These dome car designs did not prove successful, and further refinements to the idea didn't come for a few decades. The first successful dome cars were conceived by
Mr. Osborn took the idea to the
Soon after Silver Dome entered service, railroad managers and passenger train executives met to discuss the merits of the dome car design. In the
Despite the costs involved,
On September 14, 1950, a monument was established at Glenwood Canyon. Called "Monument to an Idea", this monument celebrated the Vista Dome at the place where it was first inspired.[20] In the late 1980s, the monument was moved to the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado, to make way for expansion of Interstate 70.[21]
The first ten full-length domes were built by Pullman for the
As railroad passenger ridership declined in the late 1950s, some railroads retired dome cars due to the maintenance costs. Other railroads that had not purchased dome cars new bought them second hand. Illinois Central purchased several cars from Missouri Pacific and Canadian National bought several cars from Milwaukee Road, for example. Because of their enormous usage of sealed glass, the cooling of the cars required massive air conditioning capacity. Maintenance and repair of these cars was costly. Breakdown of the air conditioning system on the road, even in winter, could render a car unusable.
Since the 1980s, dome cars have become rare since Amtrak introduced Superliner bi-level passenger cars that are 16 feet (4.9 m) tall over the length of the car (but at a stretch the Superliner lounge car could be considered a dome car). Dome cars are very popular on tourist railways and private charter rail services. Some railroad museums have preserved several dome cars. These cars are very popular with visitors who often remember the spectacular rides they had in these cars.
While the dome car is a mostly North American feature, a few also operated in the scenic areas of Europe. The German Federal Railway had five low-profile dome cars built in the early-to-mid 1960s for its "Rheingold" and "Rheinpfeil" trains. After being retired from regular service, these cars operated in excursion and charter service throughout Europe.
Current usage
Most dome lounges survive as of 2023. Some are in excursion train or dinner train service,[23] while others are on display in museums. A few remain in business car service.[24][25][26] Most of the original Canadian Pacific cars remain in service on the transcontinental Canadian train operated by Via Rail Canada.[15]
Canada
The Ontario Northland Railway operates dome cars on the Polar Bear Express from Cochrane to Moosonee.
The Canadian National Railway operates a former Great Northern dome coach in its business car fleet.
In 2018,
The Orford Express dinner/excursion train, which operates out of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, includes a former Northern Pacific dome sleeper.
India
Indian Railways (IR) is currently using 41 Vistadome coaches in different railway zones of the country. IR planned to introduce 49 more Vistadome coaches by the end of 2021 to meet the growing demand of tourists. [28]
Panama
The Panama Canal Railway operates a 1950s-vintage dome car originally built by Southern Pacific on its route between Panama City and Colón alongside the Panama Canal.
United States
Manufacturing companies such as
A new generation of dome lounges currently operate in cruise train service in Alaska[29] and Canada. These do not necessarily use the traditional dome design, but are more similar to the bi-level design first seen in commuter-style "gallery" cars on U.S. railroads in the 1950s and on the "Hi-Level" cars built by the Budd Company in 1956 for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe El Capitan train.[30]
Most of these cars were constructed by
Amtrak operated one dome car, #10031. It is a Budd full-length dome car, former Great Northern Railway #1391 "Ocean View" up until 2019. Painted in Phase III paint, it is used on special services such as the Oakland to Reno "Reno Fun Train", or the Seattle to Leavenworth "Snow Train". Amtrak has also operated the car in fall foliage service on the New York-Montreal "Adirondack" and on several of its Chicago-based regional trains. In the summertime, dome car #10031 is used on the single level Pacific Surfliner trainset. Another dome car Amtrak used (no longer in service) was on the Capitol Limited, possibly removed when the train switched to Superliner I & II cars. The Ocean View dome car has since been sold to Paxrail.[31]
In addition, the following railroads and
- Silver Dome is on display at the Mad River and NKP Railroad Museum in Bellevue, Ohio.[32]
- The Grand Canyon Railway operates dome coaches between Williams, Arizona and the south rim of the Grand Canyon. These are former Great Northern, Northern Pacific and Denver & Rio Grande Western cars. It also has a former Great Northern full-length dome lounge from the former American Orient Express fleet.
- The Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, California, rosters several Budd-built Vista-Dome cars from the original California Zephyr train. These are being restored as part of the museum's Zephyr Project, a program to re-create the CZ experience.
- The Pullman-Standard Super Dome lounge originally built for the Milwaukee Road, which it uses as one of its dining areas on its daily service.
- The Alaska Railroad operates older, traditional dome cars on several trains, in addition to the newer custom-built Ultra Dome cars found on its Denali Star train between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
- The Union Pacific Railroad operates several traditional dome cars as part of its business and excursion car fleet. These cars include dome coaches, dome dining cars and dome lounges, and all were once part of the railroad's famed "City" fleet of passenger trains. These cars often appear in special trains pulled by the railroad's two historic preserved steam locomotives, 4-8-4 "Northern" #844 and 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" #4014.
- The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway(BNSF) has two dome lounge cars, a former Santa Fe car "Bay View" and a former Great Northern car, "Glacier View" in its business car fleet. Bay View often appears on the employee appreciation excursions which operate on each BNSF operating division every few years while Glacier View is used as a lounge on business and officers' specials. Glacier View was rebuilt with a large observation window on the rear much like the lounge car "William Barstow Strong".
- The Royal Gorge Route Railroad and the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad operate former Santa Fe, Great Northern and Milwaukee Road full-length domes in excursion service on their respective routes in central and southern Colorado. A unique feature of the Rio Grande Scenic service is the chance to ride in a modern dome car behind a vintage steam locomotive.
- The Mount Hood Railroad operates a former Santa Fe full-length dome lounge on its excursion trains out of Hood River, Ore.
- The Kansas City Southern Railway operates two former Union Pacific domes, a coach and a dining car, in its business car fleet.
- The Branson Scenic Railroad in Missouri owns several former CB&Q domes and operates a dome car on all excursions.
- The Conway Scenic Railroad in New Hampshire operates a former Great Northern Railway dome coach on the Crawford Notch train.
- The Missouri Pacificdome coach.
- The Delaware & Ulster Railroad operates a former Missouri Pacific dome coach on its "Rip Van Winkle Flyer" dinner train in New York's Catskill Mountains.
- The Reading, Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad operates two former Milwaukee Road Super Domelounges and a former Santa Fe (ex-SLRG) Super Dome car in its business car/excursion fleet.
- The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad operates a former Western Pacific Budd dome coach in excursion service. This car was originally built for the California Zephyr and later used on the original Auto Train, as part of the Pacific Starlight Dinner Train on BC Rail, and for the Ontario Northland Railway.
- The Saratoga Springs and North Creek, N.Y.
- The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe dome lounge, are part of the former Spirit of Washington Dinner Trainconsist that was acquired by the railroad's parent company.
- Iowa Pacific Holdings is the parent company for the Saratoga & North Creek and the Santa Cruz & Monterey Bay, as well as the Mount Hood Railroad and the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, two other dome operators listed here.
- Iowa Pacific also operates Pullman Rail Journeys on the Amtrak City of New Orleans route between Chicago and New Orleans. This consist includes a former Santa Fe Budd dome lounge configured for dining service, and the company also has a former Northern Pacific dome-sleeper available for this service.
- Pan Am Railways operates a former Wabash dome coach on its business car train.
- The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum operates a Missouri Pacific Railroad Planetarium Dome coach on its Calera & Shelby Railroad. The coach was built as MP 892 in 1948, renumbered to MP 592 in 1968. After being purchased by the Illinois Central, it was renumbered 2202. The museum purchased the car for steam excursion service in 1972 keeping the 2202 but replacing Illinois Central on the letter boards with Heart of Dixie. In 2015, the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum restored the car's exterior to its original MP 892 colors and numbering.[33]
- Norfolk Southern Railway operates a full dome as part of its executive office car train (OCS). Former ATSF, the dome was last owned by Conrail for its own OCS train and was acquired by NS during the Conrail acquisition.[34]
- The Indiana DOT funded Hoosier State, operated by Amtrak, had used equipment provided by Iowa Pacific which included a Budd ex-Santa Fe dome lounge, until early 2018.
Documentary
Dome rail travel was highlighted in the PBS-aired program Dome Car Magic. Produced by award-winning Richard Luckin, it is narrated by actor Michael Gross and chronicles the history of the railroad sightseeing cars, from Burlington's 1945 "Silver Dome" to the full-length models operating today in Alaska and Canada.
See also
- Bilevel car
- List of North American dome cars
- Observation car
- Park series
- Passenger car (rail)
- Skytop Lounge
- Sun Lounge
- Superliner (railcar)
References
- ISBN 978-0-8018-2722-8.
- ^ A similar dumbwaiter is sometimes found in double-deck intercity trainsets like the Dutch IRM.
- ^ "Milwaukee Gets First Full-Length Dome-Lounge Cars" (PDF). Railway Age: 68–74. December 8, 1952. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-7603-3475-1.
- ^ "Amtrak Heritage Full-Length Dome Lounge Car #10031". TrainWeb. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ Jordan, David P. (November 25, 2011). "Last Amtrak Full Dome Car Visits Central Illinois". Peoria Station. Archived from the original on September 4, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ Grace, Michael L. "The Super Chief - "The Train of the Stars"". New York Social Diary. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ Kansas Historical Society. ""Super Chief" Dome Lounge car". Kansas Memory. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ "The Super Chief Pleasure Domes". Streamliner Memories. November 21, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ a b "History of Silver Solarium: Vista-dome-Sleeper-Lounge-dome-diner". Rail Journeys West. 2002–2009. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ "Vista Dome Buffet Lounge Dorm". California Zephyr Museum Online. 2003–2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ Amtrak. "A converted dome car from streamliner days". Texas Eagle. Archived from the original on August 25, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ "Domeliners in the United States and Canada". Trains Magazine. Kalmbach Publishing. December 22, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ Southern Pacific Railroad (December 12, 1956). "On your next trip to California... (paid advertisement)". Deseret News and Telegram. pp. 2B. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ Amtrak. "Dinner Bell in the Dome Lounge Car". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ a b Via Rail Canada (1995–2013). "Service cars - Skyline dome car". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ a b c White, p 197
- ^ a b c White, p 198
- ^ White, p 199
- ^ White, p 306
- OCLC 51069308.
- ISBN 0-7603-1631-7. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
- ^ White, p 200
- ^ Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. "Hiwassee Premium Service". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ "Creative Charters Dome Lounge Warren R. Henry". The Colorado Time-Table. August 1, 2009. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ Barlow, Tom (November 14, 2011). "Privately Owned Train Cars -- A Better Way to see America". Forbes. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ Carroll, John (1993). "List of UPRR Business and Excursion Cars". Union Pacific Historical Society. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ "Canadian Pacific dome car 'Selkirk' joins passenger car fleet | Trains Magazine".
- ^ "On track: 49 more Vistadome coaches".
- ^ Combs, John (1999–2013). "ARR Passenger Cars". Alaska Rails. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ American Orient Express. "The American Orient Express cars". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ "Amtrak's Last 'Great Dome' is Saved". 18 August 2020.
- ^ Museum, Mad River & NKP Railroad. "Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum". madrivermuseum.org. Retrieved 2015-08-23.
- ^ "Missouri Pacific Planetarium Dome Coach 892". Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
- ^ AltoonaWorks.info site, referenced August 5th, 2015