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Ive been posting a lot on this board about VIA's Canadian. One of the reasons it excites me is because of the dome cars on the train.
Im a low budget traveller. Can anyone tell me what other affordable passenger trains have domes? Any Amtrak trains still have domes? By affordable im not including the tourist trains like the Montana Daylight. Its prices are above my budget.
Id like to ride on trains that have a dome car, if possible
chrisg Member # 2488
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Coach passengers are allowed tro ride in the Skyline Dome Car on the Canadian.
The Montana Daylight is no more.
Many dinner train and tourist trains have dome cars and Amtrak still has one that gets out now and then in Surfliner Service.
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Via's Ocean and Chaleur to Halifax and Gaspe run dome cars on certain of their trains. I'm not sure on which days the Budd (dome) equipment runs in conjunction with the non-dome Ren trains.
notelvis Member # 3071
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Several tourist operations have a dome car which, while offered at a premium fare, are still much more affordable than was the Montana Daylight.
This is an all day roughly 200 mile round-trip. When I rode this train in 1999 they sold 48 seats in the dome car. That's 24 upstairs and 24 down. When the train got to the midway point, all passengers switched places for the return trip so everyone got to ride the dome halfway.
Grand Canyon Railroad - Williams, AZ
An all day 128 mile round-trip to the Canyon. I think upstairs dome seats are sold for that space specifically.
Santa Fe Southern - Santa Fe, NM
A 36 mile round-trip between Santa Fe and Lamy. I wanted to ride the dome but it was out-of-service the day I was there. I took the coach seat instead but that's a moot point since I spent the entire trip in the open gondola and had an absolutely wonderful time.
Tennessee Central RR Museum - Nashville, TN
This group runs periodic weekend excursions on the former Tennessee Central Railroad from Nashville eastward. The trips vary by destination and length depending on the particular event. My favorite would be the all day 200 mile round-trip to Cookeville, TN. This run climbs the Cumberland plateau so you've got small towns, rivers and lakes, and a little mountain railroading at the end. They sell seats specifically for the dome and they usually sell out well in advance. Worth the effort though if you want to see what the whole dome thing is about. Oh......and did I mention the E units? These trains are generally pulled by three or four vintage E-8 diesels.....some painted up in the old New York Central scheme! Good place for fans of 1950's passenger trains!
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i found a website from 2003 that said the piedmont had a dome. I take it that it no longer has one?
notelvis Member # 3071
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quote:Originally posted by MontanaJim: i found a website from 2003 that said the piedmont had a dome. I take it that it no longer has one?
The dome in question was used weekends only on the Piedmont for two or three summers. It was sold as a 'first class' accomodation for a mere $8.00 over coach fare. It was supurb although as a full length dome the forward vision was not as good as it was in the Budd half domes. I last rode in this dome, named Mt. Mitchell for North Carolina's highest peak, on July 4, 1998.
There is no dome on the Piedmont now. The car was from the Milwaukee Road circa early 1950's. The car's emergency exits were inadequate for use in regular passenger service and it was withdrawn in 1999 or 2000.
The NCDOT made some expensive updates but no FRA approval was forthcoming. Rather than continue pouring costly retrofits into it, the dome was reluctantly put up for sale. No takers. The car was, as a stunt I think, even listed for auction on eBay.
Ultimately, this past spring, the dome was purchased by the Friends of the 261 organization. It is now in the Twin Cities being used on periodic excursions pulled by the Milwaukee Road steam locomotive 261. You can bet that the premium fare for riding in this dome is somewhat higher than the $8.00 surcharge on the Piedmont!
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