Great Dome coming to Wolverine

[Mackensen]

According to the Detroit Free Press the Great Dome is running on the Wolverine next week. It's leaving Chicago on the 352 (23) and returning on the 351 (24). Sadly I won't get a chance to ride it but there should be some great photo ops along the Michigan Line.

EDIT: here's another article with more information: http://www.examiner.com/train-travel-in-national/great-dome-car-to-visit-chicago-over-thanksgiving. It'll also be making runs on the Lincoln Service, Saluki and Illini.

 

[afigg]

The Great Dome is getting around. Wonder if Amtrak is doing just for pure marketing to get additional publicity and press coverage for the Wolverine, Illini/Saluki, and Lincoln services to increase awareness of the plans for higher speeds & new equipment for the Wolverine & Lincoln trains?

 

[bretton88]

Odd choice of trains to put the dome. These are not scenic routes in the winter. It has to be for publicity, but surely there are better routes to utilize the dome on?

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Odd choice of trains to put the dome. These are not scenic routes in the winter. It has to be for publicity, but surely there are better routes to utilize the dome on?

Scenic, schmenic. ANY route is gonna look better and be more interesting from a dome car perspective. And why the elitist yap about there being "better" routes for dome utiltization? Says who, what are the criteria, who decides that, and why shouldn't ALL passengers get the opportunity to ride in a dome on their home trains every once in a great while? Not their fault that Amtrak 86ed all except the one! Further, so WHAT if it's a publicity ploy? Passengers on trains like the Wolverines/Illini/Saluki/Lincoln are gonna complain, or refuse to ride upstairs, cuz they don't wanna be marketing tools??

 

[ray828]

I took train 304 on Thursday and we had the dome car on our train. It was my first time riding in the dome and although I rode it in the dark, it was great. Glad to see it moving around the system.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

I took train 304 on Thursday and we had the dome car on our train. It was my first time riding in the dome and although I rode it in the dark, it was great. Glad to see it moving around the system.

Just the sort of thing I was talking about. Great that you got a chance to enjoy the Great Dome, ray828, and in my view a night ride is extra special!

 

[jis]

Just to summarize....

The dome car is scheduled to operate on the following Lincoln Service, Carl Sandburg/Illinois Zephyr, Wolverine Service and Illini/Saluki routes to and from St. Louis, Quincy, Detroit/Pontiac and Carbondale on the following dates:

Trains 301 & 304 on Nov. 17, Nov. 19 and Nov. 25,

Trains 303 & 306 on Nov. 18 and Nov. 26,

Trains 381 & 382 on Nov. 21,

Train 305 on Nov. 22,

Trains 300 & 352 on Nov. 23,

Train 351 on Nov. 24,

Train 393 on Nov. 27

Train 390 on Nov. 28.

Seats in the dome car are not reserved and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Food service will be available in the dome car on Nov. 23, 24 and 26. That's a nice new touch!

 

[gatelouse]

Plus the practical benefit of additional capacity for oversales and additional food service on longer holiday consists.

 

[Ziv]

I don't think I have ever ridden in the Great Dome, since all of my early train travel was on the Empire Builder, but the dome cars the EB had back in the 70's made even the prairie fascinating! There is something about a dome car that turns travel into a fascinating show, and if you add in any areas of beauty, from Prairie to lake sides to forests, it just turns a travel day into an experience to treasure. I don't know the areas that the Great Dome will be traversing this Thanksgiving, but I bet there will be a lot of kids that will remember forever the thrill of sitting up in these cars and watching the world roll by.

 

[jis]

I don't think I have ever ridden in the Great Dome, since all of my early train travel was on the Empire Builder, but the dome cars the EB had back in the 70's made even the prairie fascinating! There is something about a dome car that turns travel into a fascinating show, and if you add in any areas of beauty, from Prairie to lake sides to forests, it just turns a travel day into an experience to treasure. I don't know the areas that the Great Dome will be traversing this Thanksgiving, but I bet there will be a lot of kids that will remember forever the thrill of sitting up in these cars and watching the world roll by.

The Amtrak Great Dome is an ex-Empire Builder car. But EB did carry other types of domes too I think.

 

[Ziv]

I don't think I have ever ridden in the Great Dome, since all of my early train travel was on the Empire Builder, but the dome cars the EB had back in the 70's made even the prairie fascinating! There is something about a dome car that turns travel into a fascinating show, and if you add in any areas of beauty, from Prairie to lake sides to forests, it just turns a travel day into an experience to treasure. I don't know the areas that the Great Dome will be traversing this Thanksgiving, but I bet there will be a lot of kids that will remember forever the thrill of sitting up in these cars and watching the world roll by.

The Amtrak Great Dome is an ex-Empire Builder car. But EB did carry other types of domes too I think.

jis, I am not completely sure, but I think the Dome Car that we rode had a dome you went up to in the middle of the car, but it didn't run the whole length of the train. I think. I remember seeing a bull moose go out of sight at the rear window of the Dome when we were entering Glacier and it seems like there couldn't be anything cooler in the world than to sit there with my Dad and watch the world go by. I think a dome that runs the length of the whole car would be even better, and I might have been on it, but I can't remember it.

 

[jis]

Some more info on the Great Dome. Apparently, after its stint out of Chicago, it will head out to Seattle for a short visit, and then be back in Chicago area again, and after Christmas will go to Beech Grove to have its entire glazing replaced. and interior remodeled. This was supposed to have happened last summer but while in Beech Grove some structural issues were discovered and those were fixed instead.

So I guess it will be a while before Patrick gets to ride it again

 

[Bob Dylan]

I don't think I have ever ridden in the Great Dome, since all of my early train travel was on the Empire Builder, but the dome cars the EB had back in the 70's made even the prairie fascinating! There is something about a dome car that turns travel into a fascinating show, and if you add in any areas of beauty, from Prairie to lake sides to forests, it just turns a travel day into an experience to treasure. I don't know the areas that the Great Dome will be traversing this Thanksgiving, but I bet there will be a lot of kids that will remember forever the thrill of sitting up in these cars and watching the world roll by.

The Amtrak Great Dome is an ex-Empire Builder car. But EB did carry other types of domes too I think.

jis, I am not completely sure, but I think the Dome Car that we rode had a dome you went up to in the middle of the car, but it didn't run the whole length of the train. I think. I remember seeing a bull moose go out of sight at the rear window of the Dome when we were entering Glacier and it seems like there couldn't be anything cooler in the world than to sit there with my Dad and watch the world go by. I think a dome that runs the length of the whole car would be even better, and I might have been on it, but I can't remember it.

:hi: If you havent visited TrainWeb.org, check out TrainWeb.org/web lurker/Web LurkersDome.main It's a great sight to see pics/get info on hundreds of old Dome Cars :wub: still with us and gone Hope the Link is correct? Hi Tech isnt my field for sure! Perhaps another member might have a better Link for this site!!

 

[Ryan]

Some more info on the Great Dome. Apparently, after its stint out of Chicago, it will head out to Seattle for a short visit, and then be back in Chicago area again, and after Christmas will go to Beech Grove to have its entire glazing replaced. and interior remodeled. This was supposed to have happened last summer but while in Beech Grove some structural issues were discovered and those were fixed instead.

So I guess it will be a while before Patrick gets to ride it again

That's also when the metal plates that take the place of the front and rear windows will be replaced for glass. Apparently that was a short term fix until they could get a properly sized piece of glass made.

Glad to see that it's going to spend some time roaming the system. On the Cardinal trip (that I promise I'll get around to writing up soon), the place was packed for the entire day (and still had a very reasonable crowd at night).

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The Amtrak experience (and sales pitch) could really benefit from more dome cars. Domes that can see over Superliners would be best in my view. I have no idea how they would ever finance it, but hopefully the next set of Sightseer Lounges will have domes that can give full 380 degree views. After seeing the 360 effect on the Canadian it's hard to get excited about the rolling junk food counters that pass for viewing cars these days. As for nighttime riding in the Great Dome to they typically turn off the lights or do they simply leave them on so everything outside becomes pitch black?

 

[Ryan]

On our trip, one of the passengers turned the lights off (the switch is pretty obvious), and amazingly the crew left them that was all night. It was pretty DARK, but everyone enjoyed being able to see out.

 

[zephyr17]

The Amtrak experience (and sales pitch) could really benefit from more dome cars. Domes that can see over Superliners would be best in my view. I have no idea how they would ever finance it, but hopefully the next set of Sightseer Lounges will have domes that can give full 380 degree views. After seeing the 360 effect on the Canadian it's hard to get excited about the rolling junk food counters that pass for viewing cars these days. As for nighttime riding in the Great Dome to they typically turn off the lights or do they simply leave them on so everything outside becomes pitch black?

While I completely agree with your opinion about domes, having grown up with them and miss them terribly, bu you can't have a dome and a bi-level due to clearance issues. Either/or. So you will never, ever see a Superliner with a dome. You'd have to go back to single level trains to have domes.

 

[afigg]

While I completely agree with your opinion about domes, having grown up with them and miss them terribly, bu you can't have a dome and a bi-level due to clearance issues. Either/or. So you will never, ever see a Superliner with a dome. You'd have to go back to single level trains to have domes.

In theory, a Superliner Dome car could be built to run over the tracks and routes cleared for double stack containers. But there are likely clearance choke points at major passenger stations and Amtrak service yards that the freight trains don't use which would be a problem. But a Superliner dome car is not going to be built as Amtrak is not going to spend funds for a limited production run and limited application car. A upgraded Superliner III Sightseer lounge to replace the Pacific Parlor car and maybe expand on the concept for another route or 2 is the most one can expect.

Amtrak has put out a press release about the schedule for the Great Dome and how they expect heavy ridership for the Thanksgiving period.

 

[zephyr17]

While I completely agree with your opinion about domes, having grown up with them and miss them terribly, bu you can't have a dome and a bi-level due to clearance issues. Either/or. So you will never, ever see a Superliner with a dome. You'd have to go back to single level trains to have domes.

In theory, a Superliner Dome car could be built to run over the tracks and routes cleared for double stack containers. But there are likely clearance choke points at major passenger stations and Amtrak service yards that the freight trains don't use which would be a problem. But a Superliner dome car is not going to be built as Amtrak is not going to spend funds for a limited production run and limited application car. A upgraded Superliner III Sightseer lounge to replace the Pacific Parlor car and maybe expand on the concept for another route or 2 is the most one can expect.

Amtrak has put out a press release about the schedule for the Great Dome and how they expect heavy ridership for the Thanksgiving period.

Aren't clearance choke points "clearance issues"?

 

[jis]

Aren't clearance choke points "clearance issues"?

Yes. Current Superliners (and the standard design for bilevel cars) fit within Plate F. This hypothetical car will require Plate H/K clearance, which probably does not exist in all places that Superliners travel to.

 

[PaulM]

Just to summarize....

The dome car is scheduled to operate on the following Lincoln Service, Carl Sandburg/Illinois Zephyr, Wolverine Service and Illini/Saluki routes to and from St. Louis, Quincy, Detroit/Pontiac and Carbondale on the following dates:

Trains 301 & 304 on Nov. 17, Nov. 19 and Nov. 25,

Trains 303 & 306 on Nov. 18 and Nov. 26,

Trains 381 & 382 on Nov. 21,

Train 305 on Nov. 22,

Trains 300 & 352 on Nov. 23,

Train 351 on Nov. 24,

Train 393 on Nov. 27

Train 390 on Nov. 28.

Curses! Foiled again! h34r:

Talk about signal to noise. I missed the important information amid all the other palaver.

 

[Trogdor]

I would suggest the title of this thread be renamed to "Great Dome coming to midwest" (even though it's already here and has been running for several days).

It's actually spending more time on the Lincoln Service route than it is on the Wolverine.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I don't think I have ever ridden in the Great Dome, since all of my early train travel was on the Empire Builder, but the dome cars the EB had back in the 70's made even the prairie fascinating! There is something about a dome car that turns travel into a fascinating show, and if you add in any areas of beauty, from Prairie to lake sides to forests, it just turns a travel day into an experience to treasure. I don't know the areas that the Great Dome will be traversing this Thanksgiving, but I bet there will be a lot of kids that will remember forever the thrill of sitting up in these cars and watching the world roll by.

The Amtrak Great Dome is an ex-Empire Builder car. But EB did carry other types of domes too I think.

jis, I am not completely sure, but I think the Dome Car that we rode had a dome you went up to in the middle of the car, but it didn't run the whole length of the train. I think. I remember seeing a bull moose go out of sight at the rear window of the Dome when we were entering Glacier and it seems like there couldn't be anything cooler in the world than to sit there with my Dad and watch the world go by. I think a dome that runs the length of the whole car would be even better, and I might have been on it, but I can't remember it.

All of this is correct. the preAmtrak EB did have several smaller domes on tops of coaches, which you entered from the middle car. It also had a Grand or Great Dome.

 

[Bierboy]

I don't think I have ever ridden in the Great Dome, since all of my early train travel was on the Empire Builder, but the dome cars the EB had back in the 70's made even the prairie fascinating! There is something about a dome car that turns travel into a fascinating show, and if you add in any areas of beauty, from Prairie to lake sides to forests, it just turns a travel day into an experience to treasure. I don't know the areas that the Great Dome will be traversing this Thanksgiving, but I bet there will be a lot of kids that will remember forever the thrill of sitting up in these cars and watching the world roll by.

My memories of riding in the dome on the North Coast Limited are etched in my foggy brain....I will NEVER forget the fun we had riding in the Vista Dome cars all day long from CHI to SEA and back...

 

[Bierboy]

I don't think I have ever ridden in the Great Dome, since all of my early train travel was on the Empire Builder, but the dome cars the EB had back in the 70's made even the prairie fascinating! There is something about a dome car that turns travel into a fascinating show, and if you add in any areas of beauty, from Prairie to lake sides to forests, it just turns a travel day into an experience to treasure. I don't know the areas that the Great Dome will be traversing this Thanksgiving, but I bet there will be a lot of kids that will remember forever the thrill of sitting up in these cars and watching the world roll by.

The Amtrak Great Dome is an ex-Empire Builder car. But EB did carry other types of domes too I think.

jis, I am not completely sure, but I think the Dome Car that we rode had a dome you went up to in the middle of the car, but it didn't run the whole length of the train. I think. I remember seeing a bull moose go out of sight at the rear window of the Dome when we were entering Glacier and it seems like there couldn't be anything cooler in the world than to sit there with my Dad and watch the world go by. I think a dome that runs the length of the whole car would be even better, and I might have been on it, but I can't remember it.

The Northern Pacific's North Coast Limited had the Vista Dome cars with the dome portion in the middle third or so of the car (maybe half). There were coach seats on the main level forward and behind the dome with restrooms below as I recall.