Full-dome Passenger Cars

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi,

Would anyone know of any other rail or excursion companys using full-dome passenger cars, other than the ones that Bachmann already makes?

(Amtrak & Phase I & II, Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, Great Nothern, Royal Gorge and the various McKinley Explorers)

2

Amtrak 10031 I think is Phase IV. Don’t know if Bachmann makes it.

Richard

3

I think the C.N.R. bought some fulldome cars from the Milwaukee Road years back and I still believe they are around somewhere in Canadaland.

4

You’re right that CN bought a few (5?) full-length domes from Milwaukee Rd, which operated for a while in Canada, some of which were eventually inhereted by VIA Rail. I believe they spent all of their time out west of Toronto (on the “Super Continental” and “Panorama”, since “the Canadian” continued to run with ex-CP Budd domes when VIA took over), partly because of the overhead electrical wiring around Gare Centrale in Montreal which prohibited the tall domes from heading east (this wiring has since been removed).

Here’s one in CN paint:

Here’s one in VIA paint:

These cars were retired ages ago, most (if not all) in the early '80s. I’m not sure what happened to them, and if any are preserved somewhere, but they’re long since gone from VIA.

The closest we have in Canada right now to a full dome is VIA Rail’s “Panorama” glass-roofed coaches:

And then there are the Colorado Railcar built Rocky Mountaineer cars, which are essentially a two-level version of that same sort of car. Like this:

Neither are really true “dome” cars, and no models exist of either.

Note: photos are not mine, refer to photo link as reference

5

I should also note that Walther’s recent release of full-dome cars included the CN and VIA versions of the ex-Milwaukee cars, and they’re pretty close (not 100% accurate, since CN modified the cars post-Milw inheritance).