After looking at a number of vintage railway ads in a website I found myself wondering how the cruise lines that include Alaskan rail travel as part of the tour (to view Denali, among other reasons) got their rolling stock? They look as though they could have been refurbished from one of the UP’s old “Domeliner” trains–especially the ones with dining in the dome.
Is that how the cruise lines got their rolling stock, by refurbishing old stuff; or if not, who builds domeliner cars these days??
If you’re wondering about how they got to the property, a ferry. Sorry I can’t answer any other questions. It’s not ignorant at all! Asking is how we learn.In fact, to be ignorant is to not ask questions or learn.
Matthew
Allen,
Colorado Railcar builds them for the Cruise lines in Alaska and for GCRC here in British Columbia. http://www.coloradorailcar.com/tourismhome.htm http://www.rockymountaineer.com/
The March 2002 Railfan says Royal Celebrity had 2 cars that were all new. Holland America had 13 cars rebuilt from 10 ATSF Budds, 1 GN Budd and 2 P-S for the CMSP&P. Princess Cruises had 4 ex CMSP&P full-length domes until 1988, followed by 4 Ultra-Domes built from ex SP Gallery cars and then started getting all-new cars.
Colorado Railcar may have been called Rader earlier. I think Rader went bankrupt trying to build that Marlborough train.
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The only dumb or ignorant questions are the ones that you don’t ask.
I remember reading about the upcoming Marlboro Express (2 F59PHI’s were also built for it, they wound up on Metrolink) and seeing the ads for the sweepstakes involved wiith this train. What was the cause of the collapse of this project/promotion?
I believe I recall seeing pictures in Trains or Railfan of them being scrapped. Something about not being built to a high enough standard for another commercial rail operation to want to buy them.
I toured Alaska two years ago with a few other members of my family. Our package tour was with Holland-America. Part of our tour of Alaska included riding the Alaska RR from Anchorage to the south end of Denali National Park, and then from Denali to Fairbanks. The cars that we rode in are owned by Holland-America and were built by Colorado Railcar. These cars are included in the Alaska Railroad’s normal consists under contract with the cruise lines.
A good share of the other passenger cars that are owned by the Alaska Railroad were originally owned by the Union Pacific, while a few came from other roads such as the SP and the CB&Q.
Don’t ever be afraid to ask questions however dumb you might think them to be, for if we don’t ask questions, then we don’t learn anything.
A test run of the Marlboro Unlimited made its way over the Union Pacific to Silver Bow, Montana; the Montana Western Railway to Garrison; Montana Rail Link to Huntley, and BN east of Huntley. Scheduled to roll “through the heart of Marlboro Country” by spring 1997, the luxury train will be delayed until 1998 because of the sheer opulence of its furnishings, according to its owner, Phillip Morris Cos. Inc.
The 21-car tobacco train, now under construction in Denver, originally had been set to roll as early as this summer. Later, it was rescheduled to run by next spring, and it has now been pushed back until spring 1998.
The train-set, being built by Rader Railcar Inc., took longer than expected because of such unique design features as a “spa car” with custom-designed hot tubs and massage rooms. Adding to the delay
I wonder if another reason Philip Morris dumped the Marlboro Unlimited, was due to political correctness. Running and marketing such a train could have been seen as a way to “glamorize” smoking.