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Ultra
Dome Operators
Sorted alphabetically
The
following operators use Ultra Domes or Single Level Domes on some or
all of their trains. I would encourage you to click on each listing
to learn more from the operator's own website, and begin planning your
own ultra dome experience!
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Alaska
Railroad will debut two new double deck domes for its Goldstar service on the Denali Start. The railroad als has four single level domes that were originally built
for the Florida Fun Train. They also roster a one-of-a-kind
single level dome-observation which was built for the FFT but never
used. That car, the 2000, is touted as the flagship of Alaska Railroad's
fleet, and is available for charter service. |
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Golden
Eagle's proposed Santa Fe Grande Luxe transcontinental train
service promises one of the most innovative applications of ultra
domes to date. Though service hasn't started yet, take a peek at
the site for some amazing views of the ammenities in each of the
cars. Once up and running, Golden Eagle will have the only ultra
dome sleepers in service. (Sleeping under the glass - how cool is
that?) |
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Holland
America Westours upped the ante in the battle for superiority
among Alaskan cruise lines with the delivery of four radical new
domes in the spring of 2003 that are the largest domes ever built,
and feature tapered ends that suggest the design of their vintage
counterparts. In addition to the four new cars and four on the way,
HA rosters a small fleet of vintage Budd and ex-MILW full domes,
though most of those cars are now for sale.
Service runs from Anchorage to Denali and Fairbanks, connecting
with HA's cruise ships. |
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With
one of the largest fleets of ultradomes in operation, Princess
Tours is undoubtedly the queen of Alaska. And why not? Her reign
has been far longer than the newer upstarts — as Tour Alaska,
Princess' Midnight Sun Express was the first service of its type
in the 49th state.
They also own the term ultradome. Service runs from Anchorage to
Denali and Fairbanks, connecting with Princess' cruise ships.
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The
entry of Royal Carribean and Celebrity Cruise Lines'
combined effort into the Alaskan land cruise market several years
ago set the stage for what should be an interesting service war.
The cars for their Wilderness Express offering were at the time
the largest domes in operation. Service runs from Anchorage to Denali
and Fairbanks, connecting with RCCI's cruise ships. |
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One
of my favorites, the Rocky Mountaineer runs from Vancouver's
Pacific Central station to Jasper and Banff, AB on a two day schedule.
The large train is split in Kamloops at the end of the first day's
journey. RMRT rosters the largest fleet of CRM domes in operation,
used in Goldleaf service alongside their Redleaf vintage cars. |
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You
can find one of the three former BC Rail single level domes running
in each consist of the Skeena, VIA's day-only cruise train
between Jasper, AB and Prince Rupert, BC. The cars are used for
the top of the line Totem Deluxe class. A Park series dome/observation
car is used for Totem class, and several VIA1 coaches are used for
coach class. |
Former
Operators
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When
BC Rail wanted luxurious accomodations for its Whistler
Northwind cruise train, management turned to Colorado Railcar
for three single level domes to highlight its Panorama level of
service. The car interiors were designed by a Vancouver, BC based
architectural firm, and debuted to rave reviews. Unfortunately,
passenger service on BC Rail was an overall money loser and despite
the aparent potential of the train, the Whistler Northwind fell
victim to the total cesation of BC Rail's passenger service at
the end of the 2002 season. The three Panorama cars were sold
to VIA Rail, where they are used on the Skeena cruise train between
Jasper, AL and Prince Rupert, BC.
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Florida
Fun Train operated the first four single level domes built by
Rader Railcar along with four hollowed out ex-Southern Pacific bilevel
commuter cars in excursion service on CSX trackage between Ft Lauderdale
and Orlando, FL. The train featured virtual reality, theatre and
restaurant cars in the former bilevels, and was targeted toward
the family traveling market. Unfortunately, the service proved to
be a little ahead of its time, and fledgeling business failed after
a very short period of time. The entire train was purchased by the
Alaska Railroad in 1999 and debuted in the Land of Midnight Sun
in 2000. |
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