Nostalgia & History > Decline, and death of a Dome

B&O's Pullman-built coach domes for the streamlined Columbian served from the late 40's into Amtrak service.

Here, through College Park, MD in original colors circa 1965, in Indiana in the "new" B&O colors of 1970 (photo by chakk) and in Amtrak on the Potomac special at Swanton, MD, Feb. 1973.

B&OB

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As last seen in Brunswick, MD yards, 1990's. Has its death finally occurred?

B&OB

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That is a sleek looking dome car. Is the dome lower due to clearnce issues?
Kevin

Yes, it was lowered for clearance reasons.

Anytime something unique rots away it is truly a shame. Anytime something ubiquitous rots away, no great loss, until the latter becomes the former.

Bob

ATSF100WEST......Out

Pacific_Division Wrote:
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> That is a sleek looking dome car. Is the dome
> lower due to clearnce issues?
> Kevin

Domes of any type usually have a good resale value. It could be tucked away on some siding somewhere.

This dome went to MARC in Maryland to be some sort of private car. They never did anything with it, and gave it to the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis. They never did anything with it either, and it recently appeared on the list of items to be deaccessioned. I don't know if anyone bought it.

Chris.

According to WebLurker's dome website, the B&O had 2 P-S domes.

One, B&O 5550, was scrapped in 1980 after an accident on Amtrak in the 70s.

The other is preserved:

B&O 5551
named "Sky Dome"
to Amtrak 9421
retired 8/76 and sold to Lake Shore Railway Hist Society Northeast PA 9/76
to Oral Parsons/Lake Erie Railcar 1982
purchased for MARC by Steve Zuidervine/Operations Manager as a business car and assigned #99 in 1986 but never restored
stored at CSX Brunswick MD yards
sold to Illinois Transit Assembly (eeek!) 10/99
to Museum of Transport St Louis 07/00

Z

As of last spring, at the MOT in St. Louis it looked even worse than it did in the last 2 pictures of bandob's post. The last I heard, someone or some group may have ended up with it, but if so I doubt it has moved yet. The car has very severe rust issues, mostly from water leaking into the dome section due to the windows having been removed many many years ago. And boarding up the window openings with plywood doesn't keep the water out. I'm sure the car could be fixed if someone really wanted to, but it would take a lot of time and a more than a few dollars to save the car. A very sad fate for what was once a really neat car.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/09 08:34 by Topfuel.

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As a young boy in the early 50's I rode in "Sky Dome" a number of times between DC and Chicago on the Columbian. Great views of the Potomac valley. I was always impressed how quiet it was sitting high above the rails. Couldn't say the same for the ride in the very well apppointed PS coaches however. The Columbian was a very put-together coach streamliner and if I recall, it had the only new light-weight coaches B&O ever purchased.

Sad to see the current state.

Mexrail

'Severe rust issues' is putting it mildly. Sad to see. But I've seen cars in poorer shape change hands because they have salvageable trucks and other usable hardware. If the body is no longer repairable, perhaps it's time to donate the organs.

Incredible to see how far a once-substantial and beautifully-appointed railroad car can deteriorate in a few (?) short years! Interesting, too, to get a closeup view of the dome floor details, and to see the risers that made viewing from this low profile dome
excellent--and whose inexplicable absence sabotaged Milwaukee's Super Domes! Thanks for the pix, Kurt.

The perforation in the side sheets and the decay-induced sag in the dome floor looks terminal. What a shame.

The low profile is reminiscent of a German iteration for the "Rheingold", which operated under catenary. (Yes, German dome cars.) Check out the creative solution for the side windows in the dome area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TEE_Rheingold_Dresden_pic01_2007_04_23.JPG



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/09 12:13 by Notch16.

Interesting that sometime between 1970 and 1973 the seats in the dome were "reversed" so that the car operated with the "long end" forward, instead of the "short end" forward (and spotlights on the forward, starboard side of the car) as it was originally configured and continued until sometime in the Amtrak era.

chakk

zephyrus Wrote:
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> According to WebLurker's dome website, the B&O had
> 2 P-S domes.
>
> One, B&O 5550, was scrapped in 1980 after an
> accident on Amtrak in the 70s.
>

Car 5550 was named "High Dome" on the B&O. Rode in both of 'em many times
in the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s, just before the end of the pre-Amtrak
era. Loved that speedometer and barometer at the front of the dome section,
but the seats were a bit low for me to view out the front without sitting on
my knees -- at least in the 1950s.

chakk

chakk Wrote:
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> Interesting that sometime between 1970 and 1973
> the seats in the dome were "reversed" so that the
> car operated with the "long end" forward, instead
> of the "short end" forward (and spotlights on the
> forward, starboard side of the car) as it was
> originally configured and continued until sometime
> in the Amtrak era.

Chances are the seats in the downstairs coach section and in the dome section were reversible, so the cars could be run either direction. Vestibule-rear was the preferred, "as-built" configuration since that would position the dome stairs to the rear of the dome section. That way, at night the lights from downstairs would not interfere with forward visibility from the dome section.

If I recall correctly, when the MOT got the car, a crew spent a considerable amount of time with shovels and firehoses washing bird poop out of it. I'd never seen that much guano! In retrospect, that may have been what was holding it together.

I'd seen exterior pictures of "High Dome" at MOT before, but didn't realize how badly rusted she was until seeing these interior pictures! Check the 2x4s holding up the dome floor! I'd say this one is beyond hope, unfortunately.

Come on Dave, you have seen what some plywood and Bondo can do for a PA hulk....

All this car needs is love...and money...lots of money.

Well, Plywood and Bondo is how "I" would fix it-- plus my new favorite restoration tool: "Great Stuff" expandable foam sealant! :)

Duct Tape: Good enough for NASCAR, good enough for me.