Canadian Railroads > Rocky Mountaineer runs Test Train for new Big Dome from Germany

Rocky Mountaineer has had 16 Bilevel Domes for its luxurious Gold Leaf service
since the last one was delivered in 2007.
The original Bilevel Domes were built by Rader Railcar and later Colorado Railcar
until they shut down in 2008.

In 2015, Rocky Mountaineer placed an order for ten new Bilevel Domes
from the Swiss railcar maker Stadler Rail AG.
Each car is assembled over three months in Berlin,
with Swiss-made trucks and pneumatic suspension.
The ten domes are to be delivered over 18 months, with the first arriving in June, 2018.

Each railcar is delivered by specialized ship to Tacoma, Washington,
and forwarded by BNSF and CN to Rocky Mountaineer shops in Kamloops.

As part of commissioning,
a special test train has been assembled to test the first car to arrive.

Stadler announcement link -
https://www.stadlerrail.com/en/meta/news-media/article/rocky-mountaineer-announces-partnership-stadler/

Detailed Stadler data sheet -
https://wwwstadlerrailcom-live-01e96f7.s3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/filer_public/0b/93/0b93cdd3-a00f-4580-ba69-5c3f5ba5c4e2/wrm0816e.pdf

Great photos of assembly in the Berlin facility -
http://railcolornews.com/2018/02/25/ca-stadler-is-building-10-goldleaf-carriages-for-rocky-mountaineer/

Excellent video of unloading from ship in Tacoma, on specialized roll trailer -
https://www.facebook.com/nwseaportalliance/videos/1097201507109183/

1. At the end of a day of testing on Saturday,
new dome RMRX 9541 is found on the end of the test train parked in CP's Mission, B.C. yard.

2. Close-up of the rear of the car, showing the special truck,
as well as the vestibule full of garbage pails filled with water,
simulating the weight of passengers.

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3. On Sunday, numerous trials, back and forth, were performed on fast track near Agassiz, B.C.
Each trial involved a slow back up, followed by rapid acceleration to 60 MPH,
followed by different braking, including full service and emergency application.

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4. After speed trials, the test train proceeds east through Choate siding, near Hope, B.C.

5&6. Further east, the test train traverses the tunnels at Yale, B.C.
The water from the vestibule garbage pails is being drained overboard.

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7&8. Test train passes through Spuzzum, B.C.  
Notice that the vestibule garbage pails are now empty and stacked.

9. Test train at the divisional point of North Bend, B.C.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/18 00:40 by Marcus.

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I wonder if these big dome cars will have the tunnel clearance as well tight curvature to operate on the former BC Rail ??  Doug

excellent posting.   thanks!    Arlen

Hadn't noticed tht those full length cars have forward visibility!  Gotta ride that train next year...

hoggerdoug Wrote:
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> I wonder if these big dome cars will have the
> tunnel clearance as well tight curvature to
> operate on the former BC Rail ??  Doug

Doug

I think they are only going to be used on their main excursions through Kamloops . .

Craig
 

hoggerdoug Wrote:
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> I wonder if these big dome cars will have the
> tunnel clearance as well tight curvature to
> operate on the former BC Rail ??  Doug

They are built to the same exterior dimensions as the four cars in Rocky's fleet built in 2006/07 (odd numbers 9525-9531):  89 ft. long, 18 ft., 1 in. high. If those four could operate on BC Rail, the German-built cars could too.  Are you aware of restrictions on those cars being used on the former BC Rail route?

The earlier Rocky bilevels are 85 ft. long.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/18 23:14 by railsmith.

Looking at images of the RMR on BC Rail, 2 domes photographed are the 9501 and 9511.  Not sure how these cars compare dimension wise to the rest of the domes in the fleet as well as the new ones.   Doug

hoggerdoug Wrote:
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> Looking at images of the RMR on BC Rail, 2 domes
> photographed are the 9501 and 9511.  Not sure how
> these cars compare dimension wise to the rest of
> the domes in the fleet as well as the new ones.  
> Doug

The first 12 bilevels (9501-9509 and 9511/21/23) are 85 ft. long (4 ft. shorter than the 2006/07 build and the German ones) and 17 ft., 6 in. high (7 in. lower).

Marcus Wrote:
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...
> 2. Close-up of the rear of the car, showing the
> special truck, as well as the vestibule full of garbage pails
> filled with water, simulating the weight of passengers.

Very interesting testing approach! When the Boeing 747 was first flight tested in 1968, many 55 gallon beer kegs filled with water were aboard to simulate passenger loads. Water was pumped amongst groups of kegs to assess impact on the aircraft's balance.

Excellent photos!

BrightLine used bags of sand to simulate human weight.

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