Passenger Trains > Domeliner - City of Alamosa

CB&Q 304, a Vista-Dome Sleeping Car built by Budd in 1954 for the Northern Pacific's North Coast Limited is ready to leave for it's new home. It will be departing Fremont Nebraska tomorrow morning around 8 a.m. for Alamosa Colorado and rebuild by Iowa Pacific Holdings. She will travel Hwys 77 & 109 to Wahoo NE, then west on 92 to Grand Island. She will turn South on 281 into Kansas with a hope of reaching Rocky Ford for the night. I have been her caretaker for 21 years and 4 months and didn't complete all that I wanted, but I know she is much better than when I took over her care. This one is the toughest to watch leave.

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Still a great looking car in stainless steel! Great job preserving her.

More double takes by motorists likely going down the road.

Dave, thanks for saving the 304. IPH also has sister CB&Q 305 and NP 312 (now SLRG 312, in photo). I first rode in an NP dome sleeper in 1962, and thought they were among the finest sleeping cars ever built, so we are excited about having them in the fleet.

EmpireBuilder Wrote:
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> CB&Q 304, a Vista-Dome Sleeping Car built by Budd
> in 1954 for the Northern Pacific's North Coast
> Limited is ready to leave for it's new home. It
> will be departing Fremont Nebraska tomorrow
> morning around 8 a.m. for Alamosa Colorado and
> rebuild by Iowa Pacific Holdings. She will
> travel Hwys 77 & 109 to Wahoo NE, then west on 92
> to Grand Island. She will turn South on 281 into
> Kansas with a hope of reaching Rocky Ford for the
> night. I have been her caretaker for 21 years
> and 4 months and didn't complete all that I
> wanted, but I know she is much better than when I
> took over her care. This one is the toughest to
> watch leave.

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Thanks for the post Dave. I won't be able to go in the AM but a couple Friends are going to Randolph Ne. Leaving at 7 am so I told them they have to go toward Fremont until they see it then 92 west then they can go how ever they want. We'll see if they listen.
Ed since you already have a Brown one I think this one should be left Stainless. That Beautiful Green Dome glass sure shows more with Stainless. My two cents worth.
Steve

Several of those cars were leased to IC and PRR during the winter for Chicago - Miami service on the IC "City Of Miami" and PRR "South Wind". IC painted the cars for that train (PRR declined) and NP repainted them when returned in the spring. The old paint was never removed, so after a few seasons the cars wound up with several layers, to which Amtrak then added their own colors. This was standard practice: I know a car that had FOURTEEN coats of paint!

As for seeing this sweetie go on to a better life - that's a darn good reason to party!!!!!

I really wanted to buy one of those before I bought the SILVER BUCKLE (now SILVER SPLENDOR). Would have taken out the roomettes and constructed a lounge in their place. Then the plan was to put a kitchen under the dome and keep all the double bedrooms. Dome would have been a dining room for 24. Maybe in my next life....

Cheers,

-John

Slept in one of the single bedrooms underneath the dome for a couple nights in 1969 aboard the westbound North Coast Limited from Chicago to Seattle. The small window in the room was not conducive to good scenary viewing, so I spent most of my time in the dome above.

Good looking car! I hope it makes its debut in front of Pontchatrain Club on the City of New Orleans very soon.

What a great combination- your bedroom just a few steps from a seat in the dome.

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