Passenger Trains > Dome Ocean View trips 2019??

I see that fall, 2018, operation of the dome Ocean View started Aug. 11, 2018 on the Downeaster. That date this year has come and gone. Any news good or bad for this year? Below is an Amtrak page from 2018 touting the Downeaster and Adirondack dome trips last year. Nice pic on linked page.


https://www.amtrak.com/fall-travel-on-the-great-dome-car

 

Fall Travel Made Brilliant on the Great Dome Carhttps://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/images/TextwithImage-Banners/Fall_foliage_domecar.jpg/_jcr_content/renditions/cq5dam.web.900.250.jpeg Stunning Views. Spectacular Opportunities.The "Great Dome" car offers a rare and unique fall travel experience to view this season's brilliance on the Adirondack and Downeaster trains. The dome is open to all passengers on a first come, first served basis on select departures. The dome car features an upper level with windows on all sides and overhead to provide the passengers with panoramic views of magnificent scenery. Book your train tickets today to kick off your fall travel adventure. Already got your train tickets? Don't forget to make a hotel reservation at your destination to complete the trip.Where can I ride the dome car?
Downeaster (Brunswick - Portland - Boston) August 11 - September 23, 2018Ride the Downeaster between August 11 and September 23, 2018 and see Northern New England like never before. The Great Dome rail car is making its first ever trip to Maine and will travel along with the Downeaster on four trips each day. The vintage Dome features an upper level with windows on all sides (including the roof) that will offer passengers panoramic views of the scenic villages, coastline, marshes, streams and landscapes located all along the Downeaster route.The seats in the upper level of the Dome Car are available at no extra cost, but they are unreserved and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Passengers are encouraged to rotate in and out of the Dome Car to allow all passengers the ability to enjoy this unique experience.Adirondack (Montreal - Albany - New York) September 27 - November 2, 2018On the Adirondack train, immerse yourself in the changing tree colors and Lake Champlain vistas as you travel from Albany across the Canadian border to Montreal.The Dome Car will operate on northbound Adirondack train 69 from Albany to Montreal on Thursday, Saturday and Monday, and on southbound Adirondack train 68 from Montreal to Albany Friday, Sunday and Tuesday.Dates and availability of the Great Dome Car are subject to change without notice.History of the Great Dome CarThe only remaining dome car in Amtrak service, car number 10031, is a Great Dome car previously used on the Chicago - Seattle Empire Builder route when the train was operated by the Great Northern Railway and the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad (later the Burlington Northern Railroad). It was built in 1955 by the Budd Company for the Great Northern and carried the name "Ocean View," car number 1391. It was conveyed to Amtrak in 1971, with this car first being given the number 9361. It was renovated in 1985, renumbered 9300, and used in daily service on the Amtrak Auto Train to and from the Washington, DC and Orlando, FL, areas through 1994. It was further refurbished in 1999, renumbered to 10031, and has been used in various Amtrak services including the Pacific Surfliners (formerly San Diegans) and other charters and excursions.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/13/19 00:54 by 41bridge.

From what I've read in the past, the end of the dome has arrived.

Anything that adds value or enhancement to rail travel is being cut. That includes the dome.

Posted from Android

Without question he has become the lowest of the low with regard to Amtrak Presidents . I long to see the day when he is stopped dead in his tracks. It is good that there are some in Congress who see him for what he is and you can tell by the anger that comes out of him when they meet him face to face. I look and wish for any opportunity to join an effective force leading to his demise as CEO. He has no place as Amtrak President, does not have the interests of rail passengers in mind. In his brain he is the hero that Amtrak needs to be sustainable, by one cut leading to the next. He is no railroad passenger himself and could care less. 

I simply do not understand why the longest-established rail advocacy group amongst us (NARP) who now wants to share the acronym RPA (Regional Planning Association) does not come out in force against him. It certainly has me pondering this question more and more these days. 

Back to the subject at hand we did ride the Dome last year on the Downeaster on 8/25. Glad we did.

PRSL-recall Wrote: (in part)
-------------------------------------------------------

> I simply do not understand why the
> longest-established rail advocacy group amongst us
> (NARP) who now wants to share the acronym RPA
> (Regional Planning Association) does not come out
> in force against him. It certainly has me
> pondering this question more and more these
> days. 
>
RPA is, from my direct knowledge, interacting strongly with the current AMTRAK administration at many levels ... just because they are not putting on political theatre, ala big confrontations, does not mean they are not working hard on our behalf.  

I, for one, support the Rail Passengers Association (RPA) because they wisely understand that influencing decisions is more important than grandstanding. If you were to review the weekly interactions of the RPA's various staff members, you would see many direct contacts with AMTRAK working to find solutions to the very problems often cited here.  You think the addition of heated items to the new breakfast and dinner menus of the contemporary dining program arose spontaneously?  That the various stations which have seen improvements over the past years were sparked by Amtrak alone?  That station volunteers at key locations were Amtrak's doing?  That better consists were created by Amtrak?  That the constant vigilance (based on real-life observations of RPA staff) of what is going out on the road does not keep Amtrak on its toes about proper equipment? 

Add into the mix the many interactions with the real power behind all of it, the Representatives on the Appropriation's Committee and in Congress who fund Amtrak, where advocacy for such things as a national network, expanded rail opportunities, pressure on host railroads for expeditious handling pay off in the funding bills that are produced. 

But one of the big ways RPA helps is public perception.  If any of the traveling public were to read these posts on TO about Amtrak, they would never ride a train again. There is precious little in these discussions which universally attack Mr. Anderson and Amtrak that will promotes rail travel. Remember "how it used to be" does not put riders in the seats and rooms.  I constantly read a phrase like "if they do that, I will never ride a train again."  Support for trains and good ridership/usage is the biggest argument we all can make for continued Amtrak service. RPA does that every day. 

But, hey, I am just an RPA member who reads the weekly Hotline, who talks with my Congresswoman about her perceptions of RPA, and who believes RPA is part of the solution, not part of the problem. If there were no Rail Passenger Association, I would have little or no coordinated voice in the discussions about the rail passenger future in the United States. 

Unite.  Vote with your dollars, if Amtrak has crossed the line, stop riding, don’t come in here and bitch about the ready made meals, because unless it was sprung on you at the last minute, you knew.  Do not contribute another dime.  

Continue to use whatever political influence you have, and get mainstream media attention, not a house organ or weekly paper that no one reads.  

Propeller Head is just doing what he has been told to do. You'll have to look much further up the "Train of Command" to find the real culprit. As for NARP,  it been co-opted almost since its inception. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/19 01:04 by RRBaron.

The days of the Great Dome are over in Amtrak service. It’s permanently done with operating on Amtrak trains. For those people who plan to ride the Adirondack thus Fall and up until the Amfleets are retired, make the best out of enjoying the view from the Amfleet I windows.

Posted from iPhone

JohnM Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Unite.  Vote with your dollars, if Amtrak has
> crossed the line, stop riding, don’t come in
> here and bitch about the ready made meals, because
> unless it was sprung on you at the last minute,
> you knew.  Do not contribute another dime.  
>
> Continue to use whatever political influence you
> have, and get mainstream media attention, not a
> house organ or weekly paper that no one reads.  

That might be just what Amtrak wants.  Then lowered ridership becomes the excuse to drop trains.  Agreed that since Congress started this whole mess, they are the ones that need to hear complaints.

JohnM Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Unite.  Vote with your dollars, if Amtrak has
> crossed the line, stop riding, don’t come in
> here and bitch about the ready made meals, because
> unless it was sprung on you at the last minute,
> you knew.  Do not contribute another dime.  
>
> Continue to use whatever political influence you
> have, and get mainstream media attention, not a
> house organ or weekly paper that no one reads.

A bunch of railfans boycotting Amtrak is not going to bring back domes or restore decent meal service to those trains which don't have it.  I absolutely will continue to ride Amtrak when ever time and logistics make it feasible.

What weekly papers are out there that "no one" reads?

Well if you opt to continue to ride, then you’re going to accept whatever they toss at you.  

JohnM Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well if you opt to continue to ride, then you’re
> going to accept whatever they toss at you.  

No argument there.  

It's really damned if you do and damned if you don't. If the point of this is to drive riders away to prove that long distance trains aren't viable, and you don't ride, well, you're helping prove their point. And refusing to ride isn't going to do a thing to change their minds. 

JohnM Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well if you opt to continue to ride, then you’re
> going to accept whatever they toss at you.

For a couple of years, I was a frequent user of the Pennsylvanian.  I quickly got tired of the cafe car offerings, so for lunch, I'd rush up the stairs during the layover in Harrisburg and buy a sandwich at the station store.  In the other direction, I'd buy meals at New York Penn Station or 30th Street Station.  Dissatisfaction with food doesn't mean I have to avoid traveling by train.

The Capitol Limited lost its dome 25 years ago when it was converted to Superliner equipment.  Sure, I missed the domes, but I enjoyed many trips on the Capitol Limited since then.  Refusing to ride Amtrak would not have caused Amtrak to reinstate dome cars on the train.

You didn't answer the question about what weekly newspapers are out there which no one reads.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/19 17:05 by RuleG.

Sorry, I missed that part.   I guess my point about the media, was getting those feature or investigative stories in one of the major dailies with a large influential readership that the AP is likely to pick up, verse the weekly bugle newspaper in a small remote town (like the one I’m in right now in Idaho).  

I get your point about riding.   I rode the CS well before, during and after the PPC’s.  Did the sky fall in?  Did one of the worlds best coastal views change no.  Maybe Ronald has some insight if ridership really tanked or not.   

That is what Amtrak wants. Vote at the ballot box instead and deny the Koch brothers their train-free dreamland.

Erik Leeper
Phoenix, AZ