# Cardinal Great Dome Trip Report 11/12-11/13



## rtabern (Nov 14, 2010)

Well, they say the THIRD time is the charm... and that was the case with this trip.

Back tracking a little bit here, when I heard the Cardinal was going to have the Great Dome (#10031) on it, I booked a trip with my friend Mike P. for October 30th out of Chicago. That was the date that worked best for us and was one of the eastbound trips which are more scenic than the westbound trips because you are going through the New River Gorge in the daylight. Anyway, the trip went great and I had so much fun... I wanted to try and hit atleast some of the other three planned trips of the Dome before it was going to be heading back to LA.

So, checking my work schedule once I got back from the first dome trip, I saw that I was able to swing the trip on #51 out of Washington on 11/5 and also hit #51 out of Washington on 11/12.

Unfortunately, after flying to Washington on 11/5 (for my second planned trip), the dome didn't go out because of the derailment (see seperate trip report and photos of derailment) and I went home pretty dejected on the Capitol instead.

But, in spite of that, I still went ahead with the 11/12 dome trip... hoping that the car wasn't damaged too bad and would still be going out on #51(12).

Anyway, I flew from Milwaukee to Washington, DC on the morning of Thursday, November 11th leaving Milwaukee at 8:10AM CST and arriving at Washington-Reagan at 11:00AM EST. The interesting thing about booking the flight was that AirTran and Frontier (which are the 2 big competitors in Milwaukee now) had almost similar flight times and the exact same prices. I went with Frontier because the plane only seated like 70 people or so and I could get a 2x2 seat. The cool thing was that no one showed up in the seat next to me and I was able to have my window seat with no one next to me. Pretty cool! The other interesting thing to note about the flight was that the FAA apparently dropped the requirement for the stewardesses to drop their warning that if anyone stood up (for ANY reason) during the last 30 minutes of their flight into Washington-Reagan the flight would be diverted to Dulles. I haven't flown into DC since like 2005, but after 9/11 and up until my flight in 2005 they would always throw out that warning to everyone. I never had anyone go against that -- but diverting to Dulles would stink because there is not really good public transportation from Dulles into the main area of the Washington Mall.

Anyway, arrived in DC on time and headed over to the Metro Station and caught the blue line to Metro Center and then the red line over to Union Station. I didn't have a train out that day (11/11), but wanted to store my bags so I could sightsee most of the day. I had 2 options -- storing my bags with the baggage check person -- or storing it "at my own risk" in Club Acela. The baggage check person wanted $10 PER BAG to store it for the day -- while Club Acela was free -- so I went with the Club Aclea and didn't have any issues with that.

After storing my bag, I took the Metro back over to the GWU-Foggy Bottom stop and walked over to the Georgetown area. I have been to Washington, DC numerous time, but never been to the Georgetown area. I ended up getting some lunch at a little shop -- and then went on to tour the C&O Canal and Old Stone House in Rock Creek Park. In addition to being nuts about trains, I also am really also into collecting stamps in my National Park Service passport book. For those of you who dont know what that is, each national park unit has a rubber stamp and when you visit you can stamp your book with the date and the park name. I have been collecting these since 1991 when I was just 11 years old! Anyway, the only 2 stamps in all of Washington, DC I didn't have were the C&O Canal and Rock Creek Park. Unfortunately, the C&O Canal Visitor Center was closed because apparently the canal totally dried up (yikes!), but the Old Stone House Visitor Center was open -- and they even had the C&O stamp there. So I did a quick tour of the house and headed to the Barnes & Nobles across the street to get some Starbucks.

From there, I did a walk along the C&O Canal and over the Francis Scott Key Bridge into Virginia. I hoped on the blue line Metro at Rosslyn and took it 1 stop over to Arlington Cemetery. Since it was Veterans Day, I decided to attend some of the gathering going on there. I took the Tour Mobile tour for like $8.50 because I didnt feel like walking up hill around the cemetery. It's a pretty good deal -- they point out some of the key graves and let you get off at 3 stops for as long as you want and catch the next shuttle. (Kennedy Graves, Tomb of the Unknowns, and the Lee Mansion) I did all 3 stops and caught the 3PM changing of the guards. There looked to be some very high ranking military people there in attendance, but I couldnt make out anyone. I got their pictures... so maybe one of the readers here who are more into the military than I am can help identify them for me!!

After Arlington I took the Metro blue line over to the McPherson Square stop and started my walking tour of all the monuments at night. When I used to frequent DC more in my previous profession as a TV news producer, my favorite thing would always be to walk the monuments at night and take pictures and just listen to my iPod as I would go. I always start at the White House, walk over to the Washington Monument, and then do a clockwise circle around the Tidal Basin -- hitting the Jefferson, Roosevelt, Korea, Lincoln, Vietnam, and WWII... before ending up back at the White House and the McPherson Square stop. I got some great shots this time around -- I think the best one was the shot I got of the Jefferson with the Washington behind it. The monuments were especially beautiful with the flowers and memorials that people left there for Veterans Day. I enjoyed just sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for 30 minutes or so soaking everything in and listening to the iPod.

From there, it was back to Union Station to get my bag and meet my traveling companion for the dome trip (Robert M.) who was flying in from Chicago in the evening. We proceeded to meet up at a Metro stop and head out to the Dupont Circle area where we'd be staying for the night. We found a nice little bar and had some pizza and beer... as he didnt get much dinner and I ended up just having something from a street vendor near the Washington Monument. I stayed up editing some of my photos and fell asleep a little after Midnight.

Robert M. and I got up around 7AM or so and headed out on the Metro to meet Rafi (of the AUF as well) for breakfast before he went to work. We ended up going to a Potbelly's which was right by the Metro stop where Robert M. and I got off -- it was pretty good actually. They made fresh breakfast sandwiches and they had a lot of ingredients there. Robert M., Rafi, and myself ended up having some good conversation. I got Rafi some goodies from his favorite bakery in Niles, IL -- I had to pay him back for being so awesome on the first dome trip (10/30-10/31) where he brought some good goodies for me and his other friends aboard there.

We parted ways... and Robert M. and I headed off to the Capitol. We got some good mid-morning shots... Robert M. and I were quite facinated with the ducks populating the pond on the west side of the Capitol building -- as well as some very social squirrels begging for treats on the north side of the Capitol. Too bad we didnt have any nuts for them!  Of course, I made the comment that I would probably get bit by one of the varments and get hospitalized and miss the dome! Hahaha... (after my bad luck the week before) We proceded over to Union Station -- with Robert M. pointing out Amtrak's Headquarters. Even though I spent about 9 hours straight at the station with the derailment debackle last week -- I was totally unable to find where Amtrak's offices were at. I searched all around and couldn't find one sign to where the President's office, etc. was at. It turns out that is probably on purpose -- as I am sure they didnt put up signs -- fearing us "foamers", or the general public -- might show up there. I guess there are 2 entrances -- one on the street on the far Northeast side of the station -- and the other entrance is through some restaurant or something on the far north side of the station. Very quite and very non-descript entrance to Amtrak's HQ. Someday it would be nice to get a tour inside!!  But I settled for a picture outside the front door.

From there, Robert M. and I made a brief stop at the US Treasury shop at Union Station. I think Robert M. got some of his infamous 50 cent pieces and I got the 2009 proof set of the Territories Quarters. We proceeded right to Gate G and the track the Cardinal was on. It was already in the station there at 10:25AM -- and by the time we walked down to the track level -- they were switching on the Dome. I got some pictures of the switching and proceded to our sleeping car to have our tickets lifted. Robert M. and I were sharing Room #1 in the 5100 car (we snagged the last sleeper!)

We were going to head up to the Dome right away so we could cross the Potamac in the dome, but the door between the cafe car and coaches were locked -- and we were also told by the conductor as well as some Amtrak marketing person that we couldn't go in there until all the coach tickets were lifted out of Washington. So we settled for sitting in the cafe car across the Potamac. The Dome car finally opened as we departed Alexandria. The conductor knew we both flew out from Milwaukee just to ride the dome so he gave us about a 2 minute "heads up" before making the general announcement to the public about the Dome so we could get in there and get some good seats.

Departing Alexandria, Robert M. and I went to stake out our seats in the dome. I wanted to go for the two seats right up front in the dome --- so we could look out the front and side windows. That was where I originally wanted to sit on the first dome trip I did on 10/30-10/31, however I ended up switching seats from those nice ones right up front, once learning docents from Charles P. Huntington Historical Society were basically going to be standing in front of us (like 2 feet away) to narrate for hours. They were not on this trip, so Robert M. and I took the prime seats up there. Not too long after we got up there, the conductor made the general announcement about the dome being on the train -- and there was a pretty good stream of people coming in. I'd say maybe 20 to 25 people. Among them were Dick from the AUF who apparently tried to flag me down as I rushed up to the Dome. I guess he didnt realize the dome was going to be on the train, and booked the trip to attend a funeral in Indianapolis (see his seperate trip report).

After about an hour or two out of Washington, Robert M. and I were getting hungry. I suggested that we try and get our meals "to go" and eat in the dome. I really didn't want to give up the prime seats we had... and I also wanted to spend as much time in the dome as possible. I didn't think about eating in the dome until Rafi did the same on the first run of the dome... and I saw what a great idea it was. Robert M. obliged and I walked up to the cafe car to get our meals "to go". Sometimes I know the cafe car (or dining car) folks make a huge stink about allowing people to do this -- so I was a little worried. In the past when I tried to do this (especially on western routes) the LSA told me the sleeping car attendant would have to give me the food... as he couldnt give to me directly (I dont get that practice or policy!) The two ladies who were in the cafe car were among the NICEST Amtrak employees I ever met -- very understanding about wanting the meals "to go" because of the dome -- and they went along with my "meals on wheels" request for lunch, dinner, and breakfast the next day. I think I ended up tipping them $40-50 for doing it. But yes, the 2 cafe car ladies were among the best at Amtrak. Always very friendly and saying "hi" whenever I walked back to the sleeper room.

Speaking of crews, the conductors along the whole route were very friendly too along the whole route! Which was a complete change from the crews we had on #50(10/30) who ranged from knew nothing about the dome and refused to open it up -- to saying the dome would re-open at 6:30AM -- and then refuse to open it up at that time and tried to push off the work of opening the dome to the in-coming conductors in Huntington (see 10/30-10/31 trip report for more on that). Again, the conductors on #51(11/12) were the total opposite. They were all very friendly and actually came back to mingle with passengers in the dome and some were even taking pictures of the dome! The conductors from Charlotesville to Huntington actually let me out at some of the non-"smoke stops" even --- where they had a lot of passengers loading and unloading folks -- so I could run back a car and snap some shots on the platform of the car. I was very appreciative of that because I knew they didn't have to let me out at places like White Sulfur, etc. to get some awesome daylight shots of the car. The conductors (1 male and 1 female) from Indy into Chicago were also very friendly. Apparently, the engineer and conductor were married! How fun for them! Both of those conductors were really nice and came back in the dome and chatted it up with everyone too. I know conductors have a habit of shutting down the lounges at the last stop before Chicago for whatever reason -- so I asked the IND-CHI conductors if we could stay in the lounge coming into CHI and they said they didn't have any problems with that. It was just awesome arriving into Chicago an Union Station in a dome car -- you really get some great shots of the Sears/Willis Tower and the yards.

Other notes -- we had a group of rail fans chasing us in the Dome from Lafayette to Rennselear. I think I got 2 good shots of them when they stopped to get pictures of us in Monon, IN. They looked to be college students. You could tell they were rail fans because of the large antannea they had on their car. The conductor even said "hi" to them over the radio and they waved back to us while keeping pace. I think we lost them after Rennslear because there were really no road going along with the tracks between Rennselear and Dyer.

We backed in to Union Station. I guess all of the trains from the east have been doing this the past couple of weeks to avoid extra movements through the yard where there is a lot of track construction going on to put new track and cement ties in. We actally backed in pretty quick compared to my other recent trips -- maybe because it was Saturday and there wasnt much Metra traffic? I was a little surprised they were going to back in #51 because the Dome was at the rear -- and since the Dome wasn't going out on #50 that night -- they'd have to move it back out in the yard to cut the dome off so they could get ready for the movement back to LAX.

Let's see -- the food -- I'd give it a B- rating. It is pretty amazing what just 2 people in the cafe car can accomplish meal-wise on the Cardinal... so A+ for the cafe car ladies hard work and everything, but B- on the food. For lunch on the first day I had the burger which was good -- for dinner I just asked if I could have some of the rice and vegetables they had prepared as I didnt feel like anything on the menu -- and then for breakfast the next day I ended up having the cheese omlet, potatoes, and crosisant. The potatoes were REALLY good I though, but the omlet was not very good. It was basically the inside portion of an egg McMuffin with a slice of cheese on top. But again, probably the best you can do with a convection oven.

Oh -- and Amtrak had atleast one, if not two, marketing people on the train from Washington to Charlotesville. I am not sure if this was in response to some of the negative things people posted about the trip on #50(10/30) or if this was planned. The main guy was really nice and handed out Cardinal pins to everyone who was in the dome car and even told people about some of the history of the car.

The Dome was definetly more populated on #51(11/12) compared to #50(10/30) which was good to see. I was a little surprised by that because I thought more people would be wanting to go into the Dome on #50 versus #51 because you get better scenery on #50. But, I think the announcement(s) the conductors made possibly made the difference for the larger turn-out in the Dome this time around. A lot of coach passengers came up and stumbled across the dome. One comment that stood out to me was a woman who said, "This is so cool (the Dome) -- we'll have to do this again!" (talking to her child). It's sad the Dome isn't a regular thing on #50 and #51 and she can't "do this again!"... but maybe Amtrak will decide to put it back on.

Anyway, we were actually early into Chicago on Saturday (11/13) morning and I was able to catch the 10:20AM Hiawatha to Milwaukee instead of the 1:05PM one -- meaning I got a nice nap in before having to head to work Saturday afternoon.

Okay, so here is the link to all my pictures from the trip. Click on a particular picture to get the larger size version of it. The first part is pictures from my time in Washington -- and the later picture in the series is of the Dome trip.

Enjoy!

http://rtabern.shutterfly.com/14362


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## abcnews (Nov 14, 2010)

Wow - what a report. Excellent job,

After reading the report, I feel like I was right there with you. Good writing too.


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## Railroad Bill (Nov 14, 2010)

Robert, what a great trip report and fantastic photos. The night shots of DC and the dome photos of the Virginia countryside were the best. Glad you had a pleasant trip. Hope someday to ride the dome car.


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## guest (Nov 15, 2010)

interesting report and great pictures but did you ever think about sharing? I thnk you two were incredubly insensitie and selfish to hog the seats the whole trip. Others may like to haave the good seats too. they payede for their trip and for a few people to hog the car is very wrong. This happens on the cz out of Denver too and it is maddening.


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## rick (Nov 15, 2010)

I remember when the Cardinal had Superliner equipment. That Sightseer car was nice. Yeah,it's a shame the dome car can't be a part of the Cardinal's consist. The route of the Cardinal is prettier than the Capitol Limited,but given the choice of the Limited or the Cardinal from DC to Chicago,I usually opt for the CL because of the Superliner equipment. The addition of the dome car on a semi regular basis on the Cardinal would be great.


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## rtabern (Nov 15, 2010)

guest said:


> I thnk you two were incredubly insensitie and selfish to hog the seats the whole trip. Others may like to haave the good seats too. they payede for their trip and for a few people to hog the car is very wrong. This happens on the cz out of Denver too and it is maddening.


Wow, kinda harsh, egh??  First off, after a couple of hours of sitting at the front of the dome -- if someone wanted my seat -- I would have happily given it up. Several people asked to jump in the seat for a bit and get some shots of the front of the train and I was more than happy to do that -- and if someone asked for the seat for longer -- I would have totally relocated, but no such requests were made... so why not stay there and enjoy the views?

Was I supposed to rotate seats in the dome every 30 minutes? :hi:

And it wasn't like I was in the seat the WHOLE trip either like you said! Jeez! Actually, I wasn't in the seat more than I was in the seat if you count up the total hours of the whole trip.

As far as your comment about the California Zephyr -- Yes, the lounge car is often crowded going through the Rockies -- and sometimes it is impossible to find a seat -- however if you want a seat -- get up before Denver and stake out a seat like everyone else OR travel in the off-season when the train isn't as crowded and you can get a seat in the Sightseer Lounge without any problems.

Your ticket guarantees you a seat in coach or a sleeping car room -- it doesn't guarantee you a seat in the Sightseer Lounge (or a seat in the dome when it runs on the Cadinal). Seating in the Sightseer Lounge is a perk -- and in my opinion -- should be on a first come, first serve basis. If you want a good seat, you're going to have to get in there early and stake your seat out!

I mean when you go to a movie theater or a similar unreserved seating venue, you're not going to go up to someone in a seat you'd rather have and ask them to move are you? Or if a movie theater is full -- are you going to go up to someone and say you've been in here long enough -- you should leave?

I see both side of the argument here -- but nothing urps me more than conductors or LSAs who try and control seating in the Sightseer Lounge car! First off, don't they have better things to do? Second, there is nothing in the Amtrak policy manual stating how long someone can sit in the lounge car -- and employees should be enforcing the rules and not making up their own.

I'm sorry -- if I get my butt out bed at 6AM to get a good seat in the Sightseer Lounge car through the Rockies -- why should I be kicked out because I have been "in there too long"?


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## guest (Nov 15, 2010)

excuses excuses. you are even eating in the dome car so you won't loseyour seat. the movie theatre seat is comparing apples and chicken. Very few people will ask some one to change seats with them. as to the cz lounge I know the dril but I don't stay in my seat if the lounge is crowded. I feel that others should have a chance too. apparently your philosophy is different. I feel as if you are part of the me generation. that is why we see things differently. Sorry Robert but your thinkg makes little sense to me. I still feel your behavior is selfish thought you may be a very nice person usually.


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## Long Train Runnin' (Nov 15, 2010)

guest said:


> excuses excuses. you are even eating in the dome car so you won't loseyour seat. the movie theatre seat is comparing apples and chicken. Very few people will ask some one to change seats with them. as to the cz lounge I know the dril but I don't stay in my seat if the lounge is crowded. I feel that others should have a chance too. apparently your philosophy is different. I feel as if you are part of the me generation. that is why we see things differently. Sorry Robert but your thinkg makes little sense to me. I still feel your behavior is selfish thought you may be a very nice person usually.


I think your over reacting a little bit. His report doesn't state the dome car was standing room only, and other people were rotating seats every half hour. Have you ever traveled in the dome car? I have and even if people were in the seats he was describing you can still see forward. When I went there were less then 10 people in the dome the whole time, so I spent several hours there was I wrong?


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## rtabern (Nov 15, 2010)

Long Train Runnin said:


> guest said:
> 
> 
> > excuses excuses. you are even eating in the dome car so you won't loseyour seat. the movie theatre seat is comparing apples and chicken. Very few people will ask some one to change seats with them. as to the cz lounge I know the dril but I don't stay in my seat if the lounge is crowded. I feel that others should have a chance too. apparently your philosophy is different. I feel as if you are part of the me generation. that is why we see things differently. Sorry Robert but your thinkg makes little sense to me. I still feel your behavior is selfish thought you may be a very nice person usually.
> ...


Exactly...at no point was the dome ever at capacity or even that crowded. In fact, most of the time there were probably like 10-20 people in there. And at times (between 7-8PM and after 11PM), I was actually the only one in there!! Around sunset when the dome was the busiest, I would say the car was only 50% full. I think my pictures prove that point pretty well.

And yes, a small part of the reason for eating in the dome was to keep the good seat... but part of it was to enjoy the view during the meal too. And, if someone came up to me and asked for the front seat there I would have given it to them and moved to a side seat which there were plenty of.

I guess we do have a different philosophy here -- as I don't think a "first come, first serve" seating policy for the Sightseer Lounge on the California Zephyr out of Denver or on any of the other trains is being "selfish". I just think if you're going to make the effort to get up at 5AM to be able to get the seat you want in the Sightseer Lounge -- then you should be able to stay there for as long as you want. Maybe it would be a "nice thing to do" if you got up and let others have your seat, but it shouldn't be expected -- and it especially shouldn't be enforced by the LSA or conductor as there is no Amtrak policy on the matter. If you want to sleep in until 8:30AM and still expect to get a prime seat on #5 out of Denver, that is your choice...

What other train activites would you deem as "selfish" -- if getting up early to snag a good seat through the Rockies on #5 is being "selfish"? If I had the steak dinner the first night on the train and find out there is only 1 steak dinner left on the second night -- would you expect me to fore-go the steak so someone else could have it? If I have a sleeper on the coast side of #14 and you have one on the mountain side -- should I give up my sleeper half the way through so you can sit in my room? Where do you draw the line?

You might think I have a strong sense of being selfish -- but I think you have a strong sense of entitlement here. You are not entitled to a seat in the lounge if it is full. If you dont want to get up early to get a seat -- you will simply just need to wait until a seat opens up.

You have to remember that your ticket DOES NOT GUARANTEE you a seat in the Sightseer Lounge! The lounge is a perk. And yes, while it might be nice or more thoughtful that I give up my seat if the car is full -- you shouldn't expect that I -- or anyone else -- do so.

Again, I dont see anything wrong with a "first come, first serve" policy.


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## Long Train Runnin' (Nov 16, 2010)

Well I would say the most sought after and limited seats would be getting a swivel chair in the PPC on the CS for the run along the coast. I was extremely pleased when 2 seats opened up on the coast side and my dad and I were able to sit together and enjoy looking out at the ocean. It doesn't get to much better then that on Amtrak at least!


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## Railroad Bill (Nov 16, 2010)

I would certainly agree with Robert that his pictures indicated that there were not that many people in the dome car and having met Robert, I would believe that if my wife and I asked to sit in the front seats for a few miles, he would gladly allow us to do so. 

My pet peeve in the CZ lounge car is the person who singly takes a table set and spreads their maps, meal and everything else on the table and would not allow anyone else to sit at that table when the lounge car is full. 

That has happened a few times and luckily we have later found a couple of chairs to sit at in the car. Yes, there are some selfish people who occupy more than their rightful space at times. 

But I agree, the "Early Bird catches the Lounge Car Seat" :lol: :lol:  . We usually have a couple of seats lined up long before the train leaves Denver.


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## guest (Nov 16, 2010)

Yes I have ridden in a dome car many times before Amtrak. I am sorry Robert but since your reasoning makes litle sense to me and my reasoning seems whatever to you I think we shall just have to agree to disagree.


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## Shanghai (Nov 16, 2010)

*We had an enjoyable ride in the Dome Car, and I saw Rob move when other people wanted to take photos*

*or sit in his seat on several occasions. I didn't see or hear anyone comment that they were not able*

*to enjoy the Dome. After dark, there were only five of us in the car for more than two hours.*

*Perhaps we should not try to create issues here but rather enjoy the pictures and verbage of the post.*


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## pennyk (Nov 17, 2010)

Great trip report Robert and wonderful photos. I wish the Cardinal had the dome car when I rode it in August.


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## BRUCE (Nov 27, 2010)

Very nice report--I have only ridden Amtrak a couple times but by far the most enjoyable trip that I made was on The City of New Orleans quite a few years ago when one of the shorter domes was part of the consist. I sat in that dome for hours watching the train make it's way from Chicago to N.O. and am sad that domes are not a regular part of Amtrak trains any more. On that particular trip there wasn't any competition for seats but I can see where there might be today when a dome is a special addition to a train. Thanks for the Trip Report.


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## Tracktwentynine (Nov 27, 2010)

Great report! I'm glad you enjoyed the Washington area. I went down after work on the day of the derailment to snap photos, but they'd already moved the dome. All that was left was the derailed MARC cars.

I've had 2 close encounters with the Dome in my life. Both times, I had no idea what I was seeing.

The first time was back in May of this year. I was on my way to a wedding in Atlanta on the Crescent, and when I boarded at Washington Union Station, the conductor said they were adding some cars for the President of Amtrak. It wasn't until I got off in Atlanta (10 minutes early!), that I even noticed the dome. I assumed then that it was a private car reserved for VIPs. And in fact, it was not open to passengers on that trip.

The next time, was in August of this year. I was spending a week in LA for vacation and I took a day trip to San Diego. I took Metrolink and Coaster to get down to San Diego, and was looking forward to taking my first trip on the Surfliner on the return. So I was very disappointed when I went out on the platform to see a train of Amfleets. I noticed the dome when boarding, though, so I went back after we got underway and stayed there for the rest of the trip. There were never more than 4 people in the dome and the crew made no announcements.

I'd have taken more pictures of the dome itself if I'd known it was the last dome in Amtrak's possession. I won't make that mistake again if I ever encounter Ocean View again.


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## henryj (Nov 27, 2010)

It's really a shame that Amtrak did not retain more dome cars. There are many trains they could use them on.


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## Chi_Train_Fan (Dec 1, 2010)

Thanks for taking the time to write this trip report. I especially appreciated the extensive photo gallery.

I booked a trip on the Adirondack for one of the days in October that the Great Dome would be attached. Due to the fire north of Albany, it did not make it on my trip south from Montreal. All your pictures had me enjoying the experience of the Great Dome.

Thank you!

David

Chicago, IL


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## rtabern (Dec 2, 2010)

CHI_Amtrak_Fan said:


> Thanks for taking the time to write this trip report. I especially appreciated the extensive photo gallery.
> 
> I booked a trip on the Adirondack for one of the days in October that the Great Dome would be attached. Due to the fire north of Albany, it did not make it on my trip south from Montreal. All your pictures had me enjoying the experience of the Great Dome.
> 
> ...


You're welcome! I loved riding in the Great Dome! I can feel your pain a little (if it makes you feel any better) -- I booked 3 out of the 4 Great Dome trips... and while 2 went off without a hitch... one of the trips was a complete dud. I flew from Milwaukee to Washington on 11/5 to ride the dome back WAS-CHI and that was when the consist got into the accident with the MARC train and wasn't allowed to run on #51. Oh well, things happen... and even though it really stunk...I am just grateful to have ridden in that AMAZING car twice.

If they run it on the Cardinal again in 2011, I hope to be able to ride it atleast once.

My only wish is that Amtrak would run it with somewhat of a more set schedule like the do on the Adirondack every year or on the Cardinal this year. I know it runs on #798 and #799 from LAX to San Luis Obispo on somewhat of a regular basis -- but there is no set schedule -- and it really doesn't make it cost-effective for me to fly all the way from Milwaukee to Los Angeles just to "hope" its going to be on the trainset the day I am out there. I wish Amtrak would pick atleast 2 months or something (let's say December and May or whatever) and announce it's running every day on #798 and #799... then it would be worthwhile to get out to California and ride it. But it's almost too much of a crap shoot to try and do that without knowing for sure it's going to be on there.

I wrote the President of Amtrak a nice letter about how much I enjoyed the Dome and how much I wish I had a somewhat regular schedule in SoCal... and I also send a nice 8x10" color photo of the Dome. I am sure it wont do anything... but it's worth a shot!!??


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## Tracktwentynine (Dec 2, 2010)

rtabern said:


> My only wish is that Amtrak would run it with somewhat of a more set schedule like the do on the Adirondack every year or on the Cardinal this year. I know it runs on #798 and #799 from LAX to San Luis Obispo on somewhat of a regular basis -- but there is no set schedule -- and it really doesn't make it cost-effective for me to fly all the way from Milwaukee to Los Angeles just to "hope" its going to be on the trainset the day I am out there. I wish Amtrak would pick atleast 2 months or something (let's say December and May or whatever) and announce it's running every day on #798 and #799... then it would be worthwhile to get out to California and ride it. But it's almost too much of a crap shoot to try and do that without knowing for sure it's going to be on there.
> 
> I wrote the President of Amtrak a nice letter about how much I enjoyed the Dome and how much I wish I had a somewhat regular schedule in SoCal... and I also send a nice 8x10" color photo of the Dome. I am sure it wont do anything... but it's worth a shot!!??


Amen! I would love to know exactly when I could expect to ride the dome more often. I happened on it entirely by chance once, but it would be better to be able to plan for it. And kudos for writing to the President of Amtrak. It certainly can't hurt, and the picture was a nice touch.


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## the_traveler (Dec 2, 2010)

When I rode the Ocean View on the Adirondack on Oct 18 + 19, 4 of us AU'ers rode the entire trip from Albany to and from Plattsburgh in the dome. Were we "selfish" too?






BTW: The Dome was never more than 80% full! There were even some passengers sitting at the tables *PLAYING CARDS* - and not even looking out the windows! The only person I saw standing was a guide who rode part way southbound. (There was none going northbound.) Because I grew up in that area, I was the "guide" for us 4 - and at times, even for the "guide"!


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## Rob_C (Dec 3, 2010)

Speaking of the Great dome, saw it on Wednesday deadheading north on #14 presumably for Oakland and use on the Reno Train perhaps? Sadly it was in front of the baggage car and not available for passenger use! A nice treat though when I stepped out of my office at the usual time in Van Nuys.

Rob


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