Great Dome 2018 Schedule

[Maverickstation]

So we're currently down to the following options:

Option 1:

Saturday, 9/1

691 BON-POR

9:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Sunday, 9/2

692 POR-BON

8:20 AM - 10:50 PM

Option 2:


Saturday, 9/1

691 BON-POR

9:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Sunday, 9/2

696 POR-BON

3:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Option 3:


Monday, 9/3

681 BON-POR

9:05 AM - 1:35 AM

Tuesday, 9/4

686 POR-BON

2:20 PM - 4:50 PM

What do you guys think? Are any of those combinations going to be better regarding crowding, scenery, etc?

Option 3, would provide the least crowded trains, there maybe some day trippers on the Labor Day morning train, but nothing extreme.

This gives you all daylight hours, and heading to Portland,sit on your right hand side for the best views between Saco and Portland.

Portland (to quote a great line from a great movie, "to a Yankee there is only ONE Portland, Maine") has evolved into a great destination on it's own.

Great food scene, shopping, and it has one of the best small city museums in the nation, The Portland Museum of Art.

Enjoy, Ken

 

[cpotisch]

So we're currently down to the following options:

Option 1:

Saturday, 9/1

691 BON-POR

9:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Sunday, 9/2

692 POR-BON

8:20 AM - 10:50 PM

Option 2:


Saturday, 9/1

691 BON-POR

9:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Sunday, 9/2

696 POR-BON

3:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Option 3:


Monday, 9/3

681 BON-POR

9:05 AM - 1:35 AM

Tuesday, 9/4

686 POR-BON

2:20 PM - 4:50 PM

What do you guys think? Are any of those combinations going to be better regarding crowding, scenery, etc?

Option 3, would provide the least crowded trains, there maybe some day trippers on the Labor Day morning train, but nothing extreme.

This gives you all daylight hours, and heading to Portland,sit on your right hand side for the best views between Saco and Portland.

Portland (to quote a great line from a great movie, "to a Yankee there is only ONE Portland, Maine") has evolved into a great destination on it's own.

Great food scene, shopping, and it has one of the best small city museums in the nation, The Portland Museum of Art.

Enjoy, Ken

Thanks! Looks like that's the option we have to go with anyway, so it works out.

 

[cpotisch]

Hm. Turns out the Downeaster runs on the Sunday schedule on Labor Day. Does that mean that the Dome will be on the same exact trains as it would on Sunday?

 

[Maverickstation]

Hm. Turns out the Downeaster runs on the Sunday schedule on Labor Day. Does that mean that the Dome will be on the same exact trains as it would on Sunday?

. It should, I would also recommend calling Amtrak the Friday before Labor Day Weekend to see if there are any changes to the Great Dome schedule. Since the Great Dome is not a ticketed service, it is subject to change, or cancellation.
Ken

 

[OBS]

Hm. Turns out the Downeaster runs on the Sunday schedule on Labor Day. Does that mean that the Dome will be on the same exact trains as it would on Sunday?

. It should, I would also recommend calling Amtrak the Friday before Labor Day Weekend to see if there are any changes to the Great Dome schedule. Since the Great Dome is not a ticketed service, it is subject to change, or cancellation.
Ken

You are asking a lot... by assuming the res. agents could answer that question.....

 

[cpotisch]

Hm. Turns out the Downeaster runs on the Sunday schedule on Labor Day. Does that mean that the Dome will be on the same exact trains as it would on Sunday?

. It should, I would also recommend calling Amtrak the Friday before Labor Day Weekend to see if there are any changes to the Great Dome schedule. Since the Great Dome is not a ticketed service, it is subject to change, or cancellation.
Ken

You are asking a lot... by assuming the res. agents could answer that question.....

Yeah I try to keep in mind the fact that USA-RAIL agents almost always get things wrong. That said, I'll keep an eye out for posted schedule changes and I'll repeatedly call Amtrak that Friday until I hear the same thing twice.

 

[cpotisch]

Yep, so I'm booked. 693 BON-POR on Monday, 9/3. Then 686 POR-BON on Tuesday, 9/4. Should be fun!

 

[cocojacoby]

Would have been really great if they put this on the Lake Shore Limited. I know it couldn't come into South Station but it could have come into North Station. Maybe just removed at Boston Landing and then sent over the Grand Junction. I know there would be cost involved in switching at Boston Landing, but it certainly has to be a lot less than transporting the car individually as a special move as they did.

 

[cpotisch]

Would have been really great if they put this on the Lake Shore Limited. I know it couldn't come into South Station but it could have come into North Station. Maybe just removed at Boston Landing and then sent over the Grand Junction. I know there would be cost involved in switching at Boston Landing, but it certainly has to be a lot less than transporting the car individually as a special move as they did.

If they did put it on the LSL, it would ultimately only make sense to put it on the train at ALB. Rerouting it to a completely different station with different transit options and connections isn't really worth it. And remember that on the westbound run, almost all of the trip is at night, so it would be a bit of a waste of a dome.

 

[Maverickstation]

There are some construction projects that will affect the Great Dome Schedule on The Downeaster starting September 10.

http://amtrakdowneaster.com/dome-car

Ken

 

[PVD]

If they put it on the LSL, who would pay for it? Right now it goes where NY and Maine are willing....

 

[cpotisch]

Huh, I thought Ocean View was only going to be on the Downeaster until September 9th? Did they extend it to September 23 or was I wrong all along (I think I know the answer)?

 

[PVD]

From the Downeaster page:

Ride the Amtrak Great Dome Car

Between August 11 and September 23, 2018, experience panoramic views of Northern New England when you ride the Amtrak Dome Car on the Downeaster.

This is what appears at the present moment.....

 

[Ryan]

You're not crazy, this is the first mention of a schedule for this year in the thread...

* The Great Dome Car is available on the following Downeaster trains between August 11 and September 3, 2018*:

M-F Weekday Train #680, #681, #686, #687

Saturday Trains #690, #691, #698, #699

Sunday Trains #692, #693, #696, #697

http://amtrakdowneaster.com/dome-car

 

[cpotisch]

You're not crazy, this is the first mention of a schedule for this year in the thread...

* The Great Dome Car is available on the following Downeaster trains between August 11 and September 3, 2018*:

M-F Weekday Train #680, #681, #686, #687

Saturday Trains #690, #691, #698, #699

Sunday Trains #692, #693, #696, #697

http://amtrakdowneaster.com/dome-car

Thanks a lot. I had thought it ran until September 3rd at first, then discovered it was the 9th, and now the 23rd.

 

[PVD]

The way they put it on the page is tricky. They set up different sections (3) each with different trains, days, dates..

 

[Amtrak706]

Hm. Turns out the Downeaster runs on the Sunday schedule on Labor Day. Does that mean that the Dome will be on the same exact trains as it would on Sunday?

. It should, I would also recommend calling Amtrak the Friday before Labor Day Weekend to see if there are any changes to the Great Dome schedule. Since the Great Dome is not a ticketed service, it is subject to change, or cancellation.
Ken

You are asking a lot... by assuming the res. agents could answer that question.....

Yeah I try to keep in mind the fact that USA-RAIL agents almost always get things wrong. That said, I'll keep an eye out for posted schedule changes and I'll repeatedly call Amtrak that Friday until I hear the same thing twice.

I just called to ask this very question (I am trying to ride the dome this weekend) and I was told that the dome car is not running at all on Labor Day. The agent said that even though the Downeaster will be running on a Sunday schedule, the dome car will be taking the day off. It will however be running tomorrow and Sunday so hopefully I can figure something out.

 

[daybeers]

Anyone have an update on the schedule for the Adirondack?

 

[pennyk]

I just read this on Facebook in (Amtrak Fans group):

As many people know by now that the Amtrak Dome Car got hit by a tree yesterday on train #690. Car is currently out of service and sitting in Portland, Maine amtk yard. It is unknown at this time if it will be fixed at Beech Grove or if it will have an early retirement. Both photos are not mine *Fortunately, that window is double-paned, and it only broke the outer pane, so the passenger compartment was not compromised*

One of photos from FB post:

 

[cpotisch]

I just read this on Facebook in (Amtrak Fans group):

As many people know by now that the Amtrak Dome Car got hit by a tree yesterday on train #690. Car is currently out of service and sitting in Portland, Maine amtk yard. It is unknown at this time if it will be fixed at Beech Grove or if it will have an early retirement. Both photos are not mine *Fortunately, that window is double-paned, and it only broke the outer pane, so the passenger compartment was not compromised*

One of photos from FB post:

Dome car.jpg

Oh no. I did notice on the Downeaster that we were coming pretty close too a lot of trees.

 

[daybeers]

I was looking forward to riding this on the Adirondack in a couple weeks.

 

[Bob Dylan]

This is Bad News!

Hopefully Andersons Flyboys won't use this as an excuse to take it our of service and send it to join the PPCs in the Boneyard @ Beech Grove.

 

[looshi]

For what it's worth, this is one of the least expensive windows to fix. It's the curved ones that are custom glass.

 

[pennyk]

I was looking forward to riding this on the Adirondack in a couple weeks.

I was looking forward to riding this on the Adirondack this week.

 

[cpotisch]

For what it's worth, this is one of the least expensive windows to fix. It's the curved ones that are custom glass.

True, but it almost certainly will need to be sent back to Beech Grove nonetheless, and that just might be enough for Anderson to justify retiring it. I guess we’ll see, but I’m glad I got to ride it before this happened.