The Single-Level Dome, also known as the Panorama Dome, is a type of dome coach manufactured by

Colorado Railcar Colorado Railcar was a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock—railcars and diesel multiple unit commuter vehicles. Both products came in single- and double-level versions. It shut down in 2008, with its assets being purchased by US Railcar. His ...

for various operators between 1997–2007. They are similar in concept to the company's bilevel Ultra Domes.

Design

Each window on the Single-Level Dome is by ; Colorado Railcar claimed they were the "world's largest glass domed windows." In a lounge configuration the cars can seat up to 76 at "four tops" (tables with 2 × 2 seating). Via Rail's three cars can seat 71–74 in a standard coach configuration. The interior color scheme for the Florida cars was "aquas, pinks and light green." The windows begin at "thigh level" and curve at the top, constituting "most of the ceiling." The '' Peninsula Clarion'' described the view as " panoramic".

Operation

The first five cars were built for the '' Florida Fun Train'', a short-lived service between

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...

and Orlando, Florida. These included four coaches and a lounge car with an open platform. The ''Florida Fun Train'' folded in September 1998. The

Alaska Railroad Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

acquired all five cars at bankruptcy in 1999. One of these cars was rebuilt as a business car, the ''Aurora''. The Alaska Railroad purchased an additional three cars in 2006–2007, bringing their total to eight.

BC Rail BC Rail is a railway in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Chartered as a private company in 1912 as the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE), it was acquired by the provincial government in 1918. In 1972 it was renamed to the Britis ...

acquired three more of the domes (intended for Florida) in 2000. After BC Rail ceased passenger operations in 2002 they were acquired by

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operati ...

. Dubbed "Panorama Domes", they remain in service. two of the cars operate between

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

, and

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, on the flagship ''

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

'', while the third runs on the

Jasper–Prince Rupert train The Jasper–Prince Rupert train (formerly the ''Skeena'' and ''Panorama'', now known as Trains 5/6, sometimes called ''The Rupert Rocket'') is a Canadian passenger train service operated by Via Rail between Jasper, Alberta, Prince George and Pri ...

between

Jasper, Alberta Jasper is a specialized municipality and townsite in western Alberta within the Canadian Rockies. The townsite is in the Athabasca River valley and is the commercial centre of Jasper National Park. History Established in 1813, Jasper ...

, and

Prince George, British Columbia Prince George is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, with a population of 74,004 in the metropolitan area. It is often called the province's "northern capital" or sometimes the "spruce capital" because it is the hub city for ...

Notes

References

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External links

Roster as of 2007
{{Via Rail rolling stock Vehicles introduced in 1997 Rail passenger cars of the United States Railway coaches of Canada Via Rail rolling stock Alaska Railroad

Design

Operation

See also

Notes

References

External links