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 railroad car, 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 ...

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

Ultra Dome The Ultra Dome is a bilevel dome coach manufactured by Colorado Railcar for various operators between 1988–2007. Colorado Railcar, and its predecessor Rader Railcar, constructed a total of 44 cars. All 44 were purchased by touring companies in ...

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 The ''Peninsula Clarion'' is a regional newspaper published in Kenai, Alaska that serves the population of the Kenai Peninsula. History The paper was founded in 1970. Five years later it was purchased by Dick Morgan, Max Swearingen and Pat ...

'' described the view as "

panoramic A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word ...

Operation

The first five cars were built for the ''

Florida Fun Train Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

'', a short-lived service between

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

and

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

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

Alaska Railroad The Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad that operates freight and passenger trains in the state of Alaska. The railroad's mainline runs between Seward, Alaska, Seward on the southern coast and Fairbanks, Alaska, Fairbanks, near the center of ...

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 The British Columbia Railway Company , commonly known as 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 ...

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 (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

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

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, 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 cit ...

, on the flagship ''

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

'', 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, Britis ...

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 a city in British Columbia, Canada, situated at the confluence of the Fraser River, Fraser and Nechako River, Nechako rivers. The city itself has a population of 76,708; the metro census agglomeration has a population of 89,490 ...

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