News Archive: 3rd quarter 2004

Sept. 29 — First item of business is the impending arrival of two of the four Princess cars that are to be refitted by Colorado Railcar this winter. According to Princess, the first four cars are the only ones being refitted at this time. Most of the car interiors were stripped by Princess crews before shipping, so the cars are more or less shells at this time. I will be traveling up to Seattle to see them, hopefully tomorrow.

Also, I have begun experimenting with the color scheme on the site in response to several readers who are getting black text instead of the as-designed white, making it hard to read against the dark blue background. Please bear with me while I try to find a more agreeable color scheme for the site. Thanks.

Sept. 27 — Fixed several old links on the roster pages for the LC-2, SC-1, SC-2, and Spa cars, and the Tour of LC-2 and SC-1.

Sept. 23 — I've updated the information on the Alaska Railroad's new cars - still designated D1 and D2 - with correct platform dimensions. Also, there is an update regarding the rennovation of ARR's single level cars, 551, 552, 553, and 554, which will retain their table seating.

Sept. 18 — I've completed the photo features from my most recent visit to Colorado Railcar with a second shop tour, delving more closely into some of the details around the shop. I also updated several more pages with enlarged photos, including the tour of the SC-1 and LC-2, the first shop tour, and the construction tour of Holland America 1055. Also, thanks to Deane Motis for a photo of the dome section of Holland America 1050. I've had it since April, and finally got around to getting it posted.

Sept. 13 — More details can be gleaned from the new Whistler Mountaineer website that reveal what equipment we are most likely to see operating on the routes. Based on the descriptions of the Whistler Mountaineer and Fraser Discovery routes, it looks like the Whistler Mountaineer will consist of two redleaf coaches and two single level domes, pulled by a GP-40. The Fraser Discovery train will use a DMU configured for Goldleaf service (with the dome windows, and other ammenities) pulling two redleaf coaches. Based on equipment needs for both, I would project that we'll be seeing orders placed for two single level domes and two Goldleaf DMUs soon.

Also a note from Tim Thompson from Alaska Railroad, who passed along that the platforms on the top levels of their new dome cars will face toward the rear of the train, not forward as rumored. He also passed along some more accurate specifications, which I have added the cars' appropriate roster pages. Still no car numbers, so we're calling them D1 and D2.

I hope it's noticeable that there have been a lot of formatting changes with this update. I'm trying to get things tighter - it's been getting a little messy lately, so we're bringing it back under control. Also, the transition to larger photos is almost complete. (Thank goodness.)

Sept. 4 — Back from Colorado with lots and lots to cover. I stopped in on CRM to look at the new DMUs and the cars for Alaska RR. Construction is moving along rapidly on Florida DOT's new double decker DMU, which passed its 800,000 lb buff load test last Friday with flying colors. I've created a roster page for the double Decker DMU, as well as the accompanying trailer, which was just beginning construction. One surprise was the inclusion of slightly curved windows - not quite flat panel coach windows, not quite full ultradome windows. You can take a look in the double decker's tour page.

Things are about as busy as they could be. Also on the shop floor were two cars for the Alaska Railroad, which are being built with observation platforms on the upper level, similar to the conceptual illustration that I prepared last April. Numbers for the cars haven't been assigned yet (though it is rumored that they will become ARR 651 and 652) so I have given them the temporary designation ARR D1 and ARR D2, and prepared roster pages appropriately. Also, there is a tour of the ARR D1, and some photos of another pair of cars that were just getting under construction for an owner I can't reveal quite yet (so we will call them X1 and X2 for now. More clarification coming in a couple of weeks.)

CRM's prototype DMU, CRMX 2002, was back in Ft. Lupton as well for minor servicing and a new coat of paint for its owner, Florida DOT. The car will also receive some minor interior upgrades, including the replacement of the stainless steel economy seats with the more amply padded business class seats. It's all part of a shift from being the "everything to everybody" demonstrator car to a functional revenue car.

Also on the shop floor was CRM's never-completed SPA car, which was in the process of being refitted as a demonstrator car. CRM VP of Sales Tom Janaky said the car is going to have sleeper berths, dining, etc. and will be more or less configured as a business car for public presentation.

But that's not all! Mr. Janaky also told me that eight of Princess' fleet of 10 ultradomes will be heading down to Ft. Lupton from Alaska following the conclusion of the season for overhaul work. The eldest of the cars has been in service for 15 years now, and it's time for a little TLC. Those cars should start arriving in late October or early November. So it's going to be a busy place for a while. Phew!

And a final note, John's Alaska Railroad Page mentioned in a recent update that the ARR's four single-level dome coaches (ARR 551, 552, 553 and 554) will be refitted over the winter with new seats and interior decor. No word on whether or not the cars will be converted from table cars to coaches.

Sept. 3 — More big news posted on Rocky Mountaineer's website today. It would appear that the Canadian National Railroad chose RMR as the new passenger operator on the former BCRail lines. You can read the full press release on RMR's website by following this link. They also rolled out a new website for the Whistler Mountaineer, which you can follow the link to. (editor's note: I'm having a horrible time keeping the Whistler Mountaineer separate from the Whistler Northwind, which was operated by BCRail along the same route until a few years ago. Please bear with me if I make a mistake and don't catch it..)

So what does this mean for dome fans? First and foremost, it's a precursor of more equipment orders. Back in December (see the news items for Dec. 5 and 6) the DMU prototype made a visit to Vancouver to promote the proposed Whistler Mountaineer service.

According to the Whistler Mountaineer site, the new service will actually involve two separate products. The actual Whistler Mountaineer is a three hour journey from Vancouver to Whistler. Two levels of service will be offered, appropriately named Sea and Sky. (In keeping with the popular nickname of the highway between the two locations). The Sky service will be run using "full-length single-level dome cars". The site states that the Whistler Mountaineer consist of a mix of standard coaches and single level domes, and will be pulled by a GP40.

Between Whistler and Jasper, RMR will be introducing the Fraser Discovery route, with a layover in Prince George. (The routes through Kamloops are called the Yellowhead (to Jasper) and Kicking Horse (to Banff and Calgary) routes) The traditional Redleaf and Goldleaf service will be offered on this route, but the literature says that Goldleaf service will be provided in "full-length single-level dome cars". The accompanying illustration is of a DMU similar to the one on the Vancouver Visit page. The site also mentions that dome DMUs will be used to power this train. Both services are supposed to begin in May of 2006.