Adirondack Full Dome Seat Strategy

[railiner]

For sightseeing ability, the standard 24 seat domes are the best. As they used to advertise..."You can look up, down, and all around". Due to the full length of the Great Domes, they need a wider ceiling to carry additional air conditioning capacity. Therefore, there is only a single row of side glass, not two like in the shorter domes. This really makes a difference if you are going thru a deep canyon. And it allows you better visibility out the opposite side from where you are sitting. And since there are only six rows of seats, if you are in the front, you can still get a decent view out the back.

For shear luxury, the ultimate dome experience to me was the "Pleasure Dome" on the Super Chief, where there were only 36 revolving seats configured two and one.

The dome diners on the UP weren't too shabby either. Nothing like having a meal in one along the Columbia River on the City of Portland.

 

[John McMIllin]

I had the pleasure of a full trip upriver Monday under sunny skies, and a halfway return from Montreal Friday in rain. Don't worry about being crowded out of a seat upstairs. Most people don't think about a train ride the way we do, but enough do that you'll be in good company. Whenever the dome was open, outside the long customs stops, seats were always available. It's a big car, and was never more than two-thirds full. The half-lounge on the lower level is a unique and secluded place too, always empty. If every passenger watching a movie or working on his laptop "device" tried to sit there, the dome car would fill up fast, but that's not the world we live in today. There's plenty more to say about a great day aboard the Ocean View, but that must wait for my trip report, after I get settled back home and get some sleep.

 

[Ispolkom]

For sightseeing ability, the standard 24 seat domes are the best. As they used to advertise..."You can look up, down, and all around". Due to the full length of the Great Domes, they need a wider ceiling to carry additional air conditioning capacity. Therefore, there is only a single row of side glass, not two like in the shorter domes. This really makes a difference if you are going thru a deep canyon. And it allows you better visibility out the opposite side from where you are sitting. And since there are only six rows of seats, if you are in the front, you can still get a decent view out the back.

For shear luxury, the ultimate dome experience to me was the "Pleasure Dome" on the Super Chief, where there were only 36 revolving seats configured two and one.

The dome diners on the UP weren't too shabby either. Nothing like having a meal in one along the Columbia River on the City of Portland.

Sounds nice, but I think that the Milwaukee Road Skytop lounge tops them all. There were only 24 revolving seats in the whole car, and the lounge in back was the highest, greatest development of the observation car. After sitting in that alone, everything else is downhill.

But you take what you can get, so I'm going to ride the Amtrak great dome on the Cardinal at the end of the month.

 

[railiner]

For sightseeing ability, the standard 24 seat domes are the best. As they used to advertise..."You can look up, down, and all around". Due to the full length of the Great Domes, they need a wider ceiling to carry additional air conditioning capacity. Therefore, there is only a single row of side glass, not two like in the shorter domes. This really makes a difference if you are going thru a deep canyon. And it allows you better visibility out the opposite side from where you are sitting. And since there are only six rows of seats, if you are in the front, you can still get a decent view out the back.

For shear luxury, the ultimate dome experience to me was the "Pleasure Dome" on the Super Chief, where there were only 36 revolving seats configured two and one.

The dome diners on the UP weren't too shabby either. Nothing like having a meal in one along the Columbia River on the City of Portland.

Sounds nice, but I think that the Milwaukee Road Skytop lounge tops them all. There were only 24 revolving seats in the whole car, and the lounge in back was the highest, greatest development of the observation car. After sitting in that alone, everything else is downhill.

But you take what you can get, so I'm going to ride the Amtrak great dome on the Cardinal at the end of the month.

The Skytop Lounge was a nice car. So long as you were more interested in seeing were you had been, rather than where you were going.

 

[the_traveler]

I rode the Great Dome on 10/18 and again (or soon to be 10/19) and it was full 95% or more most of the time! But what I can't understand was the groups that go up there, sit at the table - and play CARDS all day! (They did not even look out the window at all!

)

But I did make sure I got there early. Even though they put it on in ALB, it was not opened at first.

Because I boarded in NYP, my ticket was already taken, so I sat in the first seat in coach. As soon as I saw the Conductor walk by with the key, and then make the announcement - I jumped up, and was the first one up the stairs!

However, I do not like the seating arrangement of only tables set different ways - and no "just seats"! Even the Sightseer Lounge had both tables (in 1/3 of the car) and the rest seats. The bubble top domes (that I rode) had all seats in the dome.