Dome Car on the Pere Marquette

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Thirdrail7

Thirdrail7

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Jul 9, 2014
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Apparently, the 10031 is operating round trip in the Pere Marquette consist on Friday, Saturday and Sunday until the end of July. It will also operate in one direction on Monday and Thursday.

Is it Thanksgiving already?
 
Sweet.....a second reason for me to head down to Chicago in July, in addition to checking out the new ML!
 
yes we've had Superliners on the Pere Marquette year round for probably the last 7 years or so. However this spring they switched over to the single decker trains for summer, and I am pretty sure will go back to the Superliner in fall/winter.
 
Does anyone know more info about the dome on this train? For example, what train will it be on? Does the same train consist leave and arrive into Chicago the same day? I will be in Chicago for a week starting next weekend and would like to try to catch the dome one of the times into or out of Union Station from the Roosevelt bridge.

Greg
 
gwilt33 said:
Does anyone know more info about the dome on this train? For example, what train will it be on? Does the same train consist leave and arrive into Chicago the same day? I will be in Chicago for a week starting next weekend and would like to try to catch the dome one of the times into or out of Union Station from the Roosevelt bridge.

Greg
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From the Pere Marquette facebook page:

Great Dome car scheduled to be on the Amtrak Pere Marquette for four July weekends.

Spectacular 360-degree views, made possible by windows on all four sides and curving up into the roof, are a feature of the Amtrak Great Dome car, which will be assigned to the Amtrak Pere Marquette train on four weekends this July.

Officially known as car 10031 “Ocean View,” it is the only Dome Lounge car in the entire Amtrak fleet. It will operate eastbound on Thursday nights with round-trips through the weekend, returning west to Chicago on Monday mornings, June 30-July 4, July 7-11, 14-18 and 21-24. There is no extra charge to ride in this car, built for the Great Northern Railway in 1955.

The upper level offers panoramic views of the of one of the prettiest routes in the Midwest, from the Chicago skyline to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, carousel and beach in St. Joseph, massive pickling tanks in Bangor, famous tulip town of Holland and the bright new station in Grand Rapids. Heavy traffic, steep tolls and pricey parking are far away for Amtrak customers, with adult fares starting at $32 each way, plus add-ons for bikes or small pets.
 
We rode last weekend and had a nice time. The Pere Marquette was one of a handful of regional Amtrak routes I have not done (covered all LD routes). Its very clearly there to take Michigan folks to Chicago for a daytrip. Doing it in reverse was pretty brutal. 5 hours of sleep at a $234/night hotel. Beautiful run... You go right along the lake for a quick mile or so in Michigan which was cool. Great sunrise from the dome. Definitely worth it but will only do this trip once due to lack of sleep and extremely high hotel prices in GR. I would like to attempt a 10031 dome roundtrip on the Blue Water to Port Huron someday. Havent rode that line past Lansing.
 
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why dont they charge extra for the dome car? seems like they are missing out on a possible revenue stream and just *maybe* if it was making good profit they could convince the money men to buy more?

Or is it a case that the car is in such bad condition that they cant actually guarantee it will make the trip that they darent charge for it?
 
Or is it a case that the car is in such bad condition that they cant actually guarantee it will make the trip that they darent charge for it?

Sadly, that could be it. It seems like Ocean View is a tad bit more reliable than it has been though. In 2010, 2011, and 2012 it ran for a couple of roundtrips from Chicago to DC. I tried to ride as much as possible but had FOUR scheduled runs cancelled on me. Two were mechanical, one was the car derailed in the DC yard, and the other was weather cancellation of #51 (heavy snow in WV from Super Storm Sandy). Seems they sorta gave up pushing it on the Cardinal after that. It also was cancelled going to St. Louis a few years back also due to mechanical... and a lot of railfans were on and not happy (heard from friends who were on) and demanded refunds. They generally seemed to stop promoting it all after that... until now. Saw several articles about it on the Pere Marquette.

I hope it goes to the Blue Water sometime. Much like the Pere Marquette... Id have no real desire to ride Horizon cars to Port Huron and back... but would go if Ocean View was on.
 
ScouseAndy said:
why dont they charge extra for the dome car? seems like they are missing out on a possible revenue stream and just *maybe* if it was making good profit they could convince the money men to buy more?

Or is it a case that the car is in such bad condition that they cant actually guarantee it will make the trip that they darent charge for it?
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Judging by that photo above, it doesn't look like people are standing in line to ride the dome.
 
MikefromCrete said:
ScouseAndy said:
why dont they charge extra for the dome car? seems like they are missing out on a possible revenue stream and just *maybe* if it was making good profit they could convince the money men to buy more?

Or is it a case that the car is in such bad condition that they cant actually guarantee it will make the trip that they darent charge for it?
Click to expand...
Judging by that photo above, it doesn't look like people are standing in line to ride the dome.
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I was pretty shocked that more people didn't ride in it. The conductor made announcements at each station stop and verbally told people when he scanned tickets that there was no extra charge and to feel free to utilize the dome car. It's so amazing to me as when I boarded in Holland, I was just hoping to squeeze into a spare seat and so I immediately headed there after getting my ticket scanned. There were no more than half a dozen people when I arrived. Now, on the return trip, that may have been a different story, as there was an announcement that the train was sold out. He also said that if you can't find a seat, please feel free to ride in the observation car. I had no intention of sitting there on the way back home just to give someone else a chance, just in case the interest was different.
 
I've been riding the PM for a long time and here's the bottom line: passengers grab their seats and go to sleep! Heck I'll bet there's more noise in a funeral home than on the Pere Marquette! When they put a sightseer lounge on the PM no one seems to use it even though the cafe is downstairs!
 
hessjm said:
I've been riding the PM for a long time and here's the bottom line: passengers grab their seats and go to sleep! Heck I'll bet there's more noise in a funeral home than on the Pere Marquette! When they put a sightseer lounge on the PM no one seems to use it even though the cafe is downstairs!
Click to expand...

This couldn't be more true. I think special features like the dome care are a waste for most PM passengers. Not me, mind you, as I did the day trip to Chicago to check it out. I had to laugh because on the way to Chicago, I'd returned to my seat shortly after St. Joe and the lake view, and the gentleman who was in the seat in front of me in business class got up and told the ladies across the aisle from him that he was going to check out the dome car. Less than five minutes later, he was back in his seat in BC.

Another point about special viewing features on the PM....other than by St. Joe, there isn't much to look at other than trees in the Allegan woods and to the south, and industry sprawl in Indiana. I've ridden that particular train for nine years, nearly 30 round trips from Holland to Chicago and I've seen everything along the route (well, other than GRR-HOM, not practical for me). Even for someone riding for the first time, there's not much to look at. Nowadays, I take the PM, for the love of being on the train or because I'm heading out on a LD trip.
 
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