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Our second railcar to lodging project, our 1954 CB&Q #304 Vista-Dome streamliner lounge/sleeper passenger railcar lodging remodel, is underway! Pre-Amtrak, there were only 236 Vista-Dome cars made in the United States from the mid-40's to the mid 50's. Upon completion, this will be the only Vista-Dome lodging car in the country! The car is 86 feet long and 15'10" tall, with a 25' long dome. It will be transformed into two lodging units, each sleeping six and having a bedroom under the stars with a queen bed in the glass dome.
As the silver streamliner passenger railcars of the 1930's - 50's, made of aluminum and stainless steel, revolutionized and revitalized the post-depression passenger rail industry in the United States, the dome car was the crowning achievement of this effort. The observation dome concept was created by General Motors Vice President Cyrus R. Osborn, General Manager of the GM Electro-Motive Division, on a locomotive cab ride on the Rio Grande along the Colorado River through Glenwood Canyon on July 4, 1944. As he strained to view the 1,300+ foot canyon walls through the locomotive's windows, he thought that there must be a better way to view the scenic beauty of our country, and the glass dome railcar was born! "These coaches offer passengers a panoramic view of nature, which gives them an immersive travel experience." Railroads called them by different names: The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe named their's "Big Dome" and "Pleasure Dome"; the Great Northern Railway had it's "Great Dome"; the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific had the "Super Dome"; Southern Pacific, the "Stairway to the Stars"; Union Pacific called their's "Astra Dome"; and the three railroads that made up the California Zephyr line between Chicago and Oakland, the CB&Q (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy), D&RGW (Denver & Rio Grande Western) and WP (Western Pacific) used the most enduring name, the "Vista-Dome".
Streamliner passenger railcars, including the Vista-domes, were built when the Art Deco stylistic movement was at it's pinnacle, and they are considered the finest example of Art Deco being applied to land transportation. In that spirit, the north half of our Vista-dome car will be decked out in cool Art Deco furniture and fixtures. Given that we are in the Southwest and the land of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Chief and Super Chief rail lines their successor, Amtrak's Southwest Chief, the south half of our Vista-dome will be styled in the look and colors of the American Southwest. Each half of our Vista-dome will look completely different than the other half!
9/17/24 UPDATE: While we have made a lot of progress on both the inside & outside, it has been a bit slower going than anticipated. Thanks to Derick Marceaux, over 75% of the exterior has been sanded and polished to a mirror finish and it looks gorgeous, like the world's largest Airstream! Historically, the streamliners were presented in a gray color, as they would always look dirty if they were shined to the degree that we are shining our Frontier Zephyr. Also on the exterior, 80% of the side windows have been replaced, and 50% of the dome windows have been resealed. The patio space behind the Vista-Dome has been trenched with electrical, propane and waterlines installed, and our fountain reservoir will be installed next week.
As for the interior, the electrical, framing and plumbing is about 80% complete. The next steps are to re-seal the remaining 50% of the dome windows, finish replacing the side windows, build the dome acoustically deadened dividing wall, install the HVAC system including the heated flooring, and then all the finish work will wrap it up! Externally in addition to finishing the sanding & polishing of the skin, the bulk of the work will be to install the north staircase, build the captive rock dividing wall and the shared gazebo, then concrete the patio deck and building the back decks on the east side of the Vista-Dome.
11/23/23 UPDATE: There is a lot to report! Antonio & Jim have been hard at work, with the last year seeing the interior rooms gutted, with several trailer loads of steel being removed (thanks, Muth Customs for the torch & Coates Construction for the trailer!). A few weeks ago we replaced two curved dome windows that were cracked (thanks, Morgan Glass for the window work & Muth Customs for the lift!). With the sage advice & experience of Evan's Detailing & Polishing of Wisconsin, we have begun buffing and polishing the exterior of the stainless steel car, with our newest Maintenance staff member Dax finding the right combination of baking soda & hydrogen peroxide to do the initial cleaning and lacquer thinner to do the final polish. Next week we will install windows in the open window frames previously covered with plywood, then replace the remaining intact windows (being 67 years old, they are very hazy), for a total of 18 new side windows. We kicked-off the interior remodel on November 21 with framing the walls for the bedroom in the north half. Brad went on his first of two monster shopping trips to Taos & Albuquerque, New Mexico; Phoenix, Tucson & Prescott, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Los Angeles, San Clemente & San Diego, California to procure super-cool, unique furnishings including headboards, lamps, mirrors and more!
Also, we have chosen a name for our Vista-Dome! Many of the streamliner railcars were given unique names, with the trio of railroads that made up the California Zephyr route using "Silver" in every named car, such as "Silver Bronco", "Silver Dollar" and "Silver Prairie". We will call our Vista-Dome the "Frontier Zephyr"!
12/1/22 UPDATE: The concrete pads for the entryway staircases are being poured next week, with the staircases being fabricated by Muth Customs of Rocky Ford, Colorado. The utility lines will be trenched in over the next two week as well. Windows have been ordered, and we will be finishing the internal demolition over the month...!
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