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I just got the "Daylight: The Most Beautiful Train in the World" DVD. It's great! Lots of wonderful footage and very professionally done. Narration by Michael Gross (Alex Keaton's father for those of you old enough to remember...).
They talk about and show the in-house built domes used on the Daylight. I vaguely remember them but know I never rode in one. Does anyone know the time frame for when they were used? I would think mid or early '60's. I'm sure there's some mention of the date in the DVD but I'll need to search for that part again.
Frank in Sunny, Warm SBA
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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I was fortunate to ride these cars first on the Shasta during 1962, with subsequent rides on the City of San Fran during 1968, and finally on Amtrak #5-6 circa 1972.
The cars were rebuilt from coaches during the 50's in SP shops. The interior design was exceptionally attractive.
In common with anyother full length dome, they lacked forwrd vision, visibility from them was on a par with an Amtrak Sightseer.
A drawback was that they were not bi-level; there was no space under the dome.
Just my thirty year old recollections of the cars.
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Thanks, Mr. Norman. That's pretty much as they are described and shown in the video. There was a small bar area at normal car floor level but with a very high ceiling and then a couple of steps up to the general dome level. It appears that they were somewhat higher than a regular car but probably kept low enough for the tunnels on the peninsula going into San Francisco. That's my assumption, at least.
One of the features that I remembered from my Daylight trips was verified in the DVD. The coaches each had a small elevator next to the entry door for the car attendant to load passenger suitcases.
I'd forgotten that the cars were connected by a "seamless" exterior covering in addition to the conventional connecting passageway between cars. (I'm sure there's a proper name for that. Help!) It gave the trains the appearance of being one 700 foot long continuous vehicle rather than individual cars.
Frank in Sunny SBA
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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I remember something similar to these domes on the Starlight in the mid '70s. That was when I attended a boarding school north of SF, and took the train home to Salem during breaks. Another student and I used to play cards in the lounge at night, but when these domes were used, there wasn't much in the way of table space. There was no lower level to speak of, except for a very tiny bar area at one end with a couple of small cocktail tables. Upstairs was basically just coach seating under glass. So I found them less enjoyable than the single level lounges.
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