Holland America Line Inc. is adding four completely new bi-level dome dining-lounge cars to its current Fairbanks-Anchorage rail service on the Alaska Railroad's passenger trains. These cars have been built to a new design by Tom Rader's Colorado Railcar Manufacturing Co. at Fort Lupton, Colorado, just north of Denver. At 18 ft 2 inches tall, and 89 feet long (4 feet longer and two feet taller than most Amtrak Superliner and other passenger cars), these new domes are being billed by Holland America as the world's largest passenger cars.
The first two cars, numbered and named HALX 1050 "Kenai" and HALX 1051 "Knik," left the Fort Lupton plant March 13 on UP's local freight train to Denver Union Station where they went on display to travel professionals and the public March 14 -15. These two cars departed Denver on BNSF freight train H-DENBAR-1-21 at 428am Saturday March 22, and arrived Albuquerque NM just 24 hours later at 430am March 23. They were expected to leave Albuquerque about 100pm March 23 on the same train, and arrive Barstow Tuesday morning March 25, connecting into Los Angeles 8th Street coach yard by Thursday morning March 27.
These two cars (HALX 1050 and 1051) are scheduled to go on display to travel professionals and the public at the following confirmed locations:
LOS ANGELES - Union Station Garden Tracks - Friday, Saturday, Sunday, March 28-29-30.
SAN DIEGO - SD&IV RR Yard track 9, (South of 8th Street just east of Harbor Drive). - Wed Apr 2.
FULLERTON CA - Transportation Center/Amtrak Station private car tracks - Fri-Sat-Sun April 4-5-6.
Public display hours at each venue are typically 1000am - 200pm and 300pm-500pm. Travel Professional display hours are typically 700pm - 900pm. Movements between displays will be either BNSF freight trains or Amtrak special passenger trains.
As these two cars work their way north toward a scheduled April 23 Alaska Railroad barge sailing from Seattle to Whittier, Alaska, where they begin service May 16, they are tentatively scheduled for additional public display at the following locations:
Tentative displays; subject to change: Santa Barbara CA - Amtrak spur near Fess Parker Resort - April 8 and 9 Santa Clara CA - CalTrain Station - April 12-13 Portland OR - Union Station - April 16 Seattle WA - King Street Station - April 18-19-20.
The second two cars, HALX 1052 "Chena" and 1053 "Kobuk" are now scheduled to leave the Colorado Railcar plant about April 2 enroute to Seattle for an April 16 Alaska barge sailing. Movement may be either on Amtrak passenger or BNSF freight trains.
HALX 1050 and 1052 are described as "a-type" cars with a full-service kitchen to serve two cars, and 1051 and 1053 are "b-type" cars with a lower-level open-air observation platform instead of a kitchen.
These new cars will replace four of the ex-ATSF full-domes built in 1954 and rebuilt by Holland America in the late 1980's for Alaska Service. Holland America has several recently-rebuilt ex-ATSF and ex-MILW full dome cars for sale in Alaska.
Posted by SP5623 (Member # 2207) on :
Bill,
First welcome to the board. I hope you enjoy reading and posting here as much as I do. And, I think you and I have met. I was the service manager for Honeywell in 1998-1999. If so we need to talk more about trains and others stuff. I had no idea you were a rail.
And does Holland America have a web site where the cars that are for sale in Alaska can be viewed? If so please post the URL.
