Astra Dome

The Astra Domes were a fleet of streamlined dome cars built by the American Car and Foundry Company ("ACF") for the Union Pacific Railroad in 1954–1955. ACF built a total of 35 cars including coaches, dining cars, and observation cars. After Union Pacific exited the passenger business in 1971 the Auto-Train Corporation purchased most of the fleet and operated them for an additional ten years.

Not to be confused with the cars used on the Train of Tomorrow.
Astra Dome
An Astra Dome lounge-observation car brings up the rear of the City of Los Angeles in the 1950s.
The upper-level dining area in an Astra Dome dining car.
ManufacturerAmerican Car and Foundry
Constructed1954–1955
Entered service1955–1971
Number built35
Fleet numbersUnion Pacific:
  • 7000-7009 (coaches)
  • 8000-8009 (dining cars)
  • 9000-9014 (lounge-observation)
Operator(s)Union Pacific Railroad (1955-1971)
Auto-Train Corporation (1971-1981)
Specifications
Car length85 feet (26 m)
Width10 feet (3.0 m)
Notes
[1]

Design

ACF produced three types of domes for the Union Pacific: coaches, dining cars, and observation cars. The ten dining cars were unique: the only dome dining cars (aside from GM's Train of Tomorrow) ever built for a United States railroad.[2]:146 The cars featured seating on both levels: 18 in the upper level in booths and 18 in the lower level at tables. Also located on the lower level was a kitchen, pantry, and private dining room with seating for 10. A dumbwaiter connected the two levels.[3]:166

The coaches could seat 24 in the dome area and an additional 36 in the lower level. The center section was given over to men's and women's lounges.[4] The lounge-observation cars were square-ended instead of the rounded-off design favored by many railroads. Like the coaches, the upper-level dome area could seat 24. In the lower level, starting at the vestibule end, was a card room (seating for five), cocktail lounge (seats for nine) and bar, stairs up to the dome level, and finally the observation area itself with seating for 19.[5]

Service history

The Union Pacific was a comparative latecomer to the dome scene when it ordered the Astra Domes from ACF in 1954; most western railroads already operated domes, some since the late 1940s.[6] ACF delivered the 35 cars to the Union Pacific in 1955 at the cost of US$10,000,000. The Union Pacific assigned the cars to its various transcontinental streamliners:[3]:166

The Union Pacific found it necessary to assign a second steward to the upper-level dining area.[7]:66 The Union Pacific gave great publicity to the novelty of dome dining cars operating between Chicago, Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles.[8]:213–214

After the Union Pacific exited the passenger business in 1971 it sold two of the dome coaches (#7004 and #7008) to the Alaska Railroad for use on its AuRoRa streamliner.[3]:211 UP retained dome coach #7006 and dome lounge-observation #9004 for company use and donated dome diner #8003 to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where it remains today. The remainder of the fleet–seven coaches, nine dining cars and fourteen lounge-observation cars–were purchased by the new Auto-Train Corporation for use on the Auto-Train. After Auto-Train's bankruptcy in 1981 the fleet was sold and dispersed. Many remain in private hands.[1]

References
  1. "Union Pacific". Retrieved November 9, 2013.
  2. Wegman, Mark (2008). American Passenger Trains and Locomotives Illustrated. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-3475-1.
  3. Wayner, Robert J., ed. (1972). Car Names, Numbers and Consists. New York: Wayner Publications. OCLC 8848690.
  4. Union Pacific Railroad. "Chair". Retrieved November 9, 2013.
  5. Union Pacific Railroad. "Observation-lounge". Retrieved November 9, 2013.
  6. "Kit/Product Reviews". Prototype Modeler. October 1978. Archived from the original on 2013-11-10.
  7. Porterfield, James D. (1993). Dining by Rail: The History and Recipes of America's Golden Age of Railroad Cuisine. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-18711-4. OCLC 26809358.
  8. Burness, Tad (2001). Railroad Advertising: Riding the Rails Again. Iola, WI: Krause Publications. ISBN 0873492749. OCLC 47780644.
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