Re: PC: No PC Dome Cars

[Walter B Turner <lnrr@xxxxxxxx>]

> Neither the PC nor its predecessors operated dome cars -- tunnel and
> catenary clearance problems, among other issues.

Seaboard Air Line got around this problem with their sun lounge cars.
They wanted domes, but the Potomac and Penn Station prevented this on
their East Coast trains. The B end of the car contained several bedrooms.
The A end of the car had a lounge section, with windows that went up the
sides and into the roof. If you can image a 10-6 with the top half cut
out of one end of the car and replaced with the top of a Superliner
Lounge you get the general idea.

SAL had three of these cars for their New York-Florida trains. These cars
made it into Amtrak, so they would have ran on the Penn Central. One was
scrapped, but two others were bought from Amtrak. The Hollywood Beach is
now based out of Nashville and usually travels on Tennessee Central
Railway Museum excursions and on the Broadway Dinner Train, but is often
seen on AAPRCO trips and excursions throughout the South; the owner of
the car has been quite generous to many rail groups. This is a beautiful
car inside, and it's distinctive in any consist.

You can see the Hollywood Beach at:
http://www.aaprco.com/Cars/zip_order/hollywood.html

Bryan Turner