Railroad Nation

NEW YORK – Amtrak has announced that its New York-Montreal Adirondack will again feature the company’s only remaining full-length, single-level dome car for this year’s fall color season. The car, which was originally built for Great Northern’s Empire Builder in 1955 and acquired by Amtrak in 1971, will run northbound Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from Oct. 1 through Nov. 9, and southbound on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, Oct. 2 through Nov. 10, 2009.

Returning to the Adirondack after a successful stint last fall, the dome operates only between Albany-Rensselaer and Montreal due to height restrictions on the Empire Service line south of Albany to New York’s Penn Station. It is usually kept on the West Coast as part of a standby set of single-level Horizon equipment, and will return there for the holidays, but it also is used as needed for charters around the system. The car is a welcome addition to the scenic route along Lake Champlain, especially because the Amfleet cars normally assigned to the Adirondack have such small windows. – Bob Johnston

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