Holland America's McKinley Explorer (Budd Company and Pullman-Standard)

During the summer "season", Westours' McKinley Explorer runs thirteen domed passenger railcars on the Anchorage-Denali-Fairbanks route of the Alaska Railroad.

The Westours dome cars, the largest fleet of domes currently operating in the U.S., were constructed by the Budd Company of Philadelphia and the Pullman-Standard Company of Chicago. Ten of the Budd built cars are numbered sequentially according to their original Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (AT&SF) Railroad number and consequently their date of construction. Budd built car #l394 is similar to the AT&SF cars but was built for the Great Northern Railway. The two cars built by Pullman-Standard for the Milwaukee Road also carry their original numbers (#50 and 56). Westours, in order to honor places and communities along the McKinley Explorer route, has christened each car with an appropriate Alaskan place name.

Car #507 is the Susitna, named for the Susitna River. More information can be found on the Susitna River in this "Ride Guide" at MP 190.7. Car #508, christened the Matanuska, is named for the old town site and rail junction at MP 150.7. The Chena, car #509, is named for the river which flows through Fairbanks. The Chulitna, car #510, is named in honor of the Chulitna River near Denali Park. More information on the Chulitna River can be found the description at MP 273.8.

Car #511, the Nenana, is named for the community of Nenana located on the Nenana River south of Fairbanks. Car #512 is named the Tanana, for the Tanana River near Nenana, a very important transportation link with interior Alaskan villages along the Yukon River. Both Nenana and the Tanana River are discussed at MP 411.7. The Talkeetna, car #513, is named for the community of Talkeetna, located at MP 226.7. The Kobuk, car #551, is named after a major river in northwest Alaska which flows into Kotzebue Sound. Car #553, the Kashwitna, recognizes the Kashwitna River and its adjacent small community described at MP 193.9. Car #554 is called Eklutna for the community located at NP 141.8, just north of Anchorage.

Car #1394, the Deska, is named for a tributary of the Susitna River. Car #50, the Kenai, is named for the Kenai River south of Anchorage. Car #56, the Knik, is named for the Knik River also south of Anchorage.

Modern history records the originator of the dome car concept as Cyrus R. Osborn. A General Motors Vice President and General Manager of the Electro-Motive Division (commonly known as EMD and still a locomotive manufacturer) he was impressed by his unobstructed view of Colorado's Glenwood Canyon from a locomotive cab. Seeing it as a way to make railroad travel more appealing and thus sell more locomotives, General Motors developed conceptual dome cars drawings and models which it showed to railroad executives in the Spring of 1945.

One of the most impressed was the President of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (now Burlington Northern) who instructed his Aurora, Illinois shops to modify a then currently shopped coach car into the first dome car. Finished in June of 1945 the Silver Dome met with great success and within six months Burlington and cooperating railroads order 40 new domes from the Budd Company. Delivered in 1947 those cars were an immediate success at renewing interest in rail travel. Meanwhile General Motors in conjunction with rail car builder Pullman-Standard produced the Train of Tomorrow which toured the country with four dome cars starting in May 1947.

All the domes ordered up through 1950 were of the variety now know as "short" domes where the domes covers approximately 35% of the roof area. In 1951, in order to provide additional passenger capacity end stay ahead of the competition, the Milwaukee Road ordered 10 full length domes for the Pullman-Standard Company. These domes, made of steel, were delivered in late 1952 and offered 68 passengers a dome car view. In 1952 the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (AT&SF) Railroad placed an order with the Budd Company for eight stainless steel full-length dome cars.

These Santa Fe cars were series numbers 506 to 513 and were completed and in service by 1954 on the AT&SF El Capitan, Chicagoan and Kansas Cityan trains. The cars were designed with 57 full-dome seats, 18 upper-level lounge seats, and a 28-seat lounge on the lower level with a bar and a traveling nurse's room.

Realizing the potential of such cars, and believing that they would be both popular and practical, the AT&SF ordered six additional cars from the Budd Company in 1953. These cars were series 55O to 555 and were put into service on the San Francisco Chief in May 1954. The cars had 57 full-dome seats and 18 upper-level lounge seats. The cars' lower level had an eight-seat lounge, a bar and a crew dormitory. The Great Northern Railway followed Santa Fe's lead and ordered six cars similar to the first series of Santa Fe cars for delivery in 1955 and use on the Chicago to Seattle/Portland Empire Builder.

Railroads continued to order "short" domes until 1958 with a total of 199 built. No additional full length dome. were ever constructed leaving the 10 steel Pullman built and 20 stainless steel Budd built care without equals. These cars, operating on just three railroads became known as the "Super Domes", the "Big Domes" or the "Great Domes". *

In 1956, the Santa Fe's premier El Capitan was refurbished with high-level rail cars. Its dome care were reassigned to service on the Chief, which, like the El Capitan was operating between Los Angeles and Chicago. In 1968, when the Chief was discontinued, the dome cars saw brief service on the Texas Chief and then were reassigned to the San Francisco Chief. The San Francisco Chief domes were then moved to service on the Texas Chief.

Demand for rail passenger service declined precipitously during the late '60s with increasing competition from planes and automobiles. When Amtrak was created in 1970, AT&SF decided to eliminate its passenger service. The last passenger ticket on AT&SF was sold in May 1971.

AT&SF sold 13 of its 14 dome cars in 1971 to a private rail company called Auto-Train. Auto-Train operated from Lorton, Virginia to Sanford, Florida. Passengers could drive their cars onto rail cars, enjoy the ride down to Florida in the refurbished dome cars, and then unload their cars in sunny Florida .

Auto-Train had all of the domes refurbished by Pullman-Standard for this new service. Cars #507 and #512 were reconfigured as Night Club Lounges, with a 52-seat lounge and piano on the full-dome level. The lower level contained a bar with a 24-seat lounge. The Night Club Lounge was open until 3 a.m. Cars #508, #509, #510, #511 and #513 were converted to 51-seat coaches on the full-dome level, with the original bar and 28-seat lounge on the lower level. Cars #551, #553, #554 were also converted to the same upper level configuration but retained the crew dormitories on the lower level .

By 1981, Auto-Train was bankrupt. All the dome cars were sold at auction. Seven cars were purchased by Delaware Otsego System (NYS&W). Four of the cars, numbers 508, 513, 553, 554 were repainted in NYS&W colors and used on occasional excursions in the New York area. The other three cars were stored in Little Ferry, New Jersey retaining the white, red and purple Auto-Train logo and colors.

The remaining Auto-Train cars, #507, #509, #511, #551 and #552 were purchased by private individuals. Roy Thorpe bought #507. Don Gage bought #509. Neil Ferguson bought #511, C. C. Potter bought #551 and Doug Ebert bought #552. Roy Thorpe intended, but never got around to, converting the car to private use. Don Gage sold his car to the NYS&W to replace #555 lost to a fire in the Little Ferry yard. Neil Ferguson renamed #511 the Donner Pass. The Donner Pass was leased to Great Western Tours for use by the Redwood Coast Railway Company on their North Coast Daylight passenger train over the Eureka Southern Railway. C. C. Potter's car was used for a while by a fledgling rail tour operator out of Chicago and then stored for years before being purchased by Westours.

Car #552 was used for short rail tours by Doug Ebert and associates before being sold to the Chicago & South Shore Railroad and then to Conrail for use as a corporate car . It and #506, which was kept by the AT&SF, are the only remaining cars not operating on the McKinley Explorer. Car #550 was scrapped in Sanford, Florida after the Auto-Train auction due to major damage it had suffered in an Auto-Train derailment.

The idea for the McKinley Explorer level of luxury rail service was developed after the December 1984 release of survey results of the 1983-84 Alaska Market Segmentation Study sponsored by the State of Alaska Division of Tourism and the Alaska Visitors Association Marketing Council. This study showed a marked preference by potential visitors for additional rail and inter modal experiences.

In 1985, Westours began quietly acquiring the Budd dome cars to use for passengers on the now planned McKinley Explorer train in Alaska. Seven cars, #508, #509, #510, #512, #513, #553 and #554. were purchased in late 1985. Car #511 was purchased in 1986, #507 in 1967 and #551 in 1989,

In July and August of 1986, the first seven cars were moved from the East Coast to the Morrison-Knudsen (M-K) Railroad Division plant in Boise, Idaho, where a Class A undercarriage rebuild began. M-K refitted the cars with new couplers, wheels, axles and brake hardware. The cars were then moved to Renton, Washington for overhaul of the interiors and onboard mechanical and electrical.

The initial plan called for four cars to be utilized in 1987 with only 65% of the passengers choosing to go by rail (35% would continue on motor coaches). By December 1986 the reservation trend showed that four cars would not be enough as the acceptance rate approached 93%. In January the decision was made to deploy six cars for the 1987 season. The rebuild program moved into high gear with 84 hour work weeks becoming normal.

Total costs for the Class A rebuild of the first six cars averaged $575,000 per car. This does not included the original purchase price of the car shells. Sample costs were as follows:

On May 16, 1987, the Matanuska and Nenana were put into service on the Alaska Railroad for a fund-raising trip to Seward, for the Alaska Repertory Theater.

The official Dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony occurred in Anchorage on May 21, 1987. It was attended by state and local officials, friends of the railroad, selected vendors and company employees. Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, guests and friends enjoyed an open house lasting well into the evening. The next day the Tanana was hooked up and ready to go on its first revenue-producing run on the Alaska Railroad. The Nenana began service the following morning on May 23. The Matanuska, Talkeetna, and Chulitna followed with the late arriving Eklutna finally entering service July 5th.

The popularity of the McKinley Explorer was apparent and by mid 1988 work started on the rebuilding of #507 and #553, now christened the Susitna and the Kashwitna, respectively. These cars were rebuilt inside a W.W.II wooden blimp hanger in Tillamook, Oregon. With what was learned on the first six cars and many of the same employees, the cars were completed on time and shipped to Anchorage on May 12, 1989.

The Chena, car #509, and the Kobuk, car #551, were rebuilt in 1993-94 for initial service in 1994. Rebuilt again in Tillamook, these are the first cars to use newly engineered air conditioning and electrical systems. In the intervening years rebuild costs had risen to the point that these cars cost $781,000 each to put into service (again, not including the original purchase price of the car shells themselves).

Demand for the McKinley Explorer level of service continued to climb. In late 1995 Pullman-Standard built cars #50 and #56 were purchased at an Amtrak auction because of the lack of the preferred stainless steel Budd built shells. The cars were quickly moved to Tillamook and Forest Grove, Oregon for refurbishing before going into service in 1996.

In 1996 Westours determined that with the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Santa Fe Railroads the long neglected Budd built Great Northern shell #1394 in storage in Springfield, Missouri might be available. Both the BN and the AT&SF had rebuilt full domes already in use in their corporate fleets and thus there was probably no need for BN to keep the unrebuilt shell. Westours made a non solicited offer through a third party, but in a surprise move, BN decides to ignore the Westours offer and put the car up for bid. Inspected in Springfield, the car had been open to the weather for at least 10 years, had minor fire damage, was missing most of its window frames, exterior and interior doors and was fitted with the incorrect trucks. Unknown to BN, Westours had been collecting the parts necessary to rebuild the car since its personnel had first seen it in 1987. Due to the condition of the car, Westours was the only probable bidder and was successful in the bidding process. Once acquired, the car was quickly moved to Forest Grove, Oregon for the most extensive rebuild ever attempted. The correct trucks were already in inventory as were all but two of the required window frames and doors. The car was rebuilt in time for the 1997 season at a total cost of just over $1,000,000 and was christened Deska, although the name Phoenix might have been more appropriate.

The future may bring more growth for the unique McKinley Explorer level of service. What specific cars will be used is uncertain, but we hope you enjoyed this short dome car nostalgia trip! Be sure to note in which car you are riding today.

* Southern Pacific rebuilt 6 coach cars into single deck 3/4 length domes in their Sacramento, California shops in 1954-55. Depending upon which sources are consulted a total of 234 to 236 short, 3/4, and full length domes were built between 1945 and 1958.

50	Kenai	Sold to Royal Gorge Route Railroad in 2005
56	Knik	Sold to Royal Gorge Route Railroad in 2005
507	Susitna	Sold to Royal Gorge Route Railroad in 2005
508	Matanuska	Sold to Iowa Pacific in 2009; sold to Saratoga & North Creek
509	Chena	Sold to Iowa Pacific in 2007; sold to Texas State Railroad
510	Chulitna	Sold to Iowa Pacific in 2007; sold to San Luis and Rio Grande
511	Nenana	Sold to Iowa Pacific in 2007; based out of the Chicago Amtrak yard but travel all over
512	Tanana	Sold to Iowa Pacific in 2009; sold to Saratoga & North Creek
513	Talkeetna	Sold to Iowa Pacific in 2009; sold to Mount Hood Railroad
551	Kobuk	Sold to Iowa Pacific in 2007; based out of the Chicago Amtrak yard but travel all over
554	Eklutna	Sold to Iowa Pacific in 2007; based out of the Chicago Amtrak yard but travel all over
553	Kashwitna	Sold to Royal Gorge Route Railroad in 2006
1394	Deshka	Sold to Iowa Pacific in 2009; based out of the Chicago Amtrak yard but travel all over

As of 10/19/05:
David Beagle did an incredible job assembling a fine line of railcars. However, Holland America eventually chose to purchase new ultradomes from Colorado Railcar Manufacturing. The once proud line is slowly being carved out in different directions. Four of these railcars are used for Alaska Rail Tours, a subsidary of Holland America. In 2005 Royal Gorge Route Railroad in Canyon City, Colorado bought numbers 50, 56 and 507. The remaining units are for sale and sit in a dead track outside of the Anchorage yard. Below you will find the proud history of the Westours Railcars, the original roster (with corresponding information on each railcar), HO scale models purchasing information and interior drawings.

As of 8/11/06:
Royal Gorge Route Railroad purchased #553 and obtained it in August.

As of 9/17/06:
Mikel Levine's photos of sold railcars

As of 11/27/07:
From Mathew Abbey, General Manager, McKinley Explorer

The cars sold to Iowa Pacific are due to leave Anchorage in the next couple of days. The sold cars are:

HALX 509 CHENA
HALX 510 CHULITNA
HALX 511 NENANA
HALX 551 KOBUK
HALX 554 KASHWITNA

They are heading from Anchorage to the San Luis and Rio Grande Railroad in Alamosa, Co.

HALX 513 TALKEETNA has been taken out of mothballs and placed back in the active fleet for McKinley Explorer. It will join Budd full domes 1394 Deshka, 508 Matanuska, and 512 Tanana, bringing the active Budd full dome fleet to four. The total active Holland America Tours active fleet is now up to 14. There are zero cars for sale.

As of 10/26/08:
Iowa Pacific has purchased the last four Budd domes from the Holland America Westours / McKinley Explorer Fleet. The names are Matanuska 508, Tanana 512, Talkeetna 513, and Deshka 1394.

As of 11/28/09:

From www.trainorders.org

All four Alaska Budd Domes made it to Hinkle. I went out there this morning because it had come to our attention that although the new Umlers had been attached in Alaska, the new prefix on the car numbers (SLRG) had not. I contacted the folks at the hump and tower and they put me in touch with the Mechanical Department.

Special Thanks to Curtis Strzekewicz (hope I spelled that right) for taking me out to the cars and setting out blue flags to allow me to re-stencil the cars . Shortly after I finished with the stencils the consist with our cars was pulled out and shoved up to the hump. Once again....many thanks for setting our cars out and not humping them. The crew at Hinkle is absolutely top notch when it comes to handling our passenger cars. I'll post some video and photos to follow.

Our 4 cars are going to get broken up now.

SLRG 1394 is goingto Portland Penninsula Terminal RR.
SLRG 513 is going to Hood River to join the other dome car currently there.
SLRG 508 & SLRG 512 will continue on to Salt Lake, Grand Junction, Denver, Pueblo and Walsenburg unless someone changes the recipe again. Will post any activity, but I expect we will be in Hinkle for at least a couple days.

As of 9/15/16:

From Ed Ellis, President of Iowa Pacific Holdings

508 and 512 at Saratoga & North Creek, 509 at Texas State Railroad, 513 at Mount Hood, 510 at San Luis and Rio Grande and 511 551 554 and 1394 based out of the Chicago Amtrak yard but travel all over.

Photobucket link

Photos


RCPX 509 "Chena" taken at Hood River on August 18,2008	SLRG 1394 "Desha" and SLRG 513 "Talkeetna" in the Albina Yard in Portland, OR on Tuesday, December 1, 2009.

These images were taken from photocopies of the original drawings. They are not 100% accurate since photocopying machines have a certain degree of distortion. Feel free to email me if you need an image in a different format (such as EPS). Enjoy!