Dome Car

About Our Dome Car

The “Plaza Laguna ” #501 was one of six “Pleasure Domes” built by Pullman for the Santa Fe railway in 1951. While the designated name for this car was the Plaza Laguna, the car never received its name from ATSF. It was assigned to regular service on the famous Super Chief and was in service on ATSF for 20 years until Amtrak acquired the fleet in 1971. The 501 and the rest of the Pleasure Dome cars were only in service for 3 years, and Amtrak sold all 6 cars to private owners in the early 80’s. After life on Amtrak, the car was sold to Espirit De Corp Sportswear Company and then resold to Golden Gate Railroad Museum in 1984. The car was then passed down through multiple private owners until it appeared as #104 The City of Seattle on the Washington Central’s Spirit of Washington Dinner Train during the early 1990s. The car then appeared on the Columbia Basin Railway and was sold to Iowa Pacific / San Luis & Rio Grande. Today the car is owned by Great Scenic Rail Journeys and is on lease to the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad here in Cumberland.

While this car has quite the history, she most recently appeared on the Virginia Scenic Railway, behind steam star Norfolk & Western J 611 in 2023. Today the Plaza Laguna is equipped with 17 Lower Lounge Seats, 32 Table Seats, and 24 Pleasure Dome Seats. A restroom and bar are also included in the car, as well as “starlighting”. This car will be featured on most train excursions as Dome Class, but Lounge Seating and Table Seating are also available on board.