Great Dome
Ocean View inAmtrak service on theCardinal in 2011
The top level of a Great Dome on theEmpire Builder in 1974
Manufacturer	Budd Company
Constructed	1953–55
Entered service	1955
Number built	6
Capacity	57 coach + 18 lounge (dome level)
Operators	Great Northern Railway Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Burlington Northern Railroad Amtrak

TheGreat Domes were a fleet of sixstreamlineddome lounge cars built by theBudd Company for theGreat Northern Railway andChicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1955. The cars were used exclusively on theEmpire Builder from their introduction in 1955 until the end of private passenger service in 1971.Amtrak retained all six cars and they continued to run on theEmpire Builder before newSuperliners displaced them at the end of the decade, after which they saw service elsewhere in the system before the last one being retired in 2019. The Great Domes were similar in design to theBig Domes Budd built for theAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.

The Great Domes were "virtually identical" to theBig Dome lounges Budd constructed for the Santa Fe in 1954, save for the fact that their smooth sides lacked the fluting of the Big Domes. The top level featured coach-style seating for 57, plus a lounge area which could seat an additional 18 on sofas and in booths. The lower level featured a cocktail lounge decorated with the art of theHaida people, who hailed from thePacific Northwest.^[1]

The Great Northern was slow to adoptdome cars for its passenger trains. Management thought that the cost of heating and cooling the dome interiors would be prohibitively expensive given the hot summers and cold winters along theHi-Line. Further, they thought theEmpire Builder, which had already been re-equipped twice in 1947 and 1951, could attract passengers without adding domes. News that theNorthern Pacific Railway andChicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (the "Milwaukee Road") were adding domes to their transcontinental trains changed the Great Northern's mind. In 1953 the Great Northern ordered six Great Domes and sixteen "short" domes, enough to add one Great Dome and three "short" domes to the regular consist of theEmpire Builder.^[3] One of the six cars was owned by theChicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q).^[4]

Amtrak acquired all six Great Domes from theBurlington Northern Railroad, successor to the Great Northern and CB&Q, on its startup in 1971.^[5] The Great Domes remained on theEmpire Builder until October 28, 1979, when they and other single-level cars were displaced bySuperliners andHi-Level cars.^[6] Amtrak rebuilt three of the cars forhead end power (HEP) and they remained on the roster into the 1990s on theAuto Train. Amtrak retained one,Ocean View, as part of its business car fleet and for special use on regular routes,^[7][8][9] such as theDowneaster service duringleaf peeping season.^[10]Ocean View was retired in 2019 by Amtrak, due to the age and expense of maintaining the Great Dome Car.^[11] It was sold to Paxrail in 2020, before being entering a lease to purchase with RAILEXCO in early 2021, before selling to RAILEXCO upon completion of the agreement.^[12] As of late September 2022, Ocean View was in service on theWestern Maryland Scenic Railroad under lease from RAILEXCO until late 2022 where it was sold to Canadian National Railway.^[13]

• Hidy, Ralph W.; Hidy, Muriel E.; Scott, Roy V.; Hofsummer, Don L. (2004) [1988].The Great Northern Railway: A History. Minneapolis:Minnesota University Press.ISBN 978-0-816-64429-2.OCLC 54885353.
• Randall, W. David (1974).Railway Passenger Car Annual, Volume I, 1973-1974. Park Forest, Illinois: RPC Publications.
• Sanders, Craig (2006).Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana:Indiana University Press.ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
• Simon, Elbert; Warner, David C. (2011). Holland, Kevin J. (ed.).Amtrak by the Numbers: A Comprehensive Passenger Car and Motive Power Roster – 1971–2011. Kansas City, Missouri: White River Productions.ISBN 978-1-932804-12-6.
• Zimmermann, Karl (1998).Domeliners: Yesterday's Trains of Tomorrow. Waukesha, Wisconsin:Kalmbach Publishing.ISBN 978-0-890-24292-6.

• Memories from the Great Dome 'Ocean View', Website dedicated to the history of Amtrak's Great Dome Cars by theMidwest Rail Rangers
• Media related toGreat Dome cars at Wikimedia Commons

• Train-related introductions in 1955
• Great Northern Railway (U.S.)
• Budd Company
• Rail passenger cars of the United States

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Commons category link is on Wikidata