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 Post subject: GM train of tomorrow sole surviving dome car status?
PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2015 11:49 pm 

Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 1:40 am
Posts: 489
What is the current status of the GM train of tomorrow sole surviving dome car? Last I heard the car was out in the desert stripped inside and out.

Could the UP possibly acquire and restore this unique car for it's fleet?

Robert


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 Post subject: Re: GM train of tomorrow sole surviving dome car status?
PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 12:23 am 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 8:51 pm
Posts: 2041
Location: Southern California
That would be the former observation-dome car that the railroad later made into a mid-train car.

the The Utah State Railroad Museum, one of four museums at the Ogden Union Station obtained the car from a Pocatello, Idaho scrap yard some years ago.

I could not find a link on the website; but, using Google found this link to a page with a restoration proposal from September of 2012 for the dome car "MOONGLOW":
“MOONGLOW” DOME CAR RESTORATION

Earlier on January 4, 2012 the Deseret News carried this article:
Historic rail car seems destined to rust away
Somewhat of a sad story.

Can anyone supply more recent information?

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Brian Norden


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 Post subject: Re: GM train of tomorrow sole surviving dome car status?
PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 12:54 pm 

Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 1:40 am
Posts: 489
How difficult would a conversion back to a end of train observation car be?

Robert


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 Post subject: Re: GM train of tomorrow sole surviving dome car status?
PostPosted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 8:29 pm 

Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2010 11:37 pm
Posts: 222
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Interesting post...so far...found some more info about this General Motor's "Train Of Tomorrow"

Here's what I've found:

The Streamlined, Modern Train of Tomorrow - 1948
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEfznj0-Ac8

General Motors "Train of Tomorrow"
http://www.trainweb.org/web_lurker/GM/

This 1947 Train of Tomorrow Puts Today's Trains to Shame
http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/this-194 ... 1545129583

Touring with the Train of Tomorrow
http://streamlinermemories.info/?p=950

General Motors' Train of Tomorrow
http://utahrails.net/pass/train-of-tomorrow.php

So I would say YES IT'S Restorable, just depends how much $$$, Time, and Materials would cost to getting back in working order. Judging from it's current shape, it's almost impossible turning back into it's GMTOT Appearence. The closest to it being restorable is turning it more into more like UP 9009 "City Of San Francisco" see here:

Union Pacific 9009 "City Of San Francisco"
http://trainweb.org/DOMEmain/picUP9009k.jpg

Enjoy! ^_^

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 Post subject: Re: GM train of tomorrow sole surviving dome car status?
PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 9:58 pm 

Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2010 6:22 pm
Posts: 275
BigBoy 4023 wrote:
How difficult would a conversion back to a end of train observation car be?

Robert


The words 'prohibitively expensive' come to mind.

CD


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 Post subject: Re: GM train of tomorrow sole surviving dome car status?
PostPosted: Fri Sep 11, 2015 1:20 am 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 8:44 am
Posts: 740
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
The car's essentially a skeleton right now (or at least it was a few years ago when I toured it) so yes, converting it back to a round-end car would be expensive, but probably not much more so than a full restoration would be anyway.

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David Wilkinson
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 Post subject: Re: GM train of tomorrow sole surviving dome car status?
PostPosted: Sun Sep 13, 2015 10:19 pm 

Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2004 10:52 pm
Posts: 914
Hi,

I got a good laugh on this post. You got me because I was working on the Gainesville Midland (GM) Railroad - a short line in Georgia. They ran Decapods until 1959.

Thanks.

Doug vV


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 Post subject: Re: GM train of tomorrow sole surviving dome car status?
PostPosted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 1:36 am 

Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:41 am
Posts: 3911
Location: Inwood, W.Va.
j32885 wrote:
Interesting post...so far...found some more info about this General Motor's "Train Of Tomorrow"

Here's what I've found:

The Streamlined, Modern Train of Tomorrow - 1948
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEfznj0-Ac8

General Motors "Train of Tomorrow"
http://www.trainweb.org/web_lurker/GM/

This 1947 Train of Tomorrow Puts Today's Trains to Shame
http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/this-194 ... 1545129583

Touring with the Train of Tomorrow
http://streamlinermemories.info/?p=950

General Motors' Train of Tomorrow
http://utahrails.net/pass/train-of-tomorrow.php

So I would say YES IT'S Restorable, just depends how much $$$, Time, and Materials would cost to getting back in working order. Judging from it's current shape, it's almost impossible turning back into it's GMTOT Appearence. The closest to it being restorable is turning it more into more like UP 9009 "City Of San Francisco" see here:

Union Pacific 9009 "City Of San Francisco"
http://trainweb.org/DOMEmain/picUP9009k.jpg

Enjoy! ^_^


An interesting perpective that stands out to me is that when you compare this material with similar films and visions of the future of things like auto and air travel (i.e., self-driving cars, cars that looked like jet fighters and had turbine power, luxurious flying wing airliners that resembled cruise ships in the sky)--the railroads came closest to actually delivering the future that was promised, while we're still waiting for the competition to achieve what was supposed to have been around by 1970---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMTwQ9b5hvk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx6keHpeYak

We may laugh at the styling of GM's turbine cars, but apparently some serious engineering work went into them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZpkdRksMr8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Cjr6BDvpE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKOdux6Gjno

Would we not say the classic California Zephyr, the 1948 20th Century Limted, and other streamliners with their luxury and technological advances (including disc brakes) would be the realization of the Train of Tomorrow in revenue service form?


Last edited by J3a-614 on Mon Sep 14, 2015 2:00 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: GM train of tomorrow sole surviving dome car status?
PostPosted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 1:54 am 

Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2004 10:52 pm
Posts: 914
Hi,

If you look at historic visions of the future (atomic locomotive or ACE 3000 steam locomotive for instance), one of the most futuristic looking loco was the PRR GG1 with 138 units and 13 were saved (some are not in good condition at the moment).

The Train of Tomorrow is unfotunately is sort of in the company with the PRR Duplexes which were forward looking and seemed to compete with their contemporaries but (in the cast of the UP turbines and the PRR duplexes) lost against changes that were outside the railroad industry or the diesel locomotive.

Thanks for the links to the GM Train of Tomorrow.

Doug vV

If you forget your past, you are doomed to repeat it.


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 Post subject: Re: GM train of tomorrow sole surviving dome car status?
PostPosted: Wed Nov 07, 2018 12:20 am 

Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 1:40 am
Posts: 489
Second only to Big boy making a appearance in May 2019. I wish UP was restoring this car as it's just as historically significant as the giant steamer. For the 150th anniversary of the UP Moon glow should deserve it's spot in the spotlight as well.

Sadly Moon Glow's current owners have done little to nothing that I am aware of to stabilize and restore this historically significant dome car. I hope someone proves me wrong on this.

Robert


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