Train Rides: Tasting Trains, Royalty Express, Scenic Train, and The Polar Express™ Train Ride
Facts:
-Also known as the Vista Dome-Bubble Car.
-Northern Pacific 550 and later Amtrak 9407, is a 1954-built Budd short dome.
-The car was fully renovated by Crossroads Railcar Services.
Seats: 68 total
Tables:
6 tables in front section
6 tables in the Dome section
5 tables in the back section
Handicap Accessible: No
Bathroom: Yes
Pricing: $70.00-$90.00 per seat varying per event.
Dome car 550
Budd Company Built 1954
This car is a short dome car originally built by the Budd Company in 1954. The dome car was designed for the purpose of providing the best views of scenic rail journeys as possible. Cyrus Osborn is considered the developer of the dome car as it is known today. While working for EMD, Osborn rode a train on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in Colorado and he noted how beautiful the sights were along the trip and wished there was a better way to view them. He came up with the idea to build a panoramic glass dome on top of a passenger car and took this idea to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad who liked and approved of the Idea. The first dome car ever built was the CB&Q “Silver Dome” built and tested in 1945. By the 1950s any railroad with a view deserving of a dome car could have one built by the budd company and the Northern Pacific was one such railroad. 550 would later serve on Amtrak and would eventually end up being purchased by the Indiana Railway Museum for use on the French Lick Scenic Railway where it has become a favorite for passengers today.
French Lick & West Baden was once known as the home to “America’s Laxative”. The Pluto Water slogan was “When nature wont, Pluto will.” At one point in time, 40-50 train cars were used to ship Pluto Water across the country. This “healing” water naturally contained sodium, magnesium sulfate, and lithium which produced a foul odor. This odor prompted people to say that the underworld couldn’t be far away.
Pluto, the Roman God of the Underworld became a staple symbol in our area. Ultimately, Pluto Water sales were stopped in 1971 when lithium became a controlled substance and was no longer allowed to be sold publicly. However, the Pluto symbol remains and can still be found in many areas locally.
