This Has Got To Be The Coolest Way To See The Fall Colors, Ever!

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It’s September, which means summer is winding down, and we can start looking forward to autumn. Of course, some “fall” things have already started early…Halloween stuff in stores, pumpkin spice everything, etc. But there are some parts of the “-ber months” that commercialism can’t control, including when the leaves change color, especially in the northeastern United states.

Lots of people drive up to the northeast to see the foliage, but here’s a much more relaxing way to do it…see them by train! And not just any train, but the historic Great Dome Car on Amtrak’s Adirondack route. Here’s more about it:

The Great Domes are a fleet of six streamlined dome lounge cars built for the Great Northern Railway and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1955. Windows cover all sides and the ceiling of the car’s upper level, so passengers are practically surrounded by amazing panoramic views. The cars were used exclusively on the Empire Builder from their introduction in 1955 until the end of private passenger service in 1971. Amtrak kept all six cars and they continued to run on the Empire Builder before new Superliners displaced them at the end of the decade.

 

 

There’s only one remaining dome car in current use in Amtrak service – Car #10031 – and it’s the one that does the ride through, as per Conde Nast Traveler, “One of the Top 10 Most Scenic Train Trips in North America,” the Adirondack Mountains.

The Dome Car is only available for a few weeks in the fall. While the scenic route departs daily from New York City’s Penn Station, the Dome Car is attached to the train at the Albany, New York stop, and then continues on its journey through the beauty of upstate New York, before ending in Montreal, Canada (on the way back, it’s detached at the Albany stop). The Dome Car can be ridden on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Mondays going northbound, or on Fridays, Sundays, and Tuesdays if you’re headed southward, from September 27 through November 2 (the dome car isn’t attached to the train on Wednesdays). Seating in the Dome Car is only available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ready to board? Click here to look at options for reservations.

And yeah, I can’t resist adding this. High five to anyone else who remembers it 😉

** A huge THANK-YOU to M.G. for the idea for this article! (even though he didn’t want credit, LOL)

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary