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| PHOTOS: McKinley Explorer (1542247) | |||
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PHOTOS: McKinley Explorer |
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Posted by kp5308 on Wed Apr 1 22:01:03 2020 Karen & I took one off the bucket list in 2016 when we did a 2 week Alaska vacation. After 2 days in Fairbanks & 2 days at Denali we boarded an express to catch the boat at Whittier for the cruise portion of the trip. As luck would have it we were assigned 2 seats aboard Holland America Lines Ultra Dome #1052 Chena, 1 of 4 built to 2 different floorplans to make 2 sets of cars. Numbers 1050 and 1052 are described as "a-type" cars with a full-service kitchen to serve two cars, and 1051 and 1053 are "b-type" cars with a lower-level open-air observation platform instead of a kitchen. These cars were built in 2003 to a new design by Tom Rader's Colorado Railcar Manufacturing Co. at Fort Lupton, Colorado, just north of Denver (closed in 2008). At 18 ft 2 inches tall, and 89 feet long (4 feet longer and two feet taller than most Amtrak Superliner and other passenger cars), these new domes were billed at the time by Holland America as the world's largest passenger cars: My first impression of the full width kitchen was "damn, lookit all this room!" I had never seen one before:  The description of the 44 seat dining room comes from the Alaskarails.org page on the cars: Mirrored pilasters; upholstered cornice boards and Roman window shades. Black and "honey" plus velvet seat backs with purple accents in elegant "tile" design; seat cushions in classic black European leather.Custom Ambient Lighting inspired by image of ice caught in tree branches; designed by Donna Barron; manufactured by Nemco Custom Lighting, Seattle.  Karen ordered a unique egg breakfast that included reindeer sausage...very tasty:  The dome seats 88 under a 360 degree view dome. The traditional center support rail was replaced with a system designed with "self supporting" glass that is part of the dome structure, allowing more glass due to the center rail becoming significantly narrower. The upholstery was designed by Donna Barron Design Group; woven in Switzerland, the carpet was also designed by Donna Barron Design Group; and woven by Lantal of Zurich, Switzerland; diagonal design pattern to visually expand space. The interior colors focused on those found in nature: green of Alaska Jade, purple of native wild iris; "honey" of fall tundra grasses:  Mrs. Painter gets settled into her seat for the 8 odd hour ride:  Dillon and Kiki provided narration and refreshment service. Note the forward facing glass is similar to the "traditional" dome layout:  Our car had "Dutch door service":  And companion #1053 Kobuk had a small kitchen prep area (pantry?) on the lower level:  The ADA dining area was next to the pantry, then came a nice lounge area complete with gift shop counter with a small observation deck behind it:   What a way to travel :o) |
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