Artists’ renderings show that Stadler’s proposed versions attempt to improve upon — but not significantly depart from — designs pioneered by Colorado Railcar for Alaska land cruises. The first deliveries are expected to be in time for the 2018 summer season.
Rocky Mountaineer bought its first GoldLeaf dome in 1995. It has a full-length seating area under curved glass upstairs over a kitchen and dining room on the lower level. Colorado Railcar and its Grand Luxe land cruise train subsidiary ceased operations in 2008 and entered bankruptcy with 16 GoldLeafs in service. Though demand for the popular cars warranted more purchases, the Canadian operator could not find a company to fill the void left by the specialty manufacturer.
Stadler will build the new fleet at its plants in Switzerland and Germany.
“Tailor-made is one of our core business areas,” Stadler Rail Group CEO Peter Spuhler says, “and we are convinced we will deliver on all wishes and needs to the complete satisfaction of our new business partner together with our Stadler team.”
Rocky Mountaineer’s president, Steve Sammut, adds, “Working with (Stadler) allows us to re-invent our most luxurious class of service from the ground up.”
Existing GoldLeafs have been undergoing periodic mechanical and cosmetic refurbishing during off-season maintenance periods, and Rocky Mountaineer continues to convert single-level former Canadian National Daynighter coaches to single-level SilverLeaf cars with roof-line glass and larger side windows.
See the upcoming “Passenger” column in the July issue of Trains for more on the new GoldLeaf purchases.
