Micro-Trains - 551 52 210 - Passenger Car, Lightweight, Pullman Dome - Auto Train - 902

Prototype History: The Pleasure Domes are a fleet of six streamlined dome lounge cars built by Pullman-Standard for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway ("Santa Fe") in 1950. The cars were used exclusively on the Super Chief from their introduction in 1950 until the end of Santa Fe passenger service in 1971. Amtrak retained all six cars and continued to operate them until 1980 when they were retired. All six were preserved. The Pleasure Dome, with its famed "Turquoise Room" private dining room, contributed to the Super Chiefs reputation for elegance and luxury. The name is derived from a line in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Kubla Khan.

The Pleasure Domes were lounge-dining cars, but with some unusual variations. Most dome lounges had two areas: the dome seating area above, and the lounge area below. The Pleasure Domes added a third area: a private dining room named the "Turquoise Room" which was available by reservation only and could seat 12. Newspaper reports of the 1950s noted that these cars constituted "the first private dining room on wheels." The dome seating area featured parlor car-style swivel chairs. Meals in the Turquoise Room were prepared in an adjoining dining car.

From Wikipedia

Road Name History: Auto-Train was incorporated in 1969 and began operations in late 1971. Initially, they hauled passengers and their automobiles from Lorton in Northern Virginia to Sanford, Florida which is not far from Orlando. RF&P and Seaboard Coast Line were the host railroads. The passenger car fleet was purchased secondhand from various roads and the autoracks were an early design from Canadian National. GE U36B's were used for road power (built to Seaboard Coast Line specifications.) Lorton was the northern terminus because the autoracks would not fit the clearances in Washington D.C. and points north. Auto-Train featured daily departures from both ends. The trains were popular and usually exceeded 30 cars evenly split between autoracks and passenger cars. In 1974, Auto-Train expanded with trains running between Louisville and Sanford. This second route was a failure and this combined with a couple of expensive wrecks sent Auto-Train into a downward spiral. In 1980, they declared bankruptcy and the following April, the last Auto-Train ran. Amtrak resurrected the idea in 1983 with a tri-weekly service on the Lorton - Sanford route.

Brand/Importer Information: Micro-Trains Line split off from Kadee Quality Products in 1990. Kadee Quality Products originally got involved in N-Scale by producing a scaled-down version of their successful HO Magne-Matic knuckle coupler system. This coupler was superior to the ubiquitous 'Rapido' style coupler due to two primary factors: superior realistic appearance and the ability to automatically uncouple when stopped over a magnet embedded in a section of track. The success of these couplers in N-Scale quickly translated to the production of trucks, wheels and in 1972 a release of ready-to-run box cars.

Micro-Trains Line Co. split off from Kadee in 1990 to form a completely independent company. For this reason, products from this company can appear with labels from both enterprises. Due to the nature of production idiosyncrasies and various random factors, the rolling stock from Micro-Trains can have all sorts of interesting variations in both their packaging as well as the products themselves. When acquiring an MTL product it is very important to understand these important production variations that can greatly enhance (or decrease) the value of your purchase.