On Sunday, July 26th, members of PCA’s Shenandoah Region took a three-hour tour, not by boat with the Skipper and Gilligan, but by train to experience a bit of the golden age of travel. We headed west out of Staunton on the Virginia Scenic Railway’s vintage Vista-Dome class car built by the Budd Company in 1948. It originally ran on the Western Pacific Railroad’s California Zephyr passenger route from Salt Lake City to Oakland and is now beautifully restored.

In 2025 the car was comprehensively upgraded, modernized, and renamed “Shenandoah” in homage to the legendary valley in which she runs. The Shenandoah has art deco styling and three separate seating areas: spacious table seating, a plush lounge, and dome seating. One interesting historical note, the Shenandoah once served as the personal railcar for country music singer Merle Haggard and his picture is proudly displayed outside the lounge where his bedroom used to be before the car was reconfigured.

As we traveled westward through the Shenandoah Valley’s beautiful farmland toward the George Washington and Jefferson National forests, we enjoyed boxed lunches selected by attendees when they registered. To go with our lunch, the train offer a wide selection of complimentary soft drinks as well as beer, wine and cocktails that were available for purchase.

Our group was perfectly sized so it could be evenly split between dome seating and lower level seating. At the trip’s halfway point in Goshen, where the locomotive completed a “run around” maneuver to switch ends, the groups also switched places so we all had a chance to enjoy the dome’s scenic ride.

Thanks to Ted Rabusseau and Cecile Graziano for setting up this unique and memorable event.