CBQ Budd Prototype Dome Cars – Silver Castle & Silver Dome

All revenue from sales of this product goes to the Minnesota Transportation Museum to support the restoration of their CBQ Budd Prototype Dome Car.

These are N scale 3D printable files for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CBQ) Budd Prototype Dome Cars — the first dome cars ever built, converted by the Budd Company from early prewar Budd stainless steel coaches for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Available in four decal variants: CBQ 9400 Silver Castle / 9401 Silver Dome, BN 3480 Silver Castle, RDCX 9400 Silver Castle, and AMTK Phase I.

The Budd Prototype Domes hold a unique place in American railroad history as the original dome cars — the first passenger cars ever built with a raised glass observation dome above the roofline. The cars were created by rebuilding prewar Budd stainless steel coaches — cars that predated the postwar streamliner boom — by cutting open the roof and inserting a raised dome section, creating an entirely new passenger experience that would go on to define the golden age of American streamliner travel. The CBQ named the two prototype cars Silver Dome (CBQ 9401) and Silver Castle (CBQ 9400), and their success directly inspired the production dome cars that followed from Budd, Pullman, and other builders — including the Great Domes, Super Domes, and Big Domes represented elsewhere in the Out of the Box Models catalog.

The four decal variants trace the prototype domes through their ownership history:

• CBQ 9400 Silver Castle / 9401 Silver Dome — the two cars in their original Chicago, Burlington & Quincy configuration, representing the cars as the world's first dome cars in CBQ service on the California Zephyr and other Burlington Route trains.
• BN 3480 Silver Castle — Burlington Northern: the Silver Castle as renumbered BN 3480 following the 1970 Burlington Northern merger, in BN's Cascade Green livery.
• RDCX 9400 Silver Castle — Rail Dome Corporation: the car as operated by the Rail Dome Corporation (RDCX) in its subsequent excursion and charter service career.
• AMTK Phase I — the car in the AMTK Phase I red, white, and blue livery following the 1971 nationalization of intercity passenger rail service.

One of the original prototype dome cars survives today and is being restored by the Minnesota Transportation Museum. All revenue from sales of this product directly supports that restoration effort — your purchase helps preserve the car that started the dome car era.

After purchase, your digital files will be available for immediate direct download from your order confirmation. These files are for Personal Use Only — if you are interested in a commercial license, please contact us.

Please allow a few weeks for 3D printing and shipping. Decals are shipped separately — please allow some additional time for decal printing and shipping after ordering.