I wish I could have been in rail-cars like that as a kid.
Actually, you still can. The Canadian company Rocky Mountaineer leaves Vancouver BC and travels up to the Canadian National Parks. The cars have domes so your view is unsurpassed and the dining car is down below. It's very much like a cruise where they try to feed you to death and keep you soozled much of the time. Nights are spent in National Park lodges so you don't waste any scenery because it's dark. My late MIL and I took an autumn trip with them one year and it was absolutely wonderful. Highly recommended. Oh, and they have started a new route that goes from Denver to Moab. I haven't taken that one, yet but it's on the list.