With Labor Day in the rearview window, fall foliage is just ahead. If you’re like me, you love the great colors of the season, but hate the bumper-to-bumper traffic on backed-up country roads.

There’s an interesting alternative that offers leaf-peepers, train lovers and history buffs an unusual vantage point for some of the Northeast’s most beautiful landscapes.

Passengers aboard Amtrak’s Adirondack service between Albany, New York, and Montreal, Quebec, can view upstate New York’s fall foliage from the line’s historic Great Dome car, which returns to the Northeast each year for a six-week run — this year, it started Sept. 25 and runs through Nov. 3.

The vintage Dome car, built in 1955 and the last of its kind in Amtrak’s fleet, features an upper level with windows on all sides (including the roof), which provides unparalleled 360-degree panoramic views of the autumn vistas, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.

“This route offers postcard views every season, but it’s even more breathtaking in the fall, especially from the Dome,” says Magliari. “The train runs along the cliffs of Lake Champlain and you can see the Green Mountains of Vermont across the lake.”

Travelers also get views of the Hudson River and the Adirondack Mountains.

“Trains go places cars can’t,” says Magliari. “You aren’t going to get these foliage views from the road.”

He’s not kidding. The Adirondack route was named “One of the Top 10 Most Scenic Train Trips in North America” by Conde Nast Traveler.

Amtrak, the New York State Department of Transportation and the National Park Service Trails and Rails program partner to offer the special service and, on most Saturdays and Sundays, Park Service volunteers are aboard and offering commentary on local towns and historic events.

The Dome Car operates northbound from Albany to Montreal on Thursdays, Saturdays and Mondays and returns south from Montreal on Fridays, Sundays, and Tuesdays. The Dome car doesn’t operate on Wednesdays.

There’s no surcharge for riding the Adirondack service during this period, but advance reservations are required. Seating in the Great Dome car is unreserved.

A one-way ticket from New York City to Montreal starts at $68. Climb aboard at the Albany-Rensselaer Rail Station in New York, (about a two-hour drive from Hartford), and one-way ticket prices start at $58. Book your trip online with the “See New York and Save” promotion and you’ll save 15 percent. Up to two children, aged 2 to 12, travel at half-fare with each adult fare purchased. Information and bookings: Amtrak.com/deals.