Of the great named passenger trains in the US of the mid-twentieth century, few names evoked such a sense of wonder or power as the Great Northern Railway’s “Empire Builder”.

The Great Northern Railway was started by the late 19th-century rail entrepreneur, James J. Hill. He was known as the “Empire Builder” and the Railway’s premier passenger train was named in his honor. The Great Northern was distinctive in a few ways:

1. Their mainline route between St. Paul and Seattle was, and still is, the northernmost transcontinental routes in the country
2. The Great Northern built the route using its own money, no outside capital was employed
3. No Federal Land Grants were issued to the GN for its route. All property was purchased and owned by the Railway. All other transcontinental projects of the time used Federal Land Grants and funding subsidies to build their rails.

As you might imagine, James J. Hill was pretty proud of this achievement. In order to fund the venture, the line across the northern United States was built in pieces. Each segment would need to be built up into a profitable line before the next section could be added. Slowly but surely, the line reached the west coast. The Empire Builder ran on the main line from Chicago to St. Paul to Seattle and Portland in a little over 45 hours. The colors of the train were a striking mixture of brown/black, orange and forest green (not a common combination), and it was well known for the on-board service and amenities. A train running under the name “Empire Builder” has been in continuous daily operation since its first scheduled run in 1929.

 

Under Amtrak, the Empire Builder remains one of its more popular routes, and several years ago (2009) the equipment used for the train received a unique upgrade at Amtrak’s Beech Grove Shops. The sleepers in particular were redecorated with styles and materials only seen on the Builder. Coach seating is much the same as any other Superliner-equipped train. If you find yourself on the Empire Builder, the last place you want to be spending your time though is at your seat. Each western route contains at least one Sightseer Lounge. This car is a large open space where there are large seating areas for groups to watch the scenery go by through the big windows that line the side and roof of the car. The lower deck of the Lounge contains the Cafe where you can purchase pre-packaged prepared foods, drinks, snacks, etc. As the train starts out of Chicago and heads north through Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota, the scenery out the window varies widely.

Sadly, the pictures don’t adequately convey what I was seeing out the window, but one of the things that struck me was how wrong other bloggers were about the rugged beauty of the “flyover country” through which I was passing. I read extensively about what it was I could expect to see along the routes I would be traveling, and there are a lot of naysayers out there. Most seemed to think that until you reach the Rocky Mountains, the scenery is lackluster and boring. I disagree.

As I mentioned in my last post, the train was set to depart Chicago Union Station at 2:25pm. As we sat in our seats waiting for the train to get underway, I looked out the window towards the Chicago River. Some of the tracks in Union Station are in a section of the station that has a view of the outside instead of being completely isolated under ground, and while waiting to move, watching activity on the river was a nice way to pass the time. We had started boarding the train a little before 2pm, and we got underway exactly on time. One of the things that you get to see when riding the rails, that’s important to railfans such as myself, are rail yards. These hubs are all over the US rail system, and the really big hump yards are quite something. We didn’t pass over a hump of course, but we did pass by or through such yards, and one of the neat things for someone from Erie, PA is the sheer number of GE-built locomotives throughout the country. The BNSF uses quite a large number of GE locomotives, and for this leg of the journey, we would spend a lot of time on their rails.

Not long after we got underway, the car attendants (the attendant in car number 2715 was a very pleasant older lady named Deborah) started making their way through the train taking reservations for Dinner in the Diner and orders for “Just for You” meals. Since our train was pretty well sold, the sleeper passengers, who get preferential treatment regarding reservations, pretty much monopolized the reservations for Dinner. I ate my meals at my seat as a result, and even for Breakfast, which was first come first serve, it was borderline impossible to get into the diner.

I should pause here for a moment to mention that traveling alone on Amtrak, while fun, is not without its drawbacks. Groups of two or more receive preferential treatment regardless of ticket class, and those of us flying solo are relegated to the least desired seating in the backs of the cars. It’s easier for the attendants to seat couples and families, and seating us loners is a pain. Deborah was very accommodating, but by the end of the trip, I was the last single person on the train who didn’t have someone in the seat next to me. I thanked Deborah for this once we reached our destination. Regardless, I have found the ONE THING where being a couple is beneficial. The ONE THING! Otherwise, my opinions on relationships remains the same. HARRUMPH!

As we rolled along, my eyes were fixed on the world going by outside. I had brought books along, but I never touched them. The scenery was endlessly varying, and there are a few things that are more enjoyable on rails than anywhere else. I love a good a sunset, and here in Erie, the sunsets over the Lake are quite beautiful, but from the train, while passing over a river, it’s even more interesting. Normally, you watch a sunset standing still, but while you’re riding the rails, your perspective on the sunset is always shifting. We passed over many waterways, and the picture at the left is one that I grabbed of the sunset on our first day of the journey west.

Nightlife on the train is interesting. At 11pm, the night-time lighting comes on, and the conductor makes an announcement about Quiet Hours. You don’t have to sleep after lights-out, but you do have to keep it down, and most people don’t spend time in the Lounge after this time. If you’re a night-owl, the Sightseer Lounge is the place to be for a little while after the lights go down. The dimly lit landscapes passing by the windows are very different at night, and it’s something that is unique since not only are you up and about when most people are sleeping, but you can also see what a sleeping city looks like. It’s quite the experience.

On the Empire Builder, you spend a little over two days and two nights traveling cross country. The run takes about 46 hours or so to complete, and the Empire Builder is one of those rare trains in the US that still runs on-time or close to it. Something that I rarely see at home or anywhere else is the dawning of a new day. I am never up that early. On the train however, I saw almost every dawn, and I was amazed at each one. It’s amazing to be able to see both the sunset on one day and the dawning of the next day. Each dawn was different as well, and each was more beautiful than the one before. I wasn’t able to consistently capture each dawn with my camera for one reason or another.

As the train continued west, I was struck by how much bigger the scenes and the sky seemed to be. Size or scope hadn’t changed, but my perception had. Montana and the areas around it really are “Big Sky Country”. It’s not often that you can fit a 100+ car grain train in one picture, but as you can see on the left, I was able to without issue. The landscapes started to shift from the plains to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and that’s where things really started to get interesting. Trains can’t climb hills like cars can, and so the rails go through cuts in the hills as well as tunnels. Whatever it takes to keep the grades below 2-3%. As the train climbed higher, the Rockies themselves started to come into view in the distance. Mountains, real honest-to-goodness mountains, are a sight to behold. The sense of
wonder that involuntarily comes over you is something that I really hadn’t experienced much, and the passengers around me might have been wondering why I was smiling like a fool. Well, that’s my reaction to sights or sounds that I have never before experienced.

Along the way, we made numerous stops in towns large and small, and our train continued to fill. At one stop in North Dakota, a small family boarded the train and sat behind me. For some reason, they ignored the signs and indications by the car attendants regarding family seating, and so they sat back with those of us traveling alone. The party consisted of a Mother, her two daughters and a family friend (also a girl), and thus our peaceful environment was shattered. The chit-chat among the group never stopped for more than a few minutes, and it continued through to where they left us at Havre, MT. This was the first time on the trip where I felt the need to break out my noise-cancelling headphones and some music to shut out the noise in the row behind me. Nobody else seemed to be bothered by them, but loner that I am, I was.  This was the only real discomfort that I felt on the train, because otherwise everyone pretty much kept to themselves.

As we continued to roll along, the scenery outside varied a bit, and quite a lot of it was farmland. Even when we got into areas where the hills were a bit larger, there were fields on those hillsides with crops of all kinds. Cattle were everywhere. Several different breeds were in evidence, and since that’s not really my thing, to me they were just cows of some sort. We also saw a Bighorn Sheep or two as we continued into higher elevations. The conductor mentioned that on some of the runs they see bears, but it’s pretty rare.

The most remarkable thing that we saw as we came closer to the western side of Montana was Glacier National Park. We had seen some mountains thus far, but not this close. When you pass from East Glacier Station through to West Glacier, you are IN the mountains in a way not before seen on the route. The only picture I took is located below. Regardless, a picture would do nothing further to demonstrate adequately what exactlywe were seeing. The mountainsides outside of the window were quite steep and covered in greenery, up to the tree line of course, and far below was a rapidly flowing river. It was a peculiar shade of blue, and even from the train high up on a ridge, the water was very clear for a decent depth before it became cloudy. It was reminiscent of the alpine river runoff you see in pictures and films. Spectacular. Glacier was a highlight on the journey west to be sure, and a “must visit” if you’re out that way.

As the sun set behind the mountains we began to descend from the 9,000 feet or so of elevation that we had reached while passing through Glacier. Our next big stop on the way was Spokane, WA. Here the train was split into two pieces and became train numbers 27 (for Portland) and 28 (for Seattle).  It was at this point that our train was officially sold out. I was the only person on the train not sitting with someone else, but I was told that the seat next to me was indeed sold.

 

As The Empire Builder came closer to our destination of Portland, OR, the scenery outside the window changed somewhat. We were soon on a parallel route with the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. I personally have never seen such a large river before. Most of what I know as rivers are really creeks masquerading as rivers, and some of the landscapes didn’t appear to belong in Oregon at all or even the US. As you ca see from one of the pictures below, it’s more reminiscent of Tuscany in Italy. Such is the varied beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

A short while later, Friday the 23rd around 11am, we pulled into Portland’s Union Station. The station was built in 1896, and it is one of the oldest continuously used Passenger Stations in the Country. While one leg of my journey was ending, another was about to begin. More next time, until then…