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Empire Builder
Westbound Empire Builder running through Wisconsin.
Overview
Type	Inter-city rail
System	Amtrak
Termini	Chicago - Portland, Oregon/Seattle, Washington
Ridership	515,444 (2009 total)[1]
Train number(s)	7 (Chicago-Seattle) 8 (Seattle-Chicago) 27 (Spokane-Portland) 28 (Portland-Spokane) 807 (Chicago-St. Paul) 808 (St. Paul-Chicago)
Operation
Opened	June 11, 1929
Owner	BNSF Railway (Seattle - Minneapolis) Minnesota Commercial Railway (Minneapolis - St. Paul) Canadian Pacific (St. Paul - Glenview) Metra (Glenview - Chicago) (track)
Operator(s)	Great Northern Railway (1929–1970) Burlington Northern Railway (1970–1971) Amtrak (1971–present)
Technical
Line length	2,206 miles (3,550 km) (Chicago - Seattle) 2,257 miles (3,632 km) (Chicago - Portland)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Operating speed	79 mph (127 km/h) max 50 mph (80 km/h) average
Route map Legend Distance Station 0 Chicago 18 mi (29 km) Glenview 1 Illinois/Wisconsin border 86 mi (138 km) Milwaukee 1 150 mi (241 km) Columbus 178 mi (286 km) Portage 195 mi (314 km) Wisconsin Dells 240 mi (386 km) Tomah 281 mi (452 km) La Crosse Wisconsin/Minnesota border 308 mi (496 km) Winona 371 mi (597 km) Red Wing 417 mi (671 km) St. Paul-Minneapolis 482 mi (776 km) St. Cloud 548 mi (882 km) Staples 610 mi (982 km) Detroit Lakes Minnesota/North Dakota border 658 mi (1,059 km) Fargo 732 mi (1,178 km) Grand Forks 817 mi (1,315 km) Devils Lake 874 mi (1,407 km) Rugby 935 mi (1,505 km) Minot 989 mi (1,592 km) Stanley 1,055 mi (1,698 km) Williston North Dakota/Montana border 1,162 mi (1,870 km) Wolf Point 1,211 mi (1,949 km) Glasgow 1,277 mi (2,055 km) Malta 1,366 mi (2,198 km) Havre 1,471 mi (2,367 km) Shelby 1,495 mi (2,406 km) Cut Bank 1,528 mi (2,459 km) Browning (winter) 1,542 mi (2,482 km) East Glacier Park (summer) 1,573 mi (2,531 km) Essex (flag stop) 1,599 mi (2,573 km) West Glacier 1,620 mi (2,607 km) Whitefish 1,723 mi (2,773 km) Libby Montana/Idaho border 1,807 mi (2,908 km) Sandpoint Idaho/Washington border 1,877 mi (3,021 km) Spokane 1,996 mi (3,212 km) Ephrata 2,025 mi (3,259 km) Pasco 2,050 mi (3,299 km) Wenatchee 2,072 mi (3,335 km) Leavenworth 2,151 mi (3,462 km) Wishram 2,173 mi (3,497 km) Everett 2,182 mi (3,512 km) Bingen-White Salmon 2,188 mi (3,521 km) Edmonds 2,206 mi (3,550 km) Seattle 2,247 mi (3,616 km) Vancouver Washington/Oregon border 2,257 mi (3,632 km) Portland

The Empire Builder is a passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Midwest and Northwest. It is Amtrak's busiest long-distance route and busiest daily train, carrying more than 500,000 travelers annually since 2007. Overall, it is the railroad's 10th-busiest line.^[1] Before Amtrak, the Empire Builder was the flagship train of the Great Northern Railway. The current route runs from Chicago, Illinois to the Pacific Northwest. The line splits in Spokane, Washington, terminating at Seattle, Washington's King Street Station (2,206 miles, or 3,550 km from Chicago) in the north and Portland, Oregon's Union Station (2,257 miles, or 3,632 km from Chicago) in the south.

The train passes through the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Layovers (train service stops) are made in Saint Paul, Minot, Havre, and Spokane. Other major stops on the route are Milwaukee; Fargo; Whitefish, Montana; and Vancouver, Washington. Host railways include BNSF Railway's northern route from Seattle to Minneapolis, Minnesota Commercial from Minneapolis to St. Paul, Canadian Pacific from St. Paul to Glenview, and Metra from Glenview to Chicago.

One train passes in each direction daily. The schedule is timed so the train will pass through the scenic Rocky Mountains (especially Glacier National Park) during daylight, but this is more likely in summer and on eastbound trains. It normally takes 45 to 46 hours to travel the entire route, barring delays. This averages 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) including stops.

Route description

The modern westbound (Amtrak) Empire Builder departs Chicago's Union Station in early afternoon, and travels north to Milwaukee. After leaving Milwaukee, it passes through the rural landscape of Wisconsin, crossing the Upper Mississippi River at La Crosse. The train travels through southeast Minnesota, crosses the Mississippi again at Hastings and stops at Midway Station in Saint Paul. After Saint Paul, the land changes from forest to prairie, becoming less populous and relatively barren. Westbound passengers will see only the occasional mercury-vapor light of farmsteads in the distance at night. As the Empire Builder passes through North Dakota, near-ghost towns can be seen. Eventually, the train gets past the prairies of North Dakota and eastern Montana with three short stops near Glacier National Park (East Glacier Park [summer only] or Browning [winter only], Essex, and West Glacier Park) followed by a longer stop in Whitefish, Montana (not too far from Glacier National Park). Depending on time of year and weather, mountain vistas can be seen from the train as it skirts the southern edge of the park. As darkness descends again, the train continues through the mountains, including northern Idaho and eastern Washington. In Spokane, the train splits, with the last four cars (Sightseer lounge, two Portland coaches, and the Portland sleeper) going down the Columbia River valley to Portland, Oregon and the other cars through the Cascades Range to Seattle.

Like all Amtrak long-distance trains, smoking is prohibited. Many smoke breaks are scheduled, however. Some are 5-minute pauses at a platform, but the train stops for longer at Minneapolis/St.Paul, Minot, Havre, Whitefish, and Spokane. Longer breaks are typically 20 minutes, so finding food or drink off the Empire Builder is difficult, apart from vending machines within the depots at these locations. Snacks and beverages are available aboard throughout the day from the Cafe on the bottom level of the sightseer Lounge car. Sit-down meals are available in the dining car during meal times.

During the summer months, on selected portions of the route, official "Trails and Rails" volunteers in the Sightseer Lounge car provide commentary about the history and sights of those portions. This commentary can only be heard in the Sightseer Lounge car.^[2]

On August 21, 2005, the train was "relaunched" by Amtrak with upgraded service.^[3] This included features not seen on other long-distance Amtrak trains: on the second day in mid-afternoon there is a wine and cheese tasting in the dining car for sleeping-car passengers. This includes not only information about the wines served but some questions; correct answers win passengers bottles of wine to take with them.

History

The original Empire Builder was inaugurated by the Great Northern on June 11, 1929, and displaced the Oriental Limited as the railroad's premier train. The new train was named in honor of railroad tycoon James J. Hill, who reorganized several failing railroads into the Great Northern Railway and extended the line to the Pacific Northwest in the late 19th century (Hill's nickname was "The Empire Builder"). The service was altered to carry additional passengers during World War II. After the war, new streamlined, diesel-powered trains were placed into service. This postwar service began on February 23, 1947. The train was fully re-equipped again in 1951.^{[citation needed]}

The schedule of the route was optimized to allow riders views of the passing Cascade Mountains and the Rocky Mountain landscapes of Glacier National Park, a park that was established through the decisive lobbying efforts of the Great Northern. After it was re-equipped in the 1950s passengers viewed the route through its three dome coaches and one full-length "Great Dome" car for first class passengers.

There were two significant train wrecks involving the Empire Builder in the Great Northern era. In 1931, an eastbound train near Moorhead, Minnesota traveling at nearly 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) was struck by a tornado which derailed the train and flung one of the 83-ton coaches 80 feet (24 m) through the air, resulting in one death and 57 injuries.^[4] In 1945, the Builder was operating in two sections (two trains immediately following each other) due to heavy wartime traffic. The second section plowed into the stalled observation car of the first in Michigan, North Dakota, killing 34.^[5]

Since its inception service has run from Chicago to Spokane, and split into Seattle and Portland sections (except during the Amtrak era between 1971 and 1981, when there was no Portland section). Prior to 1971, the Chicago to St. Paul leg of the train's route was operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad via its mainline along the Mississippi River through Wisconsin. The service also used to operate directly westward from the Twin Cities before turning north in Willmar, Minnesota to reach Fargo. The Spokane-Portland section of the train was historically operated by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway.^[6]

After 1971 Amtrak assumed operation of the train and shifted the Chicago to St. Paul leg to the Milwaukee Road mainline route through Milwaukee along the route formerly used by the Hiawatha trains to the Twin Cities and Pacific Northwest.

In fiscal year 2007, the Empire Builder carried over a half million passengers, maintaining its status as the most popular long-distance train in Amtrak's national system. In fiscal 2008, ridership grew by 9.8% to 554,266, although that year was marked by especially high fuel prices, and the number of passengers declined by 7% to 515,444 in 2009. It generated over $54 million in revenue that year, trailing only the Acela Express, Northeast Regional, and Auto Train. In 2007 and 2008, it ranked third.^[1] About 65% of the cost of operating the train is covered by fare revenue, a rate among Amtrak's long-distance trains second only to the specialized East Coast Auto Train.^[7]

Former stops

Amtrak's Empire Builder served Troy, Montana until February 15, 1973. On October 1, 1979 Amtrak moved the Empire Builder to operate over the North Coast Hiawatha's old route between Minneapolis and Fargo, North Dakota. With this alignment change the Empire Builder dropped Willmar, Minnesota, Morris, Minnesota and Breckenridge, Minnesota while adding St. Cloud, Minnesota, Staples, Minnesota and Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Another alignment change came on October 25, 1981, when the Seattle section moved from the old Milwaukee Road to the Burlington Northern Railroad's Stevens Pass route (including the Cascade Tunnel). This change eliminated service to Yakima, Washington, Ellensburg, Washington and Auburn, Washington.^[8]

It is proposed that the Empire Builder, along with the Hiawatha Service would shift one stop north to North Glenview in Glenview, Illinois. This move would eliminate lengthy stops which block traffic on Glenview Road. This move would involve reconstruction of the North Glenview station to handle the additional traffic, and depends on commitments from Glenview, the Illinois General Assembly and Metra.^[9] In Minnesota, the Builder is expected to return to Saint Paul Union Depot in 2012, 41 years after it last served the station the day before the formation of Amtrak.^[10]

Historical equipment used

A 1929 consist:^{[citation needed]}

• S-1 or S-2 class 4-8-4 steam locomotive

In 1947, each train consisted of:

• A-A Set of EMD E-7 diesel units

The eastbound consist on July 4, 1963:^[11]

• A-B-B-A Set of EMD F-7 diesel units

Car ownership on this train was by-and-large split between the Great Northern and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), though a couple of cars in the original consists were owned by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway (SP&S). In this consist, one of the 48-seat "chair" cars and one of the 4-section sleepers were used for the connection to Portland, while the rest of the consist connected to Seattle.

Additional information on cars used

The Great Northern coaches eventually found their way into state-subsidized commuter service for the Central Railroad of New Jersey after the Burlington Northern merger and remained until 1987 when NJ Transit retired its last E8A locomotive. Some of these cars remain in New Jersey. Some coaches were acquired from the Union Pacific; these also went to New Jersey. One of the 28 seat coach-dinette cars also remains in New Jersey and is stored near Interstate 78 wearing tattered Amtrak colors.

Current equipment used

The present-day Empire Builder uses Amtrak's double-deck Superliner equipment. The Empire Builder was the first train to receive this equipment in 1979. In Summer, 2005 the train was "re-launched" with newly-refurbished equipment. A typical 2005 train would consist of (destination noted after the Spokane split):

• Two GE P42 "Genesis" Locomotives

Out of two engines, one of the P42's takes the first 7 coaches to Seattle. The other P42 engine takes the next four cars to Portland. A twelfth car often runs on the train as far west as St. Paul, and is left at Midway Station for the next day's return trip to pick up. This adds capacity during especially busy times in the year.

Gallery

The Empire Builder rolls through Western Montana	Typical Snack Bar configuration on Amtrak long-distance trains.	Amtrak's Empire Builder along the Chicago River in Chicago	"Drumhead" logos like this trio often adorned the ends of observation cars on the Empire Builder.
Second No. 2, the Empire Builder glides through Summit, Montana on August 5, 1938.	GN's Empire Builder at Winona Junction, Wisconsin, in June, 1958. The cars bear the Omaha Orange, Pullman Green, and gold stripe Empire Builder livery that was standard on GN passenger trains for 20 years.	Empire Builder in Havre, Montana in 1967, shortly after GN modernized its color scheme and logo, with "Big Sky Blue". The blue, gray and white paint replaced the traditional EB livery.	Great Northern 4-8-4 "Northern" class steam locomotive on display at Havre, Montana, as westbound Empire Builder is about to depart.

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34705-X. 
• Wayner, Robert J., ed. (1972), Car Names, Numbers and Consists, Wayner Publications, New York, NY
• Yenne, Bill (2005). Great Northern Empire Builder (Great Passenger Trains). Motorbooks International (MBI). ISBN 0-7603-1847-6. 

External links

• Amtrak — Empire Builder
  • Empire Builder Timetable
• Empire Builder 75th Anniversary page
• Brochures and History of GN's Empire Builder
• Information and photos of GN's Empire Builder equipment

From Wikitravel

This article is an itinerary.

The Empire Builder [1] is a daily long-distance Amtrak train connecting downtown Chicago to either Seattle or Portland, Oregon. The journey takes about 46 hours, longer if delays occur along the route. Equipment used is common to most Amtrak long-distance routes, with two-level Superliner passengers cars, sleeper cars, dining car, an observation/snack bar car, and possibly several baggage/expedited cargo cars.

Route Overview

The Empire Builder begins its westbound journey at Chicago's Union Station [2]. Passengers see the Chicago River and central Chicago as the train eases out of the station. The train heads north through the Chicago suburbs to Milwaukee before heading northwest through the pleasant countryside of central Wisconsin. Crossing the Mississippi River a couple of times, the train arrives at the Twin Cities station around 10:30 PM.

As the passengers sleep, the train carries them across Minnesota, and well into North Dakota before sunrise. The route parallels, US highway 2 much of this stretch. Sights include the high prairie, once-prosperous farming towns (now almost vanished). Wildlife, especially birds, deer and coyote are often seen.

Around noon, the Empire Builder crosses into Montana. As you enter Montana, at the left of the train, you can see the large flag and reconstructed fur trading post of the Fort Union National Monument. The train loosely follows the Missouri River (and the Lewis and Clark Trail) for about 130 miles between Williston ND and Wolf Point MT. This strech passes through the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, one of several Indian reservations on the route.

The scenery remains rolling high plains for several more hours. In the late afternoon/early evening (depending on the season traveled in) the train arrives at Glacier National Park. In summer, the mountain vistas are beautiful—however, the light will fade quickly in winter, giving only a glimpse of the Rocky Mountains.

The train traverses the mountains through the second night, traveling down the Cascade Mountains and Skykomish River valley to the Puget Sound. After an hour or so following the waterfront, the Empire Builder arrives in Seattle (approx. 10:20 AM, typically).

Passengers bound for Portland, Oregon have their rail cars diverted at Spokane, WA in the middle of the second night. By the time it gets light in the morning you are well out of the mountains and are traveling down the north side of the Columbia River to Portland. This is actually one of the most scenic parts of the trip. You see log rafts, wind surfers, dams, sagebrush. The last part of the journey is through the spectacular Columbia River Gorge.

Empire Builder passengers traveling eastbound from Seattle/Portland see much more of the Glacier Park area and less of the plains. Thus, if you are only traveling in one direction, east-bound is preferable.

The total running length of this route is 2200 miles.

Stations

From east to west:

• Chicago, Illinois
• Glenview, Illinois
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Columbus, Wisconsin
• Portage, Wisconsin
• Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
• Tomah, Wisconsin
• La Crosse, Wisconsin
• Winona, Minnesota
• Red Wing, Minnesota
• Saint Paul - Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Saint Cloud, Minnesota
• Staples, Minnesota
• Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
• Fargo, North Dakota
• Grand Forks, North Dakota
• Devils Lake, North Dakota
• Rugby, North Dakota
• Minot, North Dakota
• Stanley, North Dakota
• Williston, North Dakota
• Wolf Point, Montana
• Glasgow, Montana
• Malta, Montana
• Havre, Montana
• Shelby, Montana
• Cut Bank, Montana
• Browning, Montana
• Glacier National Park (East Station), Montana
• Essex, Montana
• Glacier National Park (West Station), Montana
• Whitefish, Montana
• Libby, Montana
• Sandpoint, Idaho
• Spokane, Washington

• Pasco, Washington
• Wishram, Washington
• Bingen, Washington
• Vancouver, Washington
• Portland, Oregon

• Ephrata, Washington
• Wenatchee, Washington
• Everett, Washington
• Edmonds, Washington
• Seattle, Washington