# Empire Builder Trip!



## TraneMan (Aug 29, 2011)

Monday August 22nd.

The over due trip was here for us! We were suppose to go in July, but had to rebook due to the flooding. When I got off work, the train was running on time.. So I head home to get my partner and head out for supper before we head to the station. After dinner and checked the status, the train became 50 minute. (this happen around Tomah WI, not sure what happen)

There were a few people there waiting for the train at Red Wing station.. There was a father and daughter who were taking a trip out Glacier Park like we were, a mother who was going out to Montana to see her son, and a Mennonite family came in later dropping their son off. He was on his way to Canada to see a woman who he has met thought his brother. There were a few other people outside waiting for the train as well, I'd say there were about 15 or so of us boarding the Amtrak's west bound Empire Builder.

The train arrived just an over hour late, We were greeting by our conductor and lead us to our sleeping car #27, and were greeted by our Sleeping Car Attendant (SCA) named Courtney. After the other passenger was boarded on to the train, he came to our roomette and gave us the run down of our room, services we have, and where the dinning car, and lounge car was located on the train. We had our exercise on our train.. Our sleeper #27 was the Portland part of the train, and we were at the far end of the 10 cars and 2 locomotive on the Empire Builder. We had 807 on, so I was not able to view out back right away.. The coolest thing was, the bedrooms was in front, and the roomette was at the end, We had sleeper #9, so I was just 3 steps out of the room to view the back!!

Off to Minneapolis we go.. The train rolling down the track pretty smoothly down the track.. We arrived in MSP and this was the long stop.. We were able to step out to stretch our legs out and I asked Courtney to go ahead and make our bed for the evening when he gets a chance. The room was very cozy for us for us but we snugged into our nicely prepared bed! I slept on the top bunk, and Eric slept on the lower.

The rocking of the train was making me sleepy but the excitement on my mind of the trip and thinking of what to do once we get there lead to not much sleep that evening out.

Tuesday August 23rd.

I was woken up by the smell of coffee in our car at 6:30 am sharp! Eric came to as well. We laid there for a bit and figured it was time to wake up. We headed to the dinning car for breakfast. We were seated with a couple who are visiting the United State from England. They were very sweet couple! It was fun talking about their country since they are from a small village and their home is around 150 years old! Not a very large size. Eric and I both ordered the French Toast and bacon along with juice/milk. You guys are right the French Toast rules! The server we had was not very upbeat, and was slow at times, but that didn't let us down. It was fun "filling" in these couple about our lives in the states and what they were looking at out in the fields. Around this time we were in the Devils Lake area, and was able to see the water this area has!

After breakfast we headed back to our sleeper car, and the SCA head our roomette changed to day mode. Headed down to the shower, and it was kinda fun taking a shower while the train is moving! Word of advise, you do NOT want to shave while the train is moving unless you got an electric razor! (No, I did not shave!)

After shower we just relaxed in our roomette watching the country go rolling on by us and do some reading. Around this time we were into Minot and saw the damages the city received from the July flooding. Wish this city for a quick and fast recovery from this flood!

Lunch came up very quick for us. We headed to the dining car for lunch, and sat with the father and daughter who we met at Red Wing train station. Eric and I both had the special, and that was beans over rice with some kind of spicy sausage, and ice cream for dessert. Server we had was upbeat, and she was a laugh at times! We were both very happy with the food.

After lunch we went back to our sleeper to relax and read.. Our SCA announced that there was a sign up sheet for the wine and cheese tasting, so I go to sign up for it. I was kinda shocked to see the sign up sheet was just back of a letter (didn't read what it was), and there was no pen, I had to ask another person if I may use a pen. I managed to get a little cat nap in as well since I didn't sleep much the night before.

Around 3pm was the "Wine and Cheese Tasting" we headed down that way. We had a plate of cheese and crackers at our table. We were seated with a couple who were on their way to Seattle. He is an attorney, she's a retired librarian. I am not much a cheese guy, so I didn't have much, but enjoyed the sampling of the wines they had to offer. At the end of the sampling, they did a trivia quiz, and if you got it right you won a bottle of wine that was served at the tasting.

The last question was "What National Holiday that is only 3 years old?" Everyone was puzzled, and one of the On Board Service "OBS" saying there's a gentleman in the rear of the dinning car has t -shirt w/ Amtrak 40th Anniversary should know… Betty came to me and I was kinda stumped on what it was.. after thinking over what was tied to Amtrak and started about 3 years ago, and it was National Train Day! I won the last bottle of wine!

After the tasting, we back to our room, just as we were leaving the dinner car host came up to us and asked what time we wanted to eat. Back to the roomette again to do a little reading and relaxing. I will have to admit, I was surprised on how much of a coverage we had on our iPhone so far on the route. I'll admit, I was on Facebook/online more than I was planning/allowing myself! 

Later, we headed to the lounge car to hang out before 7:15 came around, at this time there was "Trails and Rail" and was a full car, and lot of us were standing! He was saying the farmers in the area had a bumper crop of wheat that not been seen in the area for a very very long time! Due to the delay in the train we were not able to see the Glacier Park in day light.

Our 7:15 seating was called and off to the dining car we went. We were seated with the British couple again. For dinner I ordered the Angus Steak dinner w/ baked potatoes and veg medley, Eric had the Salmon w/ Rice and veg medley, and the steak was perfect! We had the same gal as our server for lunch. It was done as I wanted it to be, and melted in my moth! We finished dinner with cheese cake dessert. While we had dinner, I asked the British couple about like we are seeing here as saying "Happy Holiday" than "Merry Christmas" and they were kinda shocked that what it has become the "norm" for us around here in the states, and it's still the old world for them over there.

The sun has set for the evening, so we were not able to get a view of the Glacier area. Off to our room again to do some reading, and hang out till we arrive in Whitefish.

We arrived in Whitefish 2 1/2 hours late. We went into the Station, and I was looking for "Budget Car Rental" and didn't see anything.. Figured okay maybe they had another building right next to us, and nothing.. We walked down a block and nothing… I went back on the platform where a guy who's doing baggage was working, Just before I went up to this guy, there was a mother with her 3 kids looking for their checked bags and there was nothing there.. She handed him some papers and there was a paper showing "WAS". ( said to myself oh no!) The guy was very professional, and he said we'll go inside and do some phone calls. I could tell she was very upset. :-( I excused myself, and asked him where the Budget Car Rental was at? He said he was a filling in, and it's his first time here at this station, said he couldn't be much of help.

I called Budget, and the phone rep kept asking if I was at the right address, and I told her I was… My call was dropped.. I was starting to get frustrated… I called Budget again and got another Rep, he said are you sure you are right city and zip code, and I said yes I was! He said it should be inside the station, I told him no, just Hertz car rental service desk, and in the parking lot, there was Hertz signs on the fence. He said please hold and I'll call the local agent and see what's going on.. I was getting frustrated, and so was Eric.

While I was hold I was started to having flash back when I was out here last with my parents in the early '90's. _ (My parents were told they key will be under the mat for the car and they were not able to find the key anywhere in the car… I looked inside the depot, and there was a glass door for a kitchen, and saw the keys.. They keys were shoved under the door… Dad and I tried everything to fish this key, and no luck, so mom had to call the car rental place and they sent a shuttle van out to take us to the resort. The car was brought up to us the next morning)_ I figured I'd go back inside and look in to this glass door again, and this door was gone, and next to it was a lock box for Budget!!!! Oh my god I was sooo relived when I got the key, I quickly hung up on Budget, and ran out to get the car and Eric!

We got up into Big Mountain to our Cabin, and checked into our unit. We pretty much dropped the bags, and head right to bed!

Sunday August 28th.

I checked the status, and seen the train was running an hour half late. (looks like due to the Portland car left 2 hours late) I would of loved to stay in bed longer, but we had to get our car back in on time.

The Builder arrived, and we had the #810 sleeper car. We were greeted by Prince, our SCA. He helped load our bags since the area was some what full. We head to our sleeper. He came in to check on us and asked if we rode the sleeper before. I told we have, and thanked him for stopping by.. He said we can step into the dining car, the dining car was just around the corner of our roomette! The station is going under a platform upgrade, so the train had to move after the fist half was loaded.

For breakfast, I had the eggs over easy, potatoes, sausage, and biscuit w/ OJ. Eric had the spinach and artichoke quiche, as so did our table mates who traveling from SEA to CHI then drive back home to Kentucky. They all 3 said it was very good! My biscuit was some what cold as it was kept in the fridge, would of been nice if it was warmed up.

Back to our room we go again. I spent pretty much the whole time just watching the country go by us, while Eric was reading. Next thing we knew, the were calling for lunch! We waited till last call since we just had a late breakfast.

We went to lunch, and we were seated with the Kentucky couples again! We had Kathy(I think that was her name?? We had her last year, and loved her, she is a fun person to have)We both ordered the burger and chips. The burger was alright. Eric had the Tiramisu and I had the peanut butter ice cream.. Our table mate asked Eric what it was he had.. He wasn't sure, and Kathy grabbed the spoon, and took a small sample out of Eric's cup and fed the guy! We had a good laugh over this.

Back to our room to relax and again.. more reading! The diner car host stopped by our room to reserve for night's dinner, and we picked 7:15 again.

After she left I went to get a bottled water and ice. I get down there, there was no cooler for ice. I looked around, and didn't see it. Prince was helping in the dinning car, so I didn't want to go bother him. I went up the next sleeper and got some ice there. About 5:30 we went down to the lounge car to see what's going on there, and get out of roomette since we didn't sign up for the wine and cheese that day. There was not much to see for eastern Montana going into North Dakota, but was nice to get out and walk around.. We hung out there till about 7 and headed back to get ready for dinner.

We were called for our 7:15, and was seated with a lady who is an artist was traveling across country from SEA to BOS, and joined by a man who was too traveling across as well from Portland to NY(?). I had the Asian Ribs and Eric had the Ravioli. Again, the food as very good. They were pretty quiet, and didn't say much at all. Eric was bummed out that they were quiet.. I told him there are going to be a few people here and there who are going to be like this.

After dinner (now central time) I went and got our small bottle of champagne for the both of us to enjoy! Price knocked asked what time we wanted our beds ready.. We told him about 10:30. We enjoyed the champagne and chat for a bit.. around 10:30 Prince tapped on our door to see if we were ready, and we were. We stepped out to get ready for bed while makes our bed for the evening. We returned, and Prince had a small chocolate bar on our pillows.  We able to sleep a little bit better since were pretty tired!

Not sure where we were, but man talk about a rough ride! I was woken enough to know the ride was rough, but I didn't bother to wake up and look at my iPhone to see for sure where, I am guessing out of Fargo? Since then I was in and out of my sleep.

We both got out of bed between Staples, and St. Cloud and freshen up for breakfast, told Price our room was ready to be made up. We were running about 2 3/4 hours late around this time. I wanted to have the french toast again since I loved it the last time, and Eric had pancakes. I got the last order of French toast! Prince had our room ready when we returned.

We stopped at Minneapolis and was nice to step off the train after being on it for 24 hours! Walked around a bit, and poked my head in the station, talk about a full house! There was a lot of people ready to board. back on we go back to Red Wing.

We arrived in Red Wing just over 2 hours late.

I was hoping to have one of the few SCA mention here for the "Hall of Fame", but did not have them.. Both Courtney and Prince did a good job. The rooms were done when we asked them. The drinks/water was stocked (no ice on return), bathrooms were clean. On our return trip, the bathrooms had foaming cleaner, can of air freshener. Both ways had Lysol wipes in them.

The sleeper car temps were comfortable. Wasn't too cold or hot. When we walked though the coaches, a couple of them were kinda cold, so the passengers were in blankets or jackets.

The lesson for me, when I book the EB next time, I'll make sure I get the 7/27 sleeper as it's in the back.. YOu don't get the foot traffic as we did on #8.

I will try to get my video posted in a few days to share!


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## OlympianHiawatha (Aug 29, 2011)

GREAT REPORT! I have only ridden the _*Builder*_ once, PDX-CHI, and found it to be a very relaxing top shelf train.


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## jb64 (Aug 29, 2011)

Even when it is running late, the EB is a great trip. Thanks for sharing.


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## Eric308 (Aug 29, 2011)

Nice report. You can obviously tell how much you love train travel. I'm heading out to PDX from CBS on 9/21 and am very much looking forward to it. Coming back via Cascades to SEA and then east on #8 to CBS. I like breaking up the route like that.


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## TraneMan (Aug 29, 2011)

OlympianHiawatha said:


> GREAT REPORT! I have only ridden the _*Builder*_ once, PDX-CHI, and found it to be a very relaxing top shelf train.


I agree, it is relaxing.


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## TraneMan (Aug 29, 2011)

Eric308 said:


> Nice report. You can obviously tell how much you love train travel. I'm heading out to PDX from CBS on 9/21 and am very much looking forward to it. Coming back via Cascades to SEA and then east on #8 to CBS. I like breaking up the route like that.



Cool, I want to to to SEA some time... But never thought about breaking it up like you are!


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## TraneMan (Aug 29, 2011)

I forgot to add, both sleepers were updated Superliner I.

First one was #32049 Cape Hatteras, and return was #32063 Flaming Gorge.

The "music control" are gone.


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## PA Traveler (Sep 8, 2011)

Thanks for the report. It brought back memories of our trip on the EB last September, from Chicago, stopping a few days at Glacier, then on to Seattle for almost two weeks. Then we got back on in Seattle and did the return trip. That's a great trip on the EB!


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## TraneMan (Sep 9, 2011)

PA Traveler said:


> Thanks for the report. It brought back memories of our trip on the EB last September, from Chicago, stopping a few days at Glacier, then on to Seattle for almost two weeks. Then we got back on in Seattle and did the return trip. That's a great trip on the EB!


Cool. Did you run into any snow around that time?


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## PA Traveler (Sep 9, 2011)

PA Traveler said:


> Thanks for the report. It brought back memories of our trip on the EB last September, from Chicago, stopping a few days at Glacier, then on to Seattle for almost two weeks. Then we got back on in Seattle and did the return trip. That's a great trip on the EB!


No, we didn't run into any snow, but we had some rain. The day we did the Going-to-the-Sun Highway was beautiful and sunny, though! This was just about the same time as now, almost mid-September.


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## TraneMan (Nov 16, 2011)

At last I was able to sit down and edit the video.

Here is the



Now just need to upload the return trip.


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## jb64 (Nov 16, 2011)

very nice. I was on the westbound EB one month earlier and it was nice remembering that trip. Thanks for sharing.


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## PA Traveler (Nov 16, 2011)

Thanks for sharing that. It brought back memories, both of the EB trip last year and, with all the flooding, the CZ this year.


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## GG-1 (Nov 16, 2011)

Nice Work Peter

Aloha


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## TraneMan (Nov 16, 2011)

And here is the

 home!
After doing these video... Sure makes me train sick! LOL


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## GG-1 (Nov 16, 2011)

TraneMan said:


> And here is the


Aloha

Again very nice. Would you be wiling to describe your editing process in the photography forum?

Mahalo


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## TraneMan (Nov 16, 2011)

GG-1 said:


> And here is the




Guess I could? Not sure what to say.. I use iMovie on our MacBook Pro.. Apple does a great job for their movie edit program, and very easy to use.


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