# The Empire Builder



## Longford (May 31, 2009)

My interest in traveling cross-country on one of the classic routes operated by Amtrak to the western United States heightened in 2008 and I first became aware of this Amtrak Unlimited website during my research. Scheduling conflicts and the then (at the time of the year I decided I wanted to travel) the high cost of traveling long-distance alone in the sleeping car caused me to postpone a rail trip until 2009. What I learned from this website and the persons who contribute to it and by demonstrating their dedication to rail travel were principal contributing factors to my recently completed enjoyable trip on the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle.

 

Why I chose the Empire Builder over other routes isn’t easy to explain; I don’t really know. The decision was probably influenced by comments and trip reports I’ve read on this website. My thinking about each of the possible destinations/routes was neutral and I had no preference. I booked the May 22 - 24, 2009 trip via the internet, in early-January, 2009. In addition to the $150 Coach fare everyone pays I was able to secure a roomette for an additional $216. I thought the roomette fare was particularly reasonable, compared to the $400+ surcharge being asked mid-year, 2008. My total fare was $366. Booking early has its rewards. Train #7, Sleeping Car 0730, Roomette #6.

 

During the intervening period between the trip reservation and my departure date I did as much research as one can reasonably accomplish. There came the point I probably couldn’t learn more – a point of declining rewards the more I researched.

 

Since I would be traveling principally to ride the Empire Builder, after which I would spend just one night in Seattle before returning to Chicago by air – I intended to pack light for the trip; I used a carry-on suitcase similar to what we use when traveling by air and don’t want to check luggage. The suitcase would fit well in my roomette. I’m an amateur photographer so I would bring along two cameras in a separate small book bag to hang over my shoulder – inside which, also, would be my laptop computer. I included several movie DVDs in the plan, in case I became bored (on the train, or on the return flight home). A special purchase for the trip was Microsoft’s Streets & Trips software, the version with the GPS locator. I wanted to have the ability to follow the train’s progress and have a heads-up on approaching sights of interest. At one point I’d convinced myself to purchase a hand-held radio scanner with which I could follow train communications, but I nixed that purchase when I realized I’d have little use for the scanner once the trip was over.

 

*Departure Day:*

 

Since the train was scheduled to depart Chicago at 2:15 pm I went into the office to work. At 1 pm I left the office and arrived at Union Station by taxi – a 10-minute ride. Union Station is a beehive of activity, even without the Amtrak departures. It’s probable that 50,000 or more commuter rail passengers pass through the station weekdays – twice daily going to/coming from work. I waited to acquire my ticket until an hour prior to my departure and a woman working at the Amtrak information counter directed me to the ticket kiosk. I placed my email ticket confirmation under the scanner and without a delay the ticket was issues.

 

The woman at the information counter also directed me to the Metropolitan Lounge, where I checked-in with an Amtrak employee manning a reception desk/counter, who directed me to the seating area and made me aware of the complimentary soft drinks/water and snacks. I was impressed by the cordiality of the counter clerk – and by the time I boarded the train by all of the Amtrak employees I’d encountered.

 

Passengers for two or three trains were occupying the Metropolitan Lounge and it was a busy place.

 

There was a pre-boarding call for Empire Builder Sleeping Car passengers and all of us lined-up. The Amtrak agent – the “Conductor” I believe - checked our tickets against the passenger manifest and took a portion of the ticket. Shortly thereafter we were asked to line-up at an exit door and we were led toward the train, which was parked close-by.

 

I quickly acquainted myself with the roomette, which I found easy to do because of what I’d learned from the AU website. I unpacked my gear of cameras, plugged-in and turned-on my laptop computer and affixed the GPS locator to the roomette window with the help of the attached suction cup.

 

Before the train pulled-out of Union Station at 2:17 pm the attendant for my Sleeping Car – Cheryl - walked through the car introducing herself and explaining things about the car, where the bathrooms were, how to use the shower, Dining Room protocol, etc. I would learn later into the journey that Cheryl was a 29-year employee of Amrak and that she, and most of the crew (sleeping car attendants, waiters/kitchen staff), were Seattle-based. 

 

Streets & Trips told me (thanks to the GPS locator) the train had quickly reached a speed of 80 mph. I hadn’t thought about the train speed before that point and I was surprised we were going that fast – it didn’t seem so as I watched the world pass by through the window. About the window in the roomette: I understand why the window is split in two – to provide for an emergency exit from the roomette – but the metal frame did interfere – or take away from – the viewing enjoyment. I quickly got accustomed to it, though.

 

45-minutes after we left Chicago – about 3 pm – someone from the Dining Car came around to take dinner reservations for that first night’s meal. I selected the 5:15 pm seating. I thought the reservation slip – reminder – the staff hands to passengers is a nice, professional touch. 

As we were pulling-into the Milwaukee station at 3:45 pm, Cheryl passed-out small bottles of champagne. I thought that was a nice touch. I envisioned the movie bon voyage scenes I’ve watched so many times in old movies. Since we’d just stopped at the station I detrained and waited to open the champagne once we were underway again. Though we were in Milwaukee just 10 minutes and we were asked to stay train-side, I didn’t have the opportunity to see the station beyond track-side – but I wasn’t impressed with what I saw.

 

Once underway and with my champagne opened Cheryl reappeared to explain she’d provide the last turn-down of the night at 10 pm and that we should plan accordingly. She then instructed how to use the call button.

 

As we passed-through Oconomowoc, WI the woman in charge of the Dining Car – the non-kitchen areas – announced over the PA system the protocol for the Dining Car: reservations-only, no waiting area is provided so don’t show up until your reservation time is announced – and that may be later than previously indicated because of slowpokes ahead of us, the dining room was a common area and none of us should be picky about where we sit or with whom, and that travelers cheques, credit cards and cash is accepted.

 

I was seated at 5:15 pm with a family of three from DeKalb, IL: the wife was a university teacher, the husband a real estate agent and the daughter a junior at the same university where her Mom taught. We had some great fun during dinner and these folks and I had fun together at hop on/off stops along the way – even though we didn’t share the dinner table again during the rest of the trip.

 

Dinner for me was a small dinner salad, the ½ herb roasted chicken with baked potato and a medley of vegetables, accompanied by a small bottle of wine. Though not spectacular the chicken was okay/good – better than I’d anticipated it would be. I selected Key Lime Crumble for dessert. I like just about anything with Key Lime flavor to it and this was good. Haagen-Dazs vanilla and chocolate ice cream was available as well, and was a very popular selection for many other passengers – throughout the trip.

 

For two of my meals the waiter was Kevin – a character who was a pro at dealing with people in that particular environment. I thought the Dining Car was in need of a good cleaning – you could see soiled ceiling and walls. Soot-like stains were on the carpeted ceiling/wall sections closest to the HVAC vent.

 

Back in the roomette and looking out the window at the passing scenes I was pleasantly greeted by Cheryl who passed-out seemingly fresh-baked, warm oatmeal-raisin cookies as we passed-through LaCrosse, WI. The cookies tasted good and were ever-present throughout the trip. After LaCrosse we followed the Mississippi River for a while as barges moved back and forth and Great River Bluffs State Park appeared as if a painted backdrop.

 

Winona, MN was our first “smoking break” and refueling stop. I took advantage of the opportunity to get off the train and take some photos there. After Winona the Sun was setting and it was a long, slow sunset. The Dining Car closed at 9:10 p.m. and would be open for breakfast – first come/first served – from 6:30 am to 9/9:30 am, but food would be available on the lower-level of the Observation Car until about 11 p.m. 

 

We arrived at St. Paul-Minneapolis early (10:05 pm), which meant we’d have a longer than anticipated stop there (departure scheduled for 11:14 pm). I hadn’t thought before MSP that the train would maintain a set timetable at certain points along the journey. Though it was dark when we arrived, I had the least favorable (of the entire journey) of the train station in MSP. So many passengers milling about were commenting how isolated and away from everything the station appeared to be. Certainly there must be something better in that area, from years past. But, I know . . . the tracks being used dictate which station is used. What a disappointment.

 

A highlight of the stop in MSP, however, were the 4 or 5 vintage rail cars parked on a siding. It wasn’t easy to get a good photo of these cars, because of the darkness, but I snapped a few which give the general idea of what was there.

 

At Minneapolis Cheryl turned-down my bed and when the train was underway again I hit the sack at 11:30 pm. 

 

*Day Two:*

 

I slept well overnight and was up in the morning at 6:30 am, though it did get cold at one point and I was glad I’d asked Cheryl for an extra blanket when she asked if I wanted one. I was quickly off to Breakfast, sharing the table with a grandfather/grandson who occupied the roomette across from mine and another gentleman I learned nothing about and whom I don’t recall seeing again during the trip. North Dakota was the passing scenery and I’d slept through an overnight stop.

 

My breakfast was scrambled eggs, hash brown potatoes, sausage patties, a croissant, glass of orange juice and a Diet Pepsi. Each of these items seemed to be of good quality and the meal certainly hit the spot as we stopped at Devils Lake, ND (we were running about 50 minutes late at that point). The Dining Car was about ¾ full. 

 

When I returned to the roomette from Breakfast Cheryl had already converted the bed into seats once again. Noticeably, there was a lot of standing water along the tracks. My roomette window faced the north at this point – on the right side of the train as we moved forward – and I assumed the abundant standing water was probably left-over from earlier flooding in the region. Train speed was reduced through the watered area to about 60 mph and to about 25 mph when we crossed small bridges. The countryside was populated with various forms of wildlife, some of which sprinted away from the tracks as we passed.

 

Sitting in my roomette, I was enjoying watching the scene outside the train when the quietness was frequently interrupted by the Dining Car coordinator making her announcements, and added to them the frequent announcements of the lounge car woman soliciting customers. I felt like I was at the airport with all of the announcements and it became annoying. Why can’t they block those announcements from the sleeping cars?

 

We pulled-into Minot, ND about 20-minutes late and a scheduled 30-minute stop turned into one of about 10-minues less than that. This was my first off-the-train venture of the day (since MSP the night before) and though it’s easy enough to stretch one’s legs onboard the train, walking about the Minot station was a good feel.

 

AS we pulled-out of Minot the Dining Car coordinator was on the PA system again announcing the train was running at peak-season levels and she reminded passengers about reservations, etc. 

 

As we moved across country and I considered my view through the window and the towns we passed through, which were so well identified on my Street & Trips map (with the aid of the GPS locator) I wondered why most of the towns seemed to have been developed on the south side of the tracks. It’s a question/observation I hope others more knowledgeable than I can answer for me. If I made this Chicago to Seattle trip again I’d work hard to book a roomette on that south – left – side of the rail car.

 

We’d made up a lot of time and pulled-into Williston, ND only several minutes off-schedule and this became a 10-minute stop for us. As the train pulled-away from the station Cheryl’s voice came over the PA urging the Conductor to stop the train . . . because, she said, a passenger had missed the train and was running alongside. Luckily for the errant passenger who’d ignored the instructions to stick to the train-side at the stop, the Conductor was able to have the train stopped while one car was still on the platform – and the tardy passenger reboarded. Cheryl again reminded passengers in our car to pay attention to instructions – or suffer the consequences.

 

After Williston Cheryl reminded us to turn-back our watches an hour to compensate for the time-change. At that point I headed for the shower. Though compact in size, I had no difficulty using the shower and hot water was abundant. Bath towels were abundant, as well – maybe a stack of a dozen clean ones in a bag. The roomettes were stocked with hand towels and wash cloths.

 

I noticed at Frazier, MT that the tracks were running parallel to the “Old West” and “Lewis & Clark” trails and that positioning continued for a long distance.

 

My lunch reservation was for 12:50 pm and I must have missed announcement of it, but I don’t think an announcement was made. At 1:15 I wandered into the Dining Car as things were winding-down, the staff was eating, and everyone seemed surprised I was there. I explained I’d missed the announcement and I was seated without difficulty at one end of the car where several tables were finishing their meals. I chose the Angus Burger (cheeseburger, actually) with chips (minus the hamburger bun I asked to be left off) and a bottle of Samuel Adams beer for lunch. The burger was okay, a little funny/different tasting I thought. One of the other diners didn’t want their salad and the waiter asked me if I’d like it, and I accepted and ate it willingly.

 

As I sat in my roomette with the door open after lunch I observed several people walking into the wrong room in the room car – my car. This confusion continued on and off. There were some “odd” people on the train, but, thankfully, they didn’t seem to be occupants of my sleeping car.

 

We rolled-into Havre late and the stop wasn’t much more than 5 minutes. This was scheduled as a refueling/smoking stop – but that wasn’t to be. Other, experienced passengers wondered aloud if our later than expected arrival in Havre put us into a “track clearance” conflict with a freight train. There was just enough time to snap several photos of the historic locomotive on display at the station – just enough. Once back on board the train Cheryl stopped around to say there would be an extended, longer than typical stop at the next station – Shelby, MT. And we did have a 20-minute or so stopover at Shelby.

 

Between Havre and Shelby there was a Wisconsin cheese and Washington St. wine tasting event in the Dining Car, for which we made an advance reservation. Four wines and several cheeses were made available. I shared a table with a husband/wife from Suburban Chicago and a retired railroader’s wife who boarded the train in Williston with her sister.

 

Sitting again in my roomette all quiet now – no unexpected announcements – I listened to the Empire Builder call-out to all who would listen – announcing her existence/coming as we moved along. What a beautiful sound it was. Fast-moving steel proudly beating its chest for all to see/hear.

 

Dinner was at 5:30 pm this night and after Shelby I was back at the dining table. I was beginning to feel like a stuffed pig – all this food, cookies, cheese, wine, etc. My choice was the dinner salad, flat iron steak, baked potato, medley of vegetables, bread rolls and a bottle of good wine I purchased during the Wine & Cheese tasting event. Oh, dessert, once again, was the Key Lime Crumble described during the report for the first night’s dinner out of Chicago. Dinner companions were a husband/wife couple from Bucks County, PA . . . he was a community college English professor; the other man turned-out to be a well-known rancher of 2,500+ acres who produces a special kind of wheat and other crops (after the trip I checked on his impressive background). Dinner conversation was intelligent and engaging, and a highlight of the trip. We finished dinner quickly as the train entered the Glacier National Park area – a sight we each wanted to see from our own particular vantage points. The scenery as we left the rail-side Indian reservation was stunning – snow-capped mountains all around.

 

We stopped at East Glacier Park, MT for 5-minutes and Cheryl let us get out of the car to take some photos. It was a short hop-off but the opportunity was appreciated. When I thanked Cheryl she replied that she knew why we’d chosen the Empire Builder – and that she was more than happy to oblige. 

 

The stop at Whitefish, MT was 20-minutes, and the station there is probably the best and most impressive between Chicago and Seattle. We all had time to explore the station-area, though we were urged not to walk the short distance to the center of the business district. Many people wanting to visit Glacier National Park detrain at Whitefish because there is a wider variety of lodging and other services there. This is an area I'd probably enjoy visiting as a destination in the future. There’s an old Great Northern locomotive almost adjacent to the track we pulled-in on and I (and other passengers) took some photos of it. Whitefish appeared to have been a principal center of sorts for Great Northern.

 

I was off to sleep at 11 pm.

 

*Day Three:*

 

I slept well, and through the extended stop at Spokane – and was up at 6:30 am looking out at forest land in Washington State. What a sight to wake-up to. Spectacular. I was so full from eating the prior day I didn’t even go to breakfast . . . because, principally, I planned to have a great dinner in Seattle later in the day.

 

The final stops of the journey were Everett and Edmonds and the scenery along Puget Sound on my side of the train was a good preparation for our Seattle arrival. “Officially” we arrived in Seattle early, but, actually, I think we arrived almost exactly according to the schedule, on-time.

 

This was a great first cross-country trip for me. There’s not one thing I’d have changed. I expect to make future such trips. Thanks to all of you who make AU a special place.

 

==============

 

I’ve uploaded about 125 photos from the trip to an online album which you can view when you click on link which follows. Some additional tweaking will be done to the photos/album, but it’s about complete: http://tinyurl.com/kpcmod

 

My one-day stay in Seattle was largely occupied with a visit to Pike Place Market, and I’ve uploaded photos taken there to another online album you can view when you click on this link: http://tinyurl.com/kmrbdn

 

And my spectacular dinner at Ray’s Boathouse is described in my review which you can read when you click on this one, last link: http://tinyurl.com/nrmfxt


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## cpamtfan (May 31, 2009)

Nice trip report and photos. I'll keep telling my mom the EB is the best deal for a trip out west  .

cpamtfan-Peter


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## had8ley (May 31, 2009)

Great trip report. Only one comment about the PA system~ if there is an emergency you'll be glad it works!


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## JayPea (May 31, 2009)

Great report. As part of the Slidell Loophole trip, my uncle and I are taking the Empire Builder from Chicago to Portland in August. I'm greatly looking foward to it and your report helps make me look forward to it even more!


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## D T Nelson (May 31, 2009)

Thank you for the fine trip report. I have already forwarded it to a friend who has never taken a long-distance Amtrak trip but is thinking about it.



Longford said:


> And my spectacular dinner at Ray’s Boathouse is described in my review which you can read when you click on this one, last link: http://tinyurl.com/nrmfxt


If a little bit of walking is not a problem, next time, take the number 17 bus instead of a cab. It'll pick you up a block from the Westin and drop you about a half-mile from Ray's for $1.75 (or $2.00 at rush hour). If walking is a problem, in the daytime you can transfer in "downtown Ballard" to the 46 which will take you right to Ray's.


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## Rail Freak (May 31, 2009)

had8ley said:


> Great trip report. Only one comment about the PA system~ if there is an emergency you'll be glad it works!



Isn't there a channels knob that is supposed to work so you have your choice of what annoys you? <_<

I believe, on my only EB trip, there was the knob but, it did'nt work  :lol: !!!!


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## PetalumaLoco (May 31, 2009)

Rail Freak said:


> had8ley said:
> 
> 
> > Great trip report. Only one comment about the PA system~ if there is an emergency you'll be glad it works!
> ...


Right, that's the annoying part.


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## jayt (May 31, 2009)

Thanks for the outstanding trip report. I was just on this train three weeks ago, and your report made it seem just like yesterday. Also, your pictures were beautiful and quite enjoyable to look at. You did a great job. Very much looking forward to your next LD train trip and its narrative and pictures.


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