# My recent Empire Builder trip: VAN-MSP r/t -- Part I



## GoldenSpike (May 23, 2009)

My excuses, as if I needed one for making a trip were piling up for my April 29 09 trip VAN-MSP and back: 3X points going E/B, 4X W/B; a cribbage tournament in WI, and afterward a drive north of MSP where a sister lives. My bro-in-law and nephew are dye in the wool RR fans (Train magazine, commercial videos, etc..). Years ago, my nephew worked a season at the Issac Walton Inn @ Essex, MT when they were starting to put cabooses up on the hillside in the woods across the tracks to turn into some very nice digs. While he was there, he lucked out and got a cab ride on a freight from there to the E. Glacier depot. Natch, wife and I spent a fews days there for X-country skiing and only spent $10 a night at the Inn because of him being employed there. The chef made an outstanding cajun veggie beef soup which was fitting for the cold. The lounge downstairs has a RR theme along with a rail as a foot rest at the bar......a good place to over indulge and get 'derailed'....but I digress.

This is my station of choice for travel - VANCOUVER, WA

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3339/355527...89ce7b5.jpg?v=0

*Columbia River bridge facing south. PDX station about 10 miles away.*

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*Best part of using this station it serves all directions, ample long-term parking, 5 minutes off I-5 --- why hassle with PDX traffic and lack of parking only for the train to come back this way and likewise for S/B trips on the CS or Cascades.*

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*This is the SEA-PDX mainline for the Coast Starlight and Cascades.*

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*The Empire Builder stops on the other side of the station to the left.*

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http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2018/355527...a1ab333.jpg?v=0

*S/B freight coming from Spokane. The Empire Builder stops on that side of the depot. *

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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3413/355446...e752bb4.jpg?v=0

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*Open bridge allowing ships to pass. To the right ships head to Astoria OR and the Pacific Ocean about 100 mi. away.*

*Another reason trains are late on this route. The whole process can take about 30 min. while you gaze at the lights of the train waiting on the other side. For S/B trains it is a potential smoke stop.*

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N/B Cascade Talgo enr PDX - SEA.





S/B Cascade SEA - PDX

*20 min. prior to my EB arrival, the N/B CS stopped. No cameras at the ready to capture the two Sounder commuter cars being hauled between the baggage car and the rest of the train to Seattle like these. A few days later, I noticed on another RR forum, somebody reported seeing two more N/B around the LA area.*

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*It is rare to see something like this added to a train. But 20 min. later our EB arrived. We also had something out of the ordinary - see Part 2: *

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*Aside the special car shown in Part 2, we had the usual consist to Spokane: Locos-lounge-coach-coach-sleeper. After departing at 1707, the sleeper attendant stopped by and asked what selection I wanted for dinner. The last time I traveled, we only had one choice - a gourmet type chilled chicken salad. This time three-choices: chicken, fish, or thin-sliced and rolled beef salad w/aoli sauce. I opted for the beef which was a nice change from the usual menu fare to be faced the rest of the trip. *

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*Knowing he was going to bring a small bottle of champagne, I asked for an extra bottle. I pointed out the last time only one was given out only to discover the morning we pulled into MSP, the attendant had been hoarding over 25 of them and put them all out by the coffee area for the taking. This attendant got the message. When he brought my dinner, he started peeling them off, 1-2-3-4-5! I broke out laughing and told him, my doctor picked the wrong day for me to cut back.....kidding. I gathered up my dinner and stash and headed for the lounge to eat, drink, and savor the beautiful weather as we sailed alongside the Columbia River watching busy UP freight traffic on the Oregon side adjacent to I-84. Normally by October the trip is in darkness.*

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*Several hours into the trip we had morphed from greenery west of the Cascade range to this about an hour west of Pasco WA:*

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3626/355483...f9e387d55_m.jpg

Between here and Pasco the area is an emporium of WMD's. After dark one can see off in the distance the lights of this facility. I-84 and the old Pioneer route passes through part of the reservation where you can see the physical plant and row upon rows of dirt mounded storage sites for their gaggle of cocktails (from Wiki):

The *Umatilla Chemical Depot*, (UCD) based in Umatilla, Oregon, is one of seven U.S. Army installations in the United States that currently store chemical weapons. The chemical weapons stored at the depot consist of various munitions and ton containers, containing sarin (GB) or VX nerve agent or mustard agent (HD) blister agent. The Army is working in partnership with Oregon state and local government agencies (such as Umatilla County, and City of Hermiston), as well as federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to safeguard the local community and protect the environment as they store and dispose of these chemical weapons.

I may have slugged down two of the champagne's at once as we transited the area (on the Pioneer I gave up holding my breath as we passed very close by it)...kidding. Then, when you get to the Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland) you have the atomic/nuclear facility at Hanford.

== continued...Part 2


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## Konrad (May 24, 2009)

GoldenSpike said:


> My excuses, as if I needed one for making a trip were piling up for my April 29 09 trip VAN-MSP and back: 3X points going E/B, 4X W/B; a cribbage tournament in WI, and afterward a drive north of MSP where a sister lives. My bro-in-law and nephew are dye in the wool RR fans (Train magazine, commercial videos, etc..). Years ago, my nephew worked a season at the Issac Walton Inn @ Essex, MT when they were starting to put cabooses up on the hillside in the woods across the tracks to turn into some very nice digs. While he was there, he lucked out and got a cab ride on a freight from there to the E. Glacier depot. Natch, wife and I spent a fews days there for X-country skiing and only spent $10 a night at the Inn because of him being employed there. The chef made an outstanding cajun veggie beef soup which was fitting for the cold. The lounge downstairs has a RR theme along with a rail as a foot rest at the bar......a good place to over indulge and get 'derailed'....but I digress.
> This is my station of choice for travel - VANCOUVER, WA
> 
> http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3339/355527...89ce7b5.jpg?v=0
> ...


WMDs? Better hope Iraq doesn't invade to teach you a lesson.


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## the_traveler (May 24, 2009)

Konrad said:


> WMDs? Better hope Iraq doesn't invade to teach you a lesson.


Yeah - but we hide them in plain sight! :lol:


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