All Things Empire Builder

[AgentSkelly]

As I recall, WSDOT is interested in running a Seattle-Yakima-Spokane route using the Cascades brand...

And that would mean Talgos? So there's a potential use for WI Gov. Scott Walker's excess and surplus Talgos right there.

After doing more than a Billion of upgrades on the Seattle-Portland stem, the WSDOT and ORDOT may want to catch a breath before plunging ahead with more big projects.

But I doubt the public will let them waste time. My fearless forecast is that with 2 added frequencies Seattle-Portland, and 1 or 2 added runs northwards Seattle-Vancouver and 1 or 2 southwards Portland-Eugene, the trains will soon be full. A clamor will go up for more trains! More trains!

My recollection on talking with someone "semi-offical" about this years ago was that WSDOT would like unified service on the trains it directly funds, which means Talgos and using the Cascades brand, which for a train that goes from Seattle-Spokane THRU THE CASCADES makes sense

[Balerion]

Some minor safety upgrades in Shelby

The Amtrak stop in Shelby will get $953,954 from the Federal Railroad Administration for safety improvements, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., announced Wednesday.

This project will upgrade two pedestrian and motor vehicle crossings in Shelby, by extending the existing Amtrak platform and installing fencing, signage, two quadrant gates and a wayside horn advance warning systems.

[Morning Zephyr]

Trip report from two weeks ago: Rode in bedrooms, Portland-Belton and Belton-St Paul. On both segments, sleeping car porter was indifferent, in one case to the point of unpleasantness. No welcome, no explanation of anything. When we boarded at Belton, the room and the lavatory were dirty, even though the porter said nobody had been in the room to that point. Both sleepers had little things broken (switches that didn't work, vents that didn't open) and a slight odor that may be nothing but age. Full dining car crew was very friendly and competent, and diner food was pretty good. The box dinner out of Portland was terrible, and seemed old. (Portland has a lot of great food, but for some reason these boxed dinners come from somewhere else, which is strange since the car originates in Portland.) It also seems they were overstocked as many were thrown away. Timekeeping was pretty good except for an hour lost between Havre and Williston, but recovery got us into St Paul slightly early. The windows of the train were dirty, and judging from the extent of it had not been cleaned for many trips. The guided narration east of Whitefish skirting Glacier Park is a good feature.

[Penn Central]

Better late than never a trip report from June 12 from Seattle to Chicago. My national map was missing much of the northwest and this trip was going to cover that. On the previous day, I had made a trip down to Portland on the Coast Starlight to cross Oregon off my bucket list but that would be off topic here. I arrived at King Street Station early and people started to line up for boarding at 4 pm. At about 4:15 boarding began for sleeper passengers and I found my way to my roomette on the second floor of the second head car. It had an eastern view and I saw the Space Needle as we crept north out of Seattle. Mary was my car attendant and I requested that she wait until 9 pm to convert my room to a sleeper. She smiled and said that would be no problem. I made a 6 pm reservation for dinner and I had the steak and it was delicious. After leaving Leavenworth, we began the climb up Stevens Pass and came to a stop on the main. A stack train passed us on the siding and after it passed, we made a reverse move, then pulled east on the siding as a mixed westbound freight passed us on the main. After a wait for the signal at the east end of the siding, we made the slow trip through the Cascade Tunnel. You could hear the fans screaming on the east end. By the time we stopped in Wenatchee, we were over an hour late. Mary had made my roomette into a bedroom and it was time for bed. In the middle of the night the AC shut down and there was some jostling from the switching of cars at Spokane. By the time we got to Whitefish, we were back on schedule and I had time to explore the station and take some photos before getting back onboard for breakfast. After breakfast, I made my way to the observation car where I had a nice seat for the trip through Glacier National Park which was narrated by a guide from the National Park Service. After another photo stop in Shelby, it was lunch time and I had the Angus burger. As we headed towards North Dakota, we ran into some traffic and started to lose time again. The diner staff announced on the PA that dinner would be served on Mountain Time. After another steak dinner, it was time to set my watch ahead an hour. I made my way to the shower and it was a little awkward trying to stay upright at 79mph while washing but it was refreshing and the room was kept clean. Before going to bed, I enjoyed some fresh air at the stop in Minot, ND. We were back close to schedule. After a good night's sleep, the next day had us an hour late again as we approached St Paul Union Station. I wanted to take a look at the renovated station but our dwell time was cut short and the trip from the platform to the station was a long walk. We left St Paul an hour late and headed south on the CP towards Chicago. My last meal would be lunch at Wisconsin Dells. By Milwaukee, the delay was down to 50 minutes. After a quick ride from there to Chicago, we arrived at Union Station a half hour late. The daytime ride through Glacier National Park had made this a worthwhile trip. Mary was an excellent car attendant and she received a nice gratuity from me and she indicated that others had been generous as well.

[Miss Chief]

If I would like to take the Empire Builder to and from west coast to East Glacier or Essex, which of the following options would you recommend? It will be in summer, late June.

Option 1: Seattle to East Glacier or Essex, a week later, East Glacier or Essex to Portland

Option 2: Portland to East Glacier or Essex, a week later, East Glacier or Essex to Seattle


Also, anyone could explain to me with how the Essex flag stop works? Is it reliable (No over shoot)? Thank you.

[electricron]

Looking at the Empire Builder's schedule, I like option #1 better. Having the sun in the west, behind you, as you climb east over the Cascades seems like a better option to me. This also allows having the sun behind you as you travel west along the Columbia River valley the next morning. More importantly, you'll have the diner car from Seattle during the evening and the cafe car for breakfast in the morning with option #1. If you prefer the dinning car available for breakfast instead, pick option #2.
You will have a day layover in Essex with either option.

[Miss Chief]

Thank you. I apologize that I forgot to mention the difference between dining car and box dinner is not a factor.

I am looking for opinions on the scenery in each route and the direction of the sun in the morning vs evening as you mentioned.

[Rockingham Racer]

Essex is no longer a flag stop.

[Morning Zephyr]

If the dinner is not a deciding factor (and I agree the quality of the boxed ones out of Portland are terrible, which is unfortunate since Portland has an abundance of good food available) there is the issue of the Sightseer car. The scenery between Seattle and Wenatchee (Stevens Pass including 7.79 mile Cascade Tunnel) is good mountain railroading, and probably more dramatic than the climb over Marias Pass, but you will just have the normal windows of the standard Superliners. By contrast the Portland-Spokane section has the Sightseer, and the ride up the Columbia River Gorge (from about Washougal to near Pasco) is extremely pretty too. Choice is between mountain scenery with normal windows on the Seattle section or river gorge scenery on the Portland section with the huge windows. If you are flipping a coin, remember you get mountain scenery in Montana and river scenery in Minnesota, though the latter is not as spectacular as the Columbia, so either way you will have some of both. (By the way, the river valley you follow east of Idaho is the Kootenai, not the Columbia.)
As noted in an earlier post, the windows, whatever their size, will probably be dirty.
The Essex stop is perhaps 500 feet east of the lodge (which is likely your destination) which is an easy walk, or they will send a van for you if you want.

[Penn Central]

I have a question regarding the Portland section of the Builder. Where do they turn the engine, or the entire consist? Looking at a map in this month's issue of Trains, it looks like there is a wye on the other side of the river. I just wondered what the normal move would be in Portland.

[electricron]

Your question has been asked and answered before, read the answer at
viewtopic.php?f=46&t=62506" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In Portland there are two options, the usual method is to use the wye you suggested east of the bridge. There's also a balloon track north a mile or so of the station that can be used.

[bdawe]

I don't know if any of you have seen that thing going around that presents maps of where people tweet things, but such a thing exists. I typed in "Amtrak" and this map jumped out at me

[Woody]

What a great map! The route of the Empire Builder is emphatic!

Then along the Mexican border, that's folks trying to find out what day the Sunset Ltd is running. LOL.

The City of New Orleans leaves a mark, but the city of New Orleans, and in fact the whole state of Louisiana, just don't care.

The Coast Starlight, the California Zephyr and even the Southwest Chief make a strong showing. The Silvers south of North Carolina disappoint. Nobody cares about the Texas Eagle, certainly not in Texas.

Ohio, Kentucky, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nevada. Where Amtrak's presence is nil -- or it happens post-midnight -- nobody cares about Amtrak.

[bdawe]

this is what it looks like if you turn the 'smoothing' function off



http://qz.com/862325/the-great-american ... moothing=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Balerion]

Amtrak Sees Spike in Empire Builder Ridership

More people rode the Amtrak train in 2016 than the year before. Ridership on the Empire Builder which runs through St. Cloud was up 5.8%. A total of 146,689 passengers rode that route.

Ridership numbers were also up at the St. Cloud Amtrak Depot with 11,457 riders last year compared to 9,950 in 2015.