Amtrak Empire Builder: Chicago to Seattle/Portland comprehensive guide

Amtrak's empire builder service links Chicago Illinois in the states of Washington and Oregon the Empire Builder is a fun way to move through this part of America and it's the only passenger train they'll let you see this region up close at a relaxing pace in this video I want to take a close look at the Empire Builder what it is its history exactly where it goes along the way by the end of this video not only will you be an expert on the Empire Builder but you'll be dreaming of your own trip hi I'm still Jeremy let's take an in-depth look at the sweeping and romantic Amtrak Empire Builder between Chicago and Seattle and Portland the first thing you notice about Empire Builder on a map is that it branches off at the western end that's because Seattle and Portland are both linked with Chicago with the train splitting or meeting in Spokane you can travel direct without changing trains in both directions between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland of course you can also travel along a shorter section of Empire Builder if you want and as fun as it is watching the scenery go by I'd recommend scheduling at least one stop along the way just to get out and see something new there are a total of 46 stations on the Empire builders routes if you do the whole thing between Chicago and Portland you'll see 40 stations between Chicago and Seattle 41 besides a little bit of northern Oregon on the Portland part the routes go through Washington State a small part of Idaho all the way across Montana and North Dakota and Minnesota and Wisconsin and far northern Illinois the next nearest cross-country Amtrak route is the California Zephyr hundreds of miles to the south for much of the way you'll be very near the Canadian border you'll pass through three time zones highlights of the Empire Builder trip include the mesmerizing farm and dairy country of Wisconsin the lakes of Minnesota the vast and gentle plains and oil fields of North Dakota and Montana the Rocky Mountains and Glacier National Park in eastern Montana and the dense green forests of the Pacific Northwest you'll cross mighty rivers like the Mississippi the Missouri and the Columbia the trip takes just under 48 hours however you do it Empire Builder not only takes you across this part of the United States but it does so in a relaxing and peaceful way by the way all the footage in this video was taken by me on an Empire Builder trip in April in winter months there's often snows surrounding the Train which is usually able to push through without problem when I took this footage the skies were overcast you might be riding on a sunny day or you might see rain whatever the conditions outside you'll be comfortable inside the Train and anyway all seasons and weather offer a slightly different experience I personally liked the atmosphere at cloudiness on my trip I'll talk more about the highlights and stops you can make along the way but first let's look at the history of empire builder as I mentioned in my Amtrak questions and answers video and track has only been around since 1971 before that passenger trains were made up of various private lines the Great Northern Railway was one private train company its founder was James Hill who was the first to connect the coasts by private train he even planned his routes himself by writing through the West on horseback and unlike many others his railroad company was successful for all this hearing the nickname the Empire Builder Hill died in 1916 but in 1929 his nickname was used for a new train service linking Chicago with Seattle this original Empire Builder was part of the Great Northern Railway until 1970 in those decades between two rival trains ran between Chicago and Seattle called north coast limited and the Main Street er but they're out to refer herself through Montana's bigger cities while Empire Builder ran further north those rival north coast limited and Main Street er Services merged into a new service called the North Coast Hiawatha in 1971 under a new company called Burlington Northern but all of it by then was operated by the new amtrak corporation an empire builder continued alongside north coast Hiawatha in fact trains on the north coast hiawatha sometimes ran as part of Empire Builder trains and sections but then split off to go through populous areas of Montana like Missoula Bozeman and Billings despite the beauty of the route and its usefulness and despite members of Congress actually suing the Department of Transportation to keep it running the north coast Hiawatha was discontinued in 1979 there have always been talks of restarting it but until that happens the mighty empire builder is the only way to write a train through the region and all this explains the quirky reality that the only train through Montana skips all the biggest population centers as for the Spokane the Portland section that was a feature of the original Empire Builder in the 40s and 50s it was revived by Amtrak in 1981 one train per day leave Chicago on the Empire Builder and one each per day leaves Seattle in Portland eastbound trains meet at Spokane and join into one longer train for the rest of the way and the opposite happens on westbound trains which split at Spokane although this information can change as of this video trains leaving Chicago depart just after 2 o'clock in the afternoon the entire trip takes about forty four hours meaning two nights to either seattle or portland going this way it's nighttime in much of minnesota and the eastern half of North Dakota then nighttime again from far western Montana through Idaho and half of Washington unfortunately this means you probably won't see much of Glacier National Park except late in the evening in summer traveling eastbound trains leave both seattle and portland around 4:45 p.m. and meet in spokane after midnight they hitched together and continued east through the night and it gets light right around Glacier National Park in summertime especially you can see great views of the park through the left side windows from any car in the Train on the second night it gets dark around central North Dakota and gets lied again around the Minnesota border the train arrives in Chicago about four o'clock in the afternoon nearly forty six hours in total delays do happen on Amtrak of course so while you'll probably be okay you might not want to count on a perfectly timed arrival or schedule any tight transfers the Empire Builder like all Western long-distance Amtrak routes still retains its famous traditional dining service this means a nice dining car with cloth tablecloths a menu full of tasty fresh cooked meals and friendly table service this isn't a paid endorsement or anything it's just what I experienced on my empire builder trip three meals a day are free when you buy tickets for any sleeper compartment if you're riding in a coach seat you could eat the dining car by paying for meals there are six meals total from the west coast to Chicago but only five from Chicago to the west [Music] outside of mealtimes you can go to the Amtrak cafe for simple snacks and drinks it's located on the first floor of the sightseer Lounge observation car as I comfort in my video dedicated to Amtrak food options you could eat in the dining car from the cafe a combination of them or you can bring your own food of course remember that the full meals are included with sleeper accommodations the food really is good the company is friendly and the views well watching the scenery go by is what it's all about as I said there are 46 stations total if you're looking to explore more about the places at Empire Builder goes you can break up your journey and get off to check out any of the stops along the way since only one train runs in either direction you'll be spending at least a night in that local area I made another video that goes over every single stop along the Empire Builder routes in more detail so watch that for specific ideas if you're looking to get off the train and see the cities and towns each one has something to explore and if you time it right you might hit a festival or a rodeo or some other fun local activity then again you can just wander around try some food and meet some of the locals if you want if you're really into the Empire Builder or trains in general I hope you get the chance to learn about some of the stations both big and small along the way they're not just names on a sign that you pass by their little pockets of America worth getting to know [Music] so as you can see wherever empire builder takes you and wherever you want to get off you'll find something to see and do the train isn't just a way to get from point A to point B it's an introduction to all sorts of interesting destinations both metropolis and tiny quirky places one final note about Empire builders possibilities they don't stop with all those stations in both the Western and eastern portions of the route there are connecting Amtrak services that can take you to other places and not just trains although there are plenty of those Chicago is a major hub for Amtrak and from the Pacific Northwest you can go up to Vancouver Canada or down into California but what I'm talking about are the green lines on this map these are buses mostly or ferries that are part of Amtrak's Thruway connecting services you can jump off the Empire Builder and connect with one of these to further explore the Pacific Northwest or the Upper Midwest and you can book them on the Amtrak website just like the trains so that's our look at empire builder it's quite a trip however and whenever and wherever you take it there are various sleeper accommodations available or coach seats at different prices I'll put links below to some of my other amtrak videos so you can see more about various aspects of riding em check especially checkout my own travel log from my trip on Empire Builder where I show what the trip is actually like as a passenger thanks for watching check out my other videos for travel tips stories from my own travels and my experiences as a type 1 diabetic wanderer see you on the rails [Music]

Channel: T1D Wanderer

Views: 29,847

Keywords: amtrak, empire builder, amtrak empire builder, wisconsin travel, minnesota travel, north dakota travel, montana travel, idaho travel, oregon travel, washington travel, washington state, train travel, amtrak travel, amtrak america, america travel, travel in america, traveling in america

Id: 35xDaIKx9es

Length: 10min 0sec (600 seconds)

Published: Fri May 15 2020