Amtrak Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle (in coach!) - Apparently a Trip Report

the Empire Builder runs along the Hudson up to Albany and it actually [Music] continues and he's not like Paul or Jeb he can do this with these and now it's apparently too late to afford so it's apparently a trip report on the train or crossing each other don't worry you don't have to talk if you don't want to annoy people but our engine is disabled and it's apparently a brand new engine so that builds it so about 15 minutes late so far here in Chicago much much much later [Applause] yeah this is the observation car this is the old Union Pacific doesn't come back here much anymore we've got a real Rogues gallery of Metro locomotives here oh are we stopping are we stopping no it was fun well Alaska Jackson but I think it's all over yeah okay well we're moving again whoa this is the West Philly part of Chicago we are going we're going north what was the low about it was a cool house oh this station is literally called golf in a town that's literally called golf this is our first stop Glenview scenery but look it's an observation or a car so we can really see it yeah pictured on the left miles pictures on the right a really ominous looking sword that's approaching [Music] so the weather is making us stop so much for flying through it at 80 miles an hour pretzels are making me thirsty it's a cool Bridge either way yeah so this is Milwaukee which looks absolutely beautiful this station is so cool it's totally sheltered we can use our 360 degree view to see the shelter super liner bathroom review uh well it's uh it's very cramped but uh you know there are like five of them so I guess that's good for capacity now we're in Columbus Wisconsin the sky is flashing black and blue from the lightning we have to stop twice because the platform's Too Short it was blocking like a one Road in town what a disaster we found seats together after Wisconsin Dells which we left four hours and one minute late from so how are you feeling about these superliner seats these are a lot more comfortable ones they come inside right now you're looking at the legroom shot oh gosh I also picked up some sequel today at the pharmacies hopefully when we wake up we are not even later than we are now but I brought the next day good morning we woke up somewhere around Lake Park Minnesota there's only four hours late still yeah and Counting how'd you sleep very well I slept eight full hours say we get our things together and then go check out the cafe car yeah sure we're very close to Fargo but no cigar if you are a person on this account who is into asphalt painting machines this shot is for you there's some transception Jackson train section I can see our three locomotives we are about to cross the Red River into North Dakota Fargo has kind of a Skyline actually where it kind of sort of stopped at Fargo station but the platform does not make it this far back so uh enjoy the beautiful Fargo North Dakota scenery we left four minutes I mean we left four hours and 40 four hours and 47 minutes late that's a nice kind of nice yeah wow check that out we were deciding that Fargo's gonna play so it would be great to spend like two nights in foreign like the layout of the cafe Cafe trains where the cafe car is like a little the cafe is like a little cubby sorry not double decker super liner sorry foamers this guy is right we're not in Montana oh wait this is uh this is North Dakota well Big Sky applies to this state too check out the horrible Amtrak station going for Grand Forks stay away fools how's love rules this stop is nowhere near downtown Grand Forks it's honestly nowhere near Grand Forks period it's up at the edge of the built development of Grand Forks so uh miles my computer is hibernating what does that mean I don't know so many small towns the train just doesn't start that there's a lot of lakes but we're getting to the point where the Midwest is getting a little dreary so yeah I know extra extra we're at Devils Lake which has a building and some other buildings and a little station over there somebody know what this yellow stuff is we've been seeing it a bunch in like in my face rather than yellow stuff here's some purple stuff lavender it looks like water unless that actually might just get water lots of water that's the observation part and this is where we are now wow long walk oh thank you okay have a good day guys to see our explorations of rugby the least used Amtrak station in North Dakota click on the card in the top right hand corner of your screen we are on the train this house right next to each other which is amazing very happy it's 13 minutes late we're two minutes out of rugby and it's already the terrain already looks like this again here we are in Minot all right foamers here's the consists look at it because you'll never see it again so we actually arrived five minutes early and we have a whole 50 minutes before we leave here so I mean might as well check out the building this is pretty nice although you know what Jackson what I think rugby was better well I mean let's have more love put into it yeah and I guess you're right [Music] now we got 50 minutes so I could use this bathroom if you know what I mean Jackson it's 9 55 you're supposed to leave at 9 51. I don't understand why we're four minutes late I'm very upset we're gonna be performing asleep well I I want to voice some some video you know all the booths and the operations yeah so we're sitting sideways right now the seeds also swivels I can make a swivel I guess that means we can't sit wait let's go all the way oh and now we're sitting forward well okay it turns out these do swivel so you can theoretically open but you would also block me out yes horses Cafe car is open but uh they close off the seating and that's a load up we're back at our seats because we lost our swivel chairs while we were trying to see the cafe coyote you would think the seat would be open and now we get our lovely view with our window pillows so many cows oh my gosh I came over here to get a better view of the cows like in the stairwell would you look at that it's Stanley North Dakota the cleaning process on Amtrak cleanliness is Next to Godliness so we are leaving Wilson we arrived 13 minutes early and we're leaving one minute early that's insane what is this world apparently yesterday's trains is just over four hours late the entire route what universe is this how long have I been asleep we're gonna wake up and we'll be back in Saint Paul we are passing through Trenton North Dakota Beacon of light Beacon of Hope you're about to undergo a time zone shift as well as a state shift exactly we're about to cross the border from North Dakota into Montana I'm sure you're all on edge of the sea yeah exactly I'm literally on the edge is this the seat this is me I'm on the edge of this the Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site we're going to be crossing the border yes uh in addition right now it is 12 20 p.m there's like a mile at close sun and right now it is 11 20 a.m so hey we just we're in Montana now there's no sign there's no sign it looks like the right side of the train gets all the cool rock formations where we kind of have outside of the train rocks heck yeah it's uh what do they call oil Jackson Natural Gas Nature's fluid I hope I don't experience too much Nature's fluid after getting lunch in the cafe car all right Jackson what's for lunch we each got a big old cream cheese and I got Skillet of Mac's Skillet apparently I got the uh Artisan turkey sandwich yeah this is apparently artist which is actually a made fresh daily brand turkey and cheddar multi-grain sub with oats like all cheese here then all turkey here wow it's it's very localized all right so is it is it artisan only the best quality most fresh food items are sold on Amtrak Cafe cars in case the context is necessary today is July 25th that's pretty cool welcome to Wolf Point we're leaving Glasgow drunk that's a later stop and I think they were from Edinburgh well that looks like a stereotypical Western I know plus Montana is continuing the trend of naming things after European places because this is Malta there's a Radio Shack wow right downtown sun says stay away I think I used that joke in this video already there's the other Empire Builder going the other way train eight Amtrak section we're here at Haver oh no Haver I keep thinking Behavior like the Scottish word like in The Proclaimers yeah forever let's check out the station which is refreshment hey no hostile Adventure this time around water fountains bathrooms I could use those too if you know what I mean it's definitely not as old-fashioned but it gets the job done goodbye [Applause] whoa I'm glad I was filming that that looks like Jordan from Thomas the Tank Engine good Lord the inaccuracies on this channel are astounding first of all the train you're looking at right now is a 484 Great Northern S2 class locomotive whereas Gordon is modeled after a 462 Eleanor grizzly plus a one locomotive and to even suggest that these would be remotely similar is an admission that not only you're a stupid idiot but you're also Living in a Dream World Shelby Shelby Indiana Oh no this is a really cool old station building but it's combined with a nice modern acceptable platform I mean who can complain oh this is like a log cabin this is nice miles do you think there's still time for me to poop in Montana so I can say I visited here do you have to poop I don't have to poop but and I don't know look this place gives you such good Refrigeration you feel like a penguin this is the America I was hoping to see on this trip I'm glad to be able to souvenir I know wow if this were two blocks from my place in Philadelphia I would already be scrambling to pick that up and carry it back and put it in the backyard Shelby welcomes you which means we dis-welcome Shelby because we're leaving yeah which I'm a fan of because it's been flat for a while we are in Cut Bank Montana wow oh my gosh right oh the bank that cop bang is named after it doesn't need cut through the Ross wow this is the single best view we've had by a long shot it is raining on that side of the train which contrarily has the blue sky but on our side which has the stormy sky this window is totally untainted with rain sponsor us Cheez-Its no Snyder's first cows yay a lot of cows Jackson I want to see some bison I think we're I think that itself and we're just gonna say that things it's totally a bison rainbow rainbow rainbow alert you see it it's like very add now it's gone well I saw it did you see it there's supposed to be a cool Trestle coming according to the conductor hey that's a Trestle we're not even on Trestle this is like not even the attractions here's the Trestle yeah wow gorgeous we appear to be stopping at East Glacier Park but what's exciting about that is that the next stop is West Glacier Park which means that between the two will Traverse Glacier Park akin to the Bison we're going to pretend that that's a glacier up well now you can't even see it I think we got jipped out of the good view we're not sitting on the good side miles you know I mean look at this we got trees that bench opened up and I was like should we switch sides and you were like I think they're about equivalent remember that Miles true to the purpose of this car we are sitting here observing right now what is this a monument for wrong answers only we're in this kind of tunnel structure now our view is now objectively better we're pulling out of this Essex station which had a van from like an inn that was advertised at the station so that must be a big thing people come here go to the end look what we have for the mountain nothing like some digiornos to enjoy this scenery baby now it seems like that side yeah it's kind of been that way for a while but if you like trees welcome to West Glacier Maryland we got a lake here are you kidding me oh wow we had a Lake Jackson what river is this how how do I know I don't know either we don't have data I'll put it in here I guess closing time oh the cafe car oh go for it all right get your drinks [Music] I've seen all the all of the city literally unfortunately it seems like one of those is uh ours we are in Whitefish and that is an epic looking Depot oh look at that wow there's a whole gift shop in here look there's like cards we're in Montana all right there's some history here it's the original baggage scales that were used in 1927. if only it was Day times we could properly foam this vehicle the nice thing about being on an on time Amtrak train is that you actually arrive at every station several minutes early and get a little extra time yeah exactly so we got a little bit of time to walk around and smell this very strong Pine smell this is the last time we'll see the train in this full length in the middle of the night it's going to split in two in Spokane we'll be left with a little baby train to Seattle leaving Whitefish I wake up tomorrow we'll hopefully be in Washington good night the next day Jackson how does it feel to wake up to this beautiful view it it feels stunning you actually slept pretty well I slept pretty well yeah thank you drugs this is probably a river it is a Columbia River it's the one upon Lake what are you filming me for there's a whole ass River see me all the time I was giving you some I was giving some ethos so that no the other one I was getting some notice no it is ethos I was giving you I was giving some ethos so that people knew who was given the facts damn because the cafe car went to Portland we get to have the dining car and they just kind of set up a little mini Cafe for Coach passengers apparently so this is going to be an intriguing operation mini Breakfast Cafe oh look at that menu shot menu shot right now you're looking at the menu shot we have collectively bought out the entire mini breakfast menu I got our cinnamon rolls gonna try all these things and we'll rate them so exactly yeah Jackson got the blueberry muffin and the Egg thing sausage egg sandwich it came on like a phantom plate that's actually like it's not plastic so unfortunately so but I appreciate the effort um okay this is like McDonald's quality what's the verdict it's not the worst thing I have six out of ten turns out when after The Smoke Stop now we've just got the stinky train four cars and a baggage car I guess we're leaving Wenatchee we spent longer than scheduled there and we were already kind of late so we're now 27 minutes late so our on-time streak might be compromised but that's still not that late last menu items muffin time it's a little deformed the part that ended up in my mouth was really good we'll get you a little truss Bridge today underrated state for scenery I know same with Oregon jumping in those Rivers like you can see them you can see yeah I can't I'm glad you saw something I don't this is the Bavarian Christmas Village well ostensibly but you can't really see it but this is really um Orchards out there we've got two and a half hours till the next stop and they're just like yeah we're gonna go through some beautiful scenery so sit back and enjoy it we're apparently gonna go through the longest rail tunnel in the U.S there's snow up there there's snow up there our locomotive has just entered the Cascades tunnel which is apparently the longest road tunnel in the U.S we're gonna be in there for like 10 minutes don't go chasing waterfalls we're coming into Everett and we've got a double decker bus and several articulated buses I think we're back in Civilization I think yeah I think we're back into I have self-service territory fingers crossed I think we're in like commuter rail distance of yes the Sounder train leaves from Everett and goes to Seattle it only runs two trains in the morning and two in the evening it's really in frequency oh we got a seat on the wrong side of the train to witness what is apparently the breathtaking scenery on the Puget Sound because we've ever hit in Seattle so we've got we're stationing up at the back window so we can get some of that series is this fulfilling the scenery quota yet we're getting close I see some algae here's the Sounder Station we don't stop that video mukultio is the scenery holding up now Jackson the scenery is absolutely stunning come on Isthmus here so this is business this is Edmonds it's our second and last stop Seattle is next this is so cool I love how much Maritime life Seattle has it's kind of like if you combined all of Connecticut into like I don't know Baltimore Ohio did you get it I got I got this oh it's beautiful Jackson we just added the tunnel the memes were coming to Seattle what did you think of your Empire Builder experience the scenery was gorgeous it was a groovy time we got to see a really good cross-section of America thank you Seattle we were just six minutes late oh wow wait this is a really unique station wow [Music] all out on this bad boy now we'll go to miles to finish this off sure the Empire Builder man it was so much fun coming back to this trip and editing some people say the scenery isn't that great but I'm here to say I think it's pretty great look I mean you've got more Midwest than on other Amtrak trains But ultimately the scenery in Montana and Washington absolutely saves it it's so beautiful I can't speak for the Portland section or there's apparently a really Scenic Park coming up towards St Paul where along the Mississippi River but I think the scenery easily earns this train in s tier maybe a lowest tier it's no California Zephyr or anything but my God I love Washington so much I'm going to sing its scenery Praises for the rest of my life as for the train itself Amtrak treats its long distance coach passengers well I mean you're gonna sleep better in a roommate but in coach you get really good leg room Jackson brought drugs which helped him sleep but you know that's fun the cafe menu has been improved a lot since we did this trip I don't like they got rid of the bagel because that was always my favorite breakfast item but on the other hand you've got a ton of great lunch options you've got the Stromboli which is my new favorite everything ever I actually have a review of it on my patreon if you want to see that but anyway and whether you're in coach or roommate the observation you're going to meet people it's really Lively in there the views are just spectacular you're gonna want to be on the north side of the train if you can help it but the views are great on both sides either way as for overall service it's a once a day train there really should be two a day but unlike say the Lakes were limited I'm not as upset that this is once a day ultimately the Empire Builder is just serving not that many big cities Chicago to St Paul there should be a second train between them and the Amtrak's actually planning on adding one other than that I guess Spokane Seattle or Portland could use a second train but there's just not that much need for many many trains a day on this line like a second train 12 hours offset would be fine and I think because of that I'm gonna go be tier for service like it's nothing special but I think it serves its purpose well as a long distance train across the northern part of the country now I gotta shave

Channel: Miles in Transit

Views: 20,167

Keywords:

Id: VPd1qbL1Gwk

Length: 23min 35sec (1415 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 01 2023