AMTRAK JOURNEYS

From Portland to Chicago Aboard Amtrak’s Empire Builder

The Columbia River Gorge and Glacier National Park are among the most scenic stretches of rail in the United States

As the eastbound Empire Builder chugged across the desert landscape of Eastern Washington and into Idaho, I finally drifted off to some much-needed sleep — not an easy feat sitting in an Amtrak coach.

Within minutes, I felt a tap on my shoulder. “Vince? Did I wake you up?”

“Um yes,” I said to myself.

I was running on maybe four hours of sleep total for the past two nights.

“I want you to see something.”

The voice was that of a fellow passenger I had met the previous day. After waking me up, he led me to the lower level of the Amtrak Superliner car — a level that held nothing but restrooms, baggage racks and doors to exit the train.

Disobeying the signs, he pulled open the window of the exit door.

“Now look out,” he said.

I put my head out the window and saw that the desert of eastern Washington had given way to more fertile Idaho fields. Far from civilization, we were cruising at a gentle 40 mph, along the Pend Orielle River.

Despite the early hour, we were far enough north that the first signs of summer dawn began to illuminate the land.

For the next hour, we took turns sticking our heads out the window, watching our train cut across the Idaho landscape, inhaling the cool, fresh air — with an occasional whiff of diesel train exhaust — while the other kept watch for Amtrak employees.

Daylight soon covered the land, and as we approached the next stop, Sandpoint, Idaho, we brought our surreptitious predawn mischief to an end.

That was nearly a quarter century ago, aboard the Empire Builder to Glacier National Park in June 2001.

I have no photos or video, just the vivid memory.

To be clear: Opening a door or a window on an Amtrak train is against their policy, and we probably could have been tossed off the train at the next stop.

Twenty years later, I made the full Portland-to-Chicago trip, with a two-day stop in Havre, Montana.

The one-time flagship of the Great Northern Railway makes the journey from Seattle or Portland to Chicago in 45 hours, running more than 2,200 miles across the far northern United States.

The stretches along the Columbia River Gorge and through Glacier National Park are, in my opinion, among the most scenic in the Amtrak network.

An hour after stepping off the Coast Starlight from San Jose, I lined up at Portland’s Union Station to board the Empire Builder, just as I had done nearly two decades prior.

This time, I would be taking a roomette, having been spoiled by one on a previous trip.

After crossing the Willamette and Columbia rivers into Washington and leaving our first stop of Vancouver, Washington, I made my way to the shower to refresh myself after 36 hours of train travel.

In case you wondered what a shower on Amtrak looks like:

When I returned to my roomette, my attendant was taking dinner orders. Because the dining car is on the portion of the train originating in Seattle — which would join us in the middle of the night in Spokane — dinner would come in a box, served in passenger accomodations.

I chose grilled shrimp over a salad, with a roll, some orange wedges and two soft cookies.

The first several hours of this ride run along the north side of the Columbia River.

The Columbia River Gorge, a dramatic canyon through which the Columbia River flows, is the largest National Scenic Area in the United States, carved by lava flows and glaciers. The river is roughly a mile wide, and the area is home to 70 waterfalls.

I do not remember the scenery being this spectacular 20 years ago. It may have been a cloudy day. Also, as my mom pointed out to me, we appreciate things more as we age.

This evening, I had no shortage of appreciation as the sun shone brightly on the river, telling me this was going to be a beautiful sunset.

Three hours into the trip, the lush greenery turned to a dry, brown landscape. I again moved to the sightseeing car for more panoramic views and was rewarded with the river and windmills to the southeast, and glowing clouds on the northwest side of the train.

As we passed a truck along the highway, I downloaded a speedometer app to see that we were going about 71 miles per hour.

My attendant made my room into a bed before our 9 pm stop at Pasco. I thought perhaps I would fall asleep before Spokane, but sleep did not come over me.

At Spokane, I took a short walk outside the station toward a bar that was supposed to be open until 2 am — but it was closing. I hurried the few blocks back to the Amtrak station, bought a bag of chips from the vending machine, and continued back to the platform.

Back in my room, I took my half dose of Nyquil and waited for sleep to come. I think I remember us pulling away from Spokane.

I awoke around 7 am, somewhere between Libby and Whitefish, Montana, having lost an hour as we moved from Pacific to Mountain time. The tracks must have been deep in a narrow gorge, because even though my roomette was on the upper level of the train, the rocky terrain loomed high above my window.

I took my breakfast in the dining car — veggie omelet and potatoes, a side of Chobani yogurt, a bottle of orange juice and a cup of coffee, all included in the price of the roomette.

After breakfast, I packed up my stuff and moved forward to the observation car, where I was treated to the majesty that is Glacier National Park.

The Empire Builder snakes slowly through the park at an elevation of more than 5,000 feet among dense conifer and birch forests.

Twenty years ago, I remember thinking, this is NOT what I pictured Montana to look like.

It was anything but Big Sky Country.

This time, the majesty of the park was expected — and just as awe-inspiring as it was 20 years ago. The waters of the Middle Fork Flathead River beside us and numerous smaller streams we passed were emerald green.

After East Glacier, the Empire Builder enters what I had imagined Montana to look like — plains and low rolling hills, mostly beige with a few patches of green.

We were able to step off for 15 minutes in Shelby. There I saw the Oil City Saloon, pawn shops, Hong Kong Chinese restaurant — and not much else.

The route here, known as the High Line, runs parallel to Route 2, and the train moves at a good 80 mph clip.

The next stop would be Havre, my destination for two nights. As I stepped off the train, a light snow began to fall, not exactly what I was expecting.

My 48 hours in Havre included a visit to the grave of my great-great grandfather, who was killed here while working on the railroad in 1917.

You can read that account here:

Sunday morning, my trip to Chicago aboard the Empire Builder continued. The landscape of eastern Montana was flat and depressing, even more so under hazy skies.

About an hour into the ride, the Empire Builder travels through Harlem, the town in which my grandmother and her brothers grew up during the Great Depression.

I had visited the town the previous day, and now I was being treated — if you can call it that, as it has seen better days — to a view from the train.

At Wolf Point, I splurged again and moved from an empty coach car to a roomette. Coach actually offers a lot of space, as you can see below:

Just before 8 pm, the Empire Builder crossed into North Dakota, a state I had previously never set foot in. The landscape continued to be bleak and beige, interrupted only by a small handful of lakes, trees and, increasingly in North Dakota, oil wells.

I spent some time reading and watching a short documentary about the shale oil boom here during the Great Recession. The oil wells and high oil prices drew people from all over the country, including many immigrants, looking for steady, well-paying work. Many of these workers used the Empire Builder to return to their homes when they had a stretch of days off. By 2016, the boom had ended, but it was an interesting chapter in history to read about as the train passed through these otherwise barren lands.

For dinner, I had braised beef with polenta and a salad — another microwaved meal in a mostly empty dining car. Our 9:30 pm stop in Minot offered an opportunity to step off the train for a bit, as did our stop the next morning in St. Paul.

Monday morning’s ride ran along the Mississippi River for several miles.

More than two weeks prior, at the beginning of the trip, I crossed the Mississippi in New Orleans. Today, I was crossing a much narrower river that marked the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin.

At 4:30 pm, The Empire Builder pulled into Chicago.

For me, it marked the end of nearly three weeks on the road, and 5,019 miles aboard Amtrak — and more than 9,000 miles total during the pandemic.

In terms of scenery, the Empire Builder is a very close second to Amtrak’s California Zephyr.

Interested in riding the Empire Builder?

The westbound Empire Builder leaves Chicago at 3:05 pm, arriving in Portland and Seattle just after 11 am, two days later, after the train splits in Spokane.

The eastbound Empire Builder leaves Portland and Seattle just before 5 pm and arrives in Chicago at 4:45 pm, two days later.

This train uses bi-level Superliner equipment. Passengers can choose between coach seats, a roomette or a full bedroom.

There is a sightseeing lounge and a dining car, and all passengers have access to a cafe car to purchase sandwiches, salads, microwaved pizzas and hamburgers, chips, soda, alcohol and other snacks.

Sleeping car passengers have access to the dining car, with meals included with the price of their ticket.

Thoughts? Questions? Interested in reading more?

I have traveled more than 40,000 miles on Amtrak. I love to hear your comments, and if you would like to read more, check out these stories: