Empire Builder Westbound from MSP RT

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RailFanLNK

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Mar 24, 2006
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I rode the EB with my wife in September 2010 from SEA to CHI. I have a co-worker who rode Amtrak once last year the CZ from LNK to OSC. He loved it! He didn't tell me he was going to ride it and then came up and said, "I loved it!" So he and his girlfriend are driving up to MSP to see family and depart on the EB in two weeks. They are doing a RT but I have forgotten some tidbits about the EB route. Smoke breaks? (they don't smoke but will want to stretch their legs) Neat sights? They are traveling in a roomette so that will give them some privacy. They are coming over to our house tomorrow and I'm going to show them everything we know about rail travel and what to pack and what not to pack etc. Any helpful info would be much appreciated. Every single person that has taken a maiden (his girlfriend is an Amtrak newbie) Amtrak trip and taken the time to come over to our home and familiarize themselves before boarding for the first/second trip, they always really enjoy it and travel again. The only couple who didn't want to make time to do it since it wasn't "no big deal we will be fine" couldn't believe how "small the roomettes were" and "we got yelled at when we walked in the dining car and proceeded to sit down" didn't enjoy the trip and will probably not take a train again, so its things like this we all take for granted that newbies just don't know. So any tidbits to add? Cool things on the route? Seattle (we honeymooned their but only scratched the surface) or any types of info? Thanks everyone!
 
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RailFanLNK said:
I rode the EB with my wife in September 2010 from SEA to CHI. I have a co-worker who rode Amtrak once last year the CZ from LNK to OSC. He loved it! He didn't tell me he was going to ride it and then came up and said, "I loved it!" So he and his girlfriend are driving up to MSP to see family and depart on the EB in two weeks. They are doing a RT but I have forgotten some tidbits about the EB route. Smoke breaks? (they don't smoke but will want to stretch their legs) Neat sights? They are traveling in a roomette so that will give them some privacy. They are coming over to our house tomorrow and I'm going to show them everything we know about rail travel and what to pack and what not to pack etc. Any helpful info would be much appreciated. Every single person that has taken a maiden (his girlfriend is an Amtrak newbie) Amtrak trip and taken the time to come over to our home and familiarize themselves before boarding for the first/second trip, they always really enjoy it and travel again. The only couple who didn't want to make time to do it since it wasn't "no big deal we will be fine" couldn't believe how "small the roomettes were" and "we got yelled at when we walked in the dining car and proceeded to sit down" didn't enjoy the trip and will probably not take a train again, so its things like this we all take for granted that newbies just don't know. So any tidbits to add? Cool things on the route? Seattle (we honeymooned their but only scratched the surface) or any types of info? Thanks everyone!
Click to expand...
Glacier National Park

Big Sky Country

Geographical Center of North America (Rugby, North Dakota)

Rocky Mountains

Cascade Mountains

You can rest in SPK, where EB splits

Wine and Cheese Tasting for Sleeper passengers

Enhanced Dining Service

(maybe) Enhanced Sleeper Service
 
Between MSP and GLP, really flat land for all day! (But you're used to that Al, right!
mosking.gif
) "Fresh air breaks" in Minot and Havre, IIRC. (There are more too.) And if they are in a sleeper, the wine & cheese tasting happens during this period! If not during mid-summer, the area around Glacier NP will be in the dark!
sad.gif
But the next morning, the crossing of the Cascades and riding next to Puget Sound will be in the morning. That's westbound. Eastbound, they will be along Puget Sound at sunset, but the Cascades may mostly be in the dark, However, Glacier NP will be in daylight in the morning!
smile.gif
And the wine & cheese tasting is the 2nd afternoon between lunch and dinner!
 
the_traveler said:
Between MSP and GLP, really flat land for all day! (But you're used to that Al, right!
mosking.gif
) "Fresh air breaks" in Minot and Havre, IIRC. (There are more too.) And if they are in a sleeper, the wine & cheese tasting happens during this period! If not during mid-summer, the area around Glacier NP will be in the dark!
sad.gif
But the next morning, the crossing of the Cascades and riding next to Puget Sound will be in the morning. That's westbound. Eastbound, they will be along Puget Sound at sunset, but the Cascades may mostly be in the dark, However, Glacier NP will be in daylight in the morning!
smile.gif
And the wine & cheese tasting is the 2nd afternoon between lunch and dinner!
Click to expand...
The Traveler is as (mostly) always, correct.

I love the Empire Builder's Seattle to Everett legs; north and southbound.
 
How far are they going? Smoke breaks are Minot, Williston, Havre, Shelby, Whitefish, Spokane, Pasco, and Everett. And I'm missing one other on the Portland section. (Either Bingen-White Salmon or Wishram. I really like Western North Dakota. It's actually quite hilly there. Eastern Montana can be boring to some, but every time I ride that, I'm just in awe of the vastness of open space up there. Then all of a sudden, a small town pops up, and you wonder how people decided to settle there. I suppose many of those towns were settled because of the Great Northern Railway.

If they are awake in Grand Forks, they can try and see the University of North Dakota from a distance. (a big Gopher rival :) ) Rugby, ND is the geographic center of North America. Minot, is the Magic City, that sprang up overnight, and many like to say the saying, "Why Not, Minot?" Williston is booming with oil drilling.

After Cut Bank, make sure they watch for the Cut Bank River bridge. There you are travelling on pretty flat land and all of a sudden you come to a very high tressle with the river a couple hundred feet below. This is where you enter the foothills of the Rockies and soon will be in Glacier National Park. Since they are travelling in two week, they won't be stopping at East Glacier Park, but they should keep a lookout for the Glacier Park Lodge on the north side of the tracks. This is after departing Browning. The Lodge was built by the Great Northern Railway. A few minutes after GPK, the train will cross Marias Pass. This is one of the lowest passes in the US at about 5000 feet elevation. Note that Raton Pass is higher at 7000 feet.

Then of course there is Glacier National Park, as the train follows it's southern border. Whitefish is a cool stop to get off at. If the train is early, they might have time to walk around the station area. But as you know don't let them leave the area!

Havre has a cool GN steam locomotive on display as does Williston.

I'm probably a little late in explaining all this, but I'm sure you can catch them up on this.
 
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