Eastbound Empire Builder at Midway Station

On July 25, 1999, I was riding Amtrak's eastbound Empire Builder to Milwaukee. That morning the train made its scheduled service stop at Midway Station, serving the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Parked on one of the tracks was the private car Caritas. The Caritas was built in 1948 by Pullman as a 4-Bedroom, 14-Roomette Sleeping Car for the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, or Frisco for short. The car was originally named Pierre Laclede after the founder of St. Louis. The car was originally assigned to the Texas Special, which ran between St. Louis, Missouri, and San Antonio, Texas. over the Frisco and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas. The Frisco discontinued its portion of the Texas Special (the northern portion) in 1959. In 1964, this car was sold to the Canadian National and named Churchill Falls. High Iron Travel bought the car in 1983 and rebuilt it to its current configuration, with 3 double bedrooms and a master room, dining area, galley, wine cellar, and lounge.

Part of this eastbound Empire Builder's Superliner consist included a Smoking Coach in the Seattle section. In 1996 and 1997, Amtrak converted 34 of its 48 Superliner I Coach Baggage cars into Smoking Coaches by converting the baggage room on the lower level to a smoking room. This was to give coach passengers a place on the train to smoke without disturbing non-smoking passengers. The Smoking Coaches were converted back to Coach Baggage cars in 2004.

Here are the Empire Builder's locomotives at Midway. Amtrak #817 & #800 are 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40BPs that were built by General Electric in 1993.

The Empire Builder featured a Heritage Fleet Baggage Car for passenger baggage (except the Portland section, which had Superliner Coach Baggage). On this run was Amtrak #1208, still wearing its Phase III stripes. It was originally built by Budd in 1953 as Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #3521. After the formation of Amtrak in 1971 it became Amtrak #1037, and by 1979 it had been converted for Head-End Power and renumbered to #1208.

The Empire Builder carries significantly more coach passengers between the Twin Cities and Chicago than it does on the rest of its route, so an additional coach is often added to the eastbound train at Midway, and removed here on the westbound run. On this run, Superliner I Coach Baggage #31007 was added to the end of the train, behind the sleeping car from Portland.

Riding the Eastbound Empire Builder through Montana & North Dakota

July 24, 1999 was the second day of my trip aboard Amtrak's eastbound Empire Builder to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. That morning, the train stopped alongside Great Northern NW3 #181 in Whitefish, Montana. Built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in March 1942 as Great Northern #5406, this 1,000-horsepower diesel locomotive was the last of the only seven NW3s built, all for the Great Northern. It was renumbered to #181 in 1943. On August 30, 1965, the Great Northern sold #181 to Anaconda Aluminum in Columbia Falls, Montana, where it became their #900. When no longer needed, Anaconda Aluminum donated the locomotive to the Stumptown Historical Society in Whitefish, Montana. It was restored to Great Northern colors and placed on permanent static display next to the Whitefish depot on November 19, 1990.

East of Whitefish, Montana, the route of Amtrak's Empire Builder skirts the south edge of Glacier National Park as its parallels the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, as seen here near Nyack, Montana.

In addition to the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, Amtrak's Empire Builder also parallels U.S. Highway 2, which featured red-tinted pavement near Nyack, Montana.

The eastbound Empire Builder is climbing into the Rocky Mountains by this point. Shortly after passing Essex, Montana, the railroad passes through Snowshed #12, the first of a number of structures that protect the railroad from winter slides and avalanches. At the end of Snowshed #12 is this view of the Middle Fork of the Flathead River. The bridge carrying U.S. Highway 2 Bridge over the river is visible in the background.

The eastbound Empire Builder eventually crosses the Middle Fork of the Flathead River near Nimrod, Montana on Java Trestle, at the point where Java Creek flows into Middle Fork of the Flathead River. This view from Java Trestle shows the clear blue water of the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.

Leaving Glacier Park, the eastbound Empire Builder stops at East Glacier, Montana. Visible from the train during the station stop is the Glacier Park Lodge. The Glacier Park Lodge was built in 1913 by the Glacier Park Company, a subsidiary of the Great Northern Railway, and its design was based on the Forestry Building from the 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oregon.

As the eastbound Empire Builder continues out of the Rocky Mountains into eastern Montana. One of the major stops on this part of the trip is Havre, Montana, which is a service stop for the Empire Builder. If the Empire Builder is running on time, it will stop here for about 20 minutes, giving passengers an opportunity to step off the train and stretch their legs.

On static display next to the Amtrak depot in Havre is Great Northern steam locomotive #2584, an S-2 Class 4-8-4 that was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1930.

This locomotive is an example of the type of locomotives that pulled passenger trains like the Empire Builder through Montana during the age of steam.

A sign next to the locomotive tells its history:

THIS NORTHERN TYPE LOCOMOTIVE, SURVIVOR OF THE LAST STEAM ENGINES ACQUIRED BY THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY FOR MAIN-LINE PASSENGER SERVICE, WAS PLACED ON PERMANENT EXHIBITION HERE ON MAY 15, 1964.

A POWERFUL AND SPEEDY LOCOMOTIVE, THIS ENGINE NOW LOOKS EVERY BIT THE ARISTOCRAT THAT IT WAS DURING THE YRS. OF ITS PRE-EMINENT ASSOCIATION WITH THE EMPIRE BUILDER AND THE ORIENTAL LIMITED. THE EMPIRE BUILDER WAS INAUGURATED ON JUNE, 1929, AND WAS PULLED BY A MOUNTAIN TYPE LOCOMOTIVE, BUT POPULARITY OF THE TRAIN LED TO ADDITION OF CARS TO THE CONSIST, AND THIS NECESSITATED MORE POWERFUL ENGINES.

IN 1930 GREAT NORTHERN ACQUIRED 14 CLASS S-2 STEAM LOCOMOTIVES FROM BALDWIN LOCOMOTIVE WORKS FOR SERVICE ON THE EMPIRE BUILDER AND THE FAST MAIL TRAINS. THIS ENGINE - No 2584 - IS THE LAST OF THE 14 ENGINES. SAMUEL VAUCLAIN, PRESIDENT OF BALDWIN DESCRIBED THE CLASS S-2 ENGINES AS "THE FINEST, MOST POWERFUL STEAM PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVES EVER BUILT UP TO THIS TIME." THESE ENGINES WERE OPERATED IN FREIGHT SERVICE AFTER THE EMPIRE BUILDER WAS STREAMLINED AND DIESEL POWERED IN 1947, AND WERE RETIRED IN 1955.

LOCOMOTIVE AND TENDER ARE 103 FEET 3 INCHES LONG, WEIGHT 764,680 POUNDS, AND HEIGHT FROM RAIL TO TOP OF STACK IS 16 FEET. No 2584 WAS AN OIL BURNER AND DEVELOPED 58,305 POUNDS OF TRACTIVE EFFORT. EACH OF THE 8 DRIVE WHEELS IS 80 INCHES HIGH.

THE TRACK ON WHICH No 2584 STANDS IS LAID TO THE GREAT NORTHERN MAIN LINE SPECIFICATIONS. THE CREOSOTED TIES ARE SUPPORTED ON A SUB-BALLAST CONSISTING OF 6 INCHES OF ROCK CHIPS AND A BALLAST CONSISTING OF SIX INCHES OF CRUSHED PINK QUARTZITE ROCK, BOTH OF WHICH ARE QUARRIED BY THE GREAT NORTHERN IN MONTANA. WELDED RAILS FULLY TIE PLATED AND ANCHORED, WEIGHT 115 POUNDS TO THE YARD.

After departing the Havre depot, the eastbound Empire Builder passes Burlington Northern Santa Fe's Havre yard and engine shop, where Burlington Northern Rotary Snowplow Power Units #972571 & #972570 are pictured. Both were originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors as 1,750-horsepower F9A diesel locomotives for freight service. Burlington Northern #972571 was built in September 1954 as Northern Pacific #7003A. After the Northern Pacific was merged into the Burlington Northern in March 1970, it became Burlington Northern #812. Burlington Northern #972570 was built in March 1956 as Northern Pacific #7011D. On April 11, 1966 it was reassigned to passenger service and renumbered to Northern Pacific #6704C. After the Northern Pacific was merged into the Burlington Northern in March 1970, it became Burlington Northern #9818. Following the creation of Amtrak in May 1971, it was transferred to freight service and was renumbered to Burlington Northern #784 in July 1973. Both of these locomotives were retired in December 1981 and rebuilt by Burlington Northern as Rotary Snowplow Power Units, or RSPUs. Their traction motors were removed and they were rewired so their diesel engines and main generators could provide power for a rotary snowplow.

Much later in the day, the eastbound Empire Builder reaches another service stop in Minot, North Dakota, where I managed to get a picture of the train's cook in the doorway of the dining car while it was being restocked.

Here are the locomotives for the eastbound Empire Builder being refueled in Minot. Amtrak #817 & #800 are 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40BPs that were built by General Electric in 1993.

Just to the west of the Amtrak station in Minot, and visible from its platform, is a crossing of the BNSF Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway. Seen here leading a westbound freight train, Canadian Pacific #8559 is a 4,400-horsepower AC4400CW that was built by General Electric in 1998.