If you took a poll, travel by train would probably be the single most popular form of transit. Every famous travel writer in the world has waxed lyrical about train travel, and most not-so-famous ones, too, yours truly included. Loving the rails might make me just one of the herd, but I can’t help it. It is the best way to see the world, even the smallest slices of it.
That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s always romantic. Or even comfortable. I was open-mouthed astounded recently when my husband put on a show called Extreme Trains, and the host fed his audience an image of Amtrak’s Empire Builder route – from Chicago to Seattle – that I, a veteran of that journey, have never seen in my life. I have ridden the Empire Builder more than 20 times, and you could look over, under, through, and across the train and never find that my experiences coincide with those depicted on Extreme Trains. Maybe in another universe.
This is a crappy show. Sure, it’s done by the History Channel and hosted by a real-life train conductor who knows his engineering. His presentation (reminiscent of those overly melodramatic volcano shows on the Discovery Channel that show some TV producers never learned that the drama of nature really does speak for itself) makes me think they dragged someone over from RAW World Wrestling. But presentation is only half the problem.
While host Matt Brown certainly has his facts down, his adjectives need correcting. I was interested when he talked about the history of the Empire Builder route, how the line was blasted through the unforgiving Cascade mountains outside of Seattle, and for all my times on the train I didn’t realize its schedule was designed to give passengers a daytime view of Glacier National Park’s beautiful southern peaks.
But then he gets to words like, say, “luxury.” Or “comfort.” Or “gourmet.” Take any of them and you’re talking a barrow-load of crap. Throw in his comment (made 3 times!) that Amtrak, especially the Empire Builder, is famous for its “on-time service” and I swear to your God that I spilled my soup.
I adore Amtrak. I revere Amtrak. Amtrak got me through college and back home again every Christmas, every summer, and sometimes spring break. I could afford it, unlike the plane tickets. It was more comfortable than Greyhound. And I can remember riding it my very first Christmas break, the day after my last physics and calculus finals, and thinking that the 24-hour journey was exactly what I needed to transition from the first exhilarating, giddy semester of college, back to the mountain home I loved and the friends I’d missed. If I dug around, I could probably find the journal entry that says that very thing.
My love for Amtrak and the Empire Builder goes beyond an affection for train travel. We have a relationship.
It’s a one-sided, old-fashioned marriage. “On-time service,” says the host of Extreme Trains? Our train once sat in midwinter, on a dark night, outside of Havre, Montana (one of the middles of nowhere out on the windswept prairie) for 6 hours while they tried to locate another engine that could pull us up through the Rocky Mountains. Obviously they couldn’t have thought that one ahead, although Amtrak did the trip every single day at the time. Since they had to remove our old engine, the electricity was off. That meant the heat was off. In Eastern Montana. At night, in the middle of winter. For 6 hours.
Such was my preparation and love for this train that I simply shook my head, pulled on my wool hat and ski gloves, and dragged the thick blanket back over my shoulders.
I once got on a train in Minneapolis, to go home, that was 36 hours late. Work that one out. Never once did I arrive back in Montana anywhere near on time. I think we did arrive only 2 hours late, once. It was a fluke.
And have you ever tried the food on Amtrak? Extreme Trains host Matt Brown went on about how high-quality it was, how the passengers were hungry, and how the Empire Builder was known for its excellent dining car service.
You bet the passengers are hungry. That’s because the food is pre-cooked, microwaved stodge that you can only buy a plate at a time (as in the plates are pre-arranged and shrink-wrapped), and there’s not a whole lot of it. And it costs a fortune. Being a lover of this train, and knowing it well, I always brought a big bag of crusty bread, cheese, salami, and chocolate. It made me popular, although not as much as the whisky flask my grandmother once sneaked into my pocket for the journey.
Extreme Trains proved to me, once again, how misleading travel shows can be. It shows why real travel writing, by real people having real experiences, is so crucial to the armchair or mobile traveler.
But it also does Amtrak a great disservice. The Empire Builder might be late, sometimes cold, and underfed, but it is a journey in the best tradition of train travel. There’s lots of room, even if you just buy a seat. I once took my harp back and forth, plonked in front of my feet, and had plenty of leg room (it’s a small harp). You meet interesting people, whether in your car or in the observation lounge. The trip takes you through views of America’s sprawled-out countryside that in a car might put you to sleep. It gives you access to towns all across the northern United States that nobody in a plane will likely ever see. It allows you to learn that almost every single small town in Montana has a bar named Stockman’s.
There are train journeys in Europe, both comfortable and elegant, with views that made my teeth tingle, that can never have the place in my heart that the Empire Builder does. They can’t touch the memories created by a journey that is like an old lover: doddering, tardy, cranky, with indigestion.
Forget ‘Extreme.’ The Empire Builder is anything but extreme. It is like the best of America: strong, solid, simple-hearted, and worth of loyalty.
I’ve done a little time on the Coast Starlight, another romantically named Amtrak line that doesn’t live up to the billing. I love that train too, but wow, talk about unpredictable. Once, I talked to a conductor in the station about the crazy delays. “Yeah, that train, it’s more of a lifestyle than just a point to point method of transportation.” I ended up on the Cascades, so great was the delay. The Cascades is on time, reliable, comfortable, and has none of the charm of the Coast Starlight, but it got me home.
We are thinking of taking a vacation to Whitefish, MT for a snowboarding trip. We are planning on taking the train starting in Minneapolis. Judging by your comments, the train will be very late on arrival and departure. Do you think it will be that bad in the winter?
Hi Erik,
It totally depends. Sorry to be vague. In my 4 years of taking the train regularly, it was anywhere from 2 to 9 hours late arriving in Whitefish. I think it was on time once. It was definitely worse in winter, probably due to weather, but the bigger problem is that passenger trains have to pull aside to let freight trains pass.
However, it was almost always on time departing from Minneapolis. If you can prepare yourself for long delays with good snacks, good books, good company, and a sense of adventure, you’ll still enjoy the trip. The views are lovely, and there’s nothing to beat train travel.
And hey, you could get lucky — maybe they’ll be on time!
Hope you have a great trip, and enjoy Whitefish 🙂
Cheers,
Antonia
The food aboard the Empire Builder is NOT pre-cooked. The Empire Builder is the only Amtrak train where all the food items are cooked fresh and served on real china and silverware (other Amtrak trains can use paper plates and plasticware).
As a rule, though things can get wild during the winter, the Empire Builder is on time 75 to 80 percent of the time, and the statistics are available at Amtrak’s website.
Thank you Mark, I stand corrected! I have to say it always tasted pre-cooked, to me at least. And since they never let people order anything a la carte (which may have changed) it gave the impression of everything being pre-cooked and ready to heat. By that I mean — if I wanted, say, just a salad and a side of corn, I couldn’t have it. I had to order a whole meal. I understand that logistically that would make the dining car far more difficult, but it does leave the impression that everything’s shrink-wrapped and microwavable and can’t be messed with.
However, it’s good to know that it is actually cooked fresh, and I do remember the real china and silverware, which was a pleasant surprise.
In any case, no matter what the food is like I still love the journey and think it’s well worth it.
I have taken Amtrak trains and the Empire Builder 3 times since September, traveling from Seatte and to Syracuse, NY. I will be traveling once again in the next couple of days back to the Pacific NW. I truly love the train. On these three trips, we haven’t been very late at all – save for a few minutes. Seven years ago when I took the train we were 2 hours late coming to NY and 4 hours late going back to Seattle because of a freight train derailment, which is understandable. This will be my first time traveling in winter though. I also have learned to take snacks, a blanket, videos for my computer, or something to keep me entertained.
My biggest and probably only problem with Amtrak, is not the food, the scenery, timeliness, or the spaciousness of coach class, it is the terrible customer service I have received. The trip would be more pleasurable if some of the employees had better attitudes. I sometimes suffer cluster headaches (very debilitating) when I over exert and had one of these episodes when a employee refused to help me with my luggage. The headache lasted the whole trip. As for the “at seat food service,” well when I requested it – it was said to me, “The dining car is one car up, can’t you just get up and go?” A little positive customer service could make thse trip a wonderful experience.
I have a sleeper car this time – I am wondering how the service will be? But like you, I love train travel! Its the best way to go!
Brenda,
Having taken the Empire Builder from Minneapolis/St Paul (the station is in St Paul) to Chicago and then the Lake Shore Limited to Croton-Harmon NY, I know part of the trip you’re taking. My wife and I have done the sleeper car option several times on the Lake Shore Ltd. We have always had good service in the sleeper. Each car has an attendant that will get you what you need. The sleeper makes you a first class passenger which means your meals are included. You can arrange to have your meal in your roomette, I believe. As far as the food goes, I think of the dining car as a good hotel restaurant in a mid-level hotel. The difference being that they have a limited menu, banquet style, like you might have if you’re attending a conference and there is a dinner session.
I too am one of those people who loves train travel. I’ve done the trip to NY in coach when traveling alone. One time we got to Albany, NY early and had to wait as that train was a “substitute” for the regional commuter train on the day I was traveling. Many years ago (1977 to be exact) I took the old Century Limited from Chicago to NY. Somewhere in Ohio we were rerouted and the 19 hour trip became a 24 hour trip. We did get a free meal out them on that trip. 8^)
I have to report that I have made the trip across country again. I had impeccable service on all trains. The Lakeshore Limited train was actually early for its arrival in Chicago. I rode coach on this train; it wasn’t crowded and our attendant was quite nice. When it was time to board the Empire Builder, I was greeted by Matt (the car attendent) and not only did he greet me by name (it was on the manifest), but he also helped get my bags up the stairs and into my room. I was truly treated as a VIP by all staff. I enjoyed meals (which were very good) in the dining car and in my roomette. Our car attendant (Matt) was great. He was there for anything I needed and was very pleasant. Good job Matt!
I traveled to Portland instead of Seattle this time and then up to WA (as I have never gone this way) and since this was the end of the line for the Empire Builder, I had to leave my cozy room. Matt once again carried my bags down the stairs, helped me off the train, and much to my surprise, handed me over to Craig (a Redcap with Amtrak). Craig took care of my bags and seating on the last train and when it was time to board, he drove me to the train car that I would occupy for the last leg of my journey.
As for timeliness, we lost an hour and a half in Minot, ND. It was 13 below and had some mechanical difficulties with freezing. But in the end, I was only 20 minutes late at my final destination.
Whlie the roomettes are small, I completely recommend the sleeping accomodations on Amtrak. It was a great experience and now I don’t think that I can ever ride coach again. I wish that everyone could receive the great service that I have just experienced with Amtrak, whether riding coach or sleeper.
I agree with Brenda about the service. Especially in Portland! Our attendant made sure a redcap assisted us off the train, who drove us to the first-class waiting area. It was fully stocked with beverages and a TV for entertainment until we reboarded. Our redcap took care of tickets, moving baggage, drove us to our next car and escorted us to our seats. Talk about pampered!! I am looking forward to the trip again next week.
Very interesting blog! Coming from India where trains are part of everyday life, I was looking forward to our first Amtrak trip between Los Angeles and Klamath Falls. I was shocked to find that
– there are no assigned seats upon reservation, and we were asked to stand in a queue at around midnight in freezing cold so that the conductor could assign us seats (hello stone age!)
– overnight journeys did not include sleeping accommodation, ie you had to book that separately,
– that there was only one railway track that was shared by trains plying in both directions.
– the train had just 5 compartments
– the engine was in the rear
– given the lack of train traffic, the trains ran crazy late (Indian Railways can be notoriously late at times, but then it is tough to catch up because there are so many trains that are running on time and get priority over the one that got delayed)
– all diesel locos and no electric ones
Everywhere I have been, trying out trains is something I love, and UK was a delight, South Korea and Singapore were good, and I was expecting Amtrak to deliver at least a decent experience. It was a spectacular failure, and my wife vowed to never take Amtrak again. After so much of cajoling, we hopped on the Southwest Chief from ABQ to LAX, and that was a pleasant experience. And for this holidays, I have managed to convince her into taking a looong train trip from Chicago to Portland and from Portland to Los Angeles. I am hoping Amtrak does not throw up any nasty surprises.
I rode Amtrak’s Cardinal from KY to Chicago, then boarded the Empire Builder from Chicago to Minneapolis. I did this three times within the last year round trip. I found that the service on the Cardinal was second to none with one exception. When I boarded the Empire Builder in Chicago, the attitudes of SOME of the crew members did not match the excellence I had just experienced on the Cardinal. The women who ran the dining car on the Cardinal, on one of the return trips, were rude and I felt that they should have been more friendly to the passengers. I wanted a refill and I asked twice and the waitress never brought it and I asked a third time and she said “I’m only one person! I’ll get it when I can.” I felt that was rude to say to a paying customer, and the passengers dining with me agreed. Besides that, the service I received on the Cardinal train (#50 & #51) was totally excellent. On the Empire Builder, I was dining with another passenger, who, upon paying for her dinner, gave the waitress a credit card. The waitress was as rude as I have ever seen anyone be when she told the passenger that the card wasn’t signed and that it had to be signed on the back(in a very hateful manner). I thought that was insane for her to be that hateful to a paying customer as I own retail stores and her behavior would warrant her dismissal if she worked for me. On one of the trips on the Empire Builder from Chicago to St. Paul/Minneapolis I experienced a female porter who also had a bad attitude. When passengers asked her when the next smoke break was coming up she responded in a rude manner saying”I don’t know, you all might not even get it”. I felt this was very rude as a response to paying customers. A woman with two young children got up to get off at St. Paul and went down the stairs earlier than the announcement was made. This Amtrak employee said”Woman, get back up those stairs!” Which all the passengers commented that it was very rude.
I wanted to take a train out west. After watching your show and how you kept pointing out all the stresses the workers were under, I decided driving would be safer. Thank you for posibly saving my life.
Hi! Our family of 5 is travelling via train on the Empire Builder from Chicago to Whitefish MT. I had a blood clot a few years ago (got it driving to MT) and this is safest way for me to travel. However, I am concerned that in coach class (our tickets) will have us sleeping with no way to prop our feet up. Could you tell me if there is a recliner that reclines our feet as well, or is it like a regular airline-type seat.
Anything we should know in advance to bring, with 3 kids coming with? Is there storage by our seats to bring games, etc? Nowhere can I find how big the space is, and if it is shared with many.
Thank you!