Northern U.S. rail service
Empire Builder
|
|
Service type
| Inter-city rail
|
---|
Locale
| Midwestern
and
Northwestern
United States
|
---|
First service
| June 10, 1929
(
1929-06-10
)
|
---|
Current operator(s)
| Amtrak
|
---|
Former operator(s)
| Great Northern
(1929?1970)
Burlington Northern
(1970?1971)
|
---|
Annual ridership
| 348,993 (FY23)
15.0%
[a]
[1]
|
---|
|
Termini
| Chicago
, Illinois
Seattle
, Washington or
Portland
, Oregon
|
---|
Stops
| 38 (Seattle?Chicago)
37 (Portland?Chicago)
|
---|
Distance travelled
| 2,206 miles (3,550 km) (Seattle?Chicago)
2,257 miles (3,632 km) (Portland?Chicago)
|
---|
Average journey time
|
- 45 hours, 10 minutes (Portland to Chicago)
- 45 hours, 15 minutes (Seattle to Chicago)
- 45 hours, 55 minutes (Chicago to Portland)
- 46 hours, 10 minutes (Chicago to Seattle)
[2]
|
---|
Service frequency
| Daily
|
---|
Train number(s)
| 7, 8 (Seattle?Chicago)
27, 28 (Portland?Chicago)
|
---|
|
Class(es)
| Coach Class
Sleeper Service
|
---|
Disabled access
| Train lower level, all stations
|
---|
Sleeping arrangements
| - Roomette (2 beds)
- Bedroom (2 beds)
- Bedroom Suite (4 beds)
- Accessible Bedroom (2 beds)
- Family Bedroom (4 beds)
|
---|
Catering facilities
| Dining car
,
Cafe
|
---|
Observation facilities
| Sightseer lounge car
|
---|
Baggage facilities
| Overhead racks, checked baggage available at selected stations
|
---|
|
Rolling stock
| GE Genesis
Siemens Charger
Superliner
|
---|
Track gauge
| 4 ft
8
+
1
⁄
2
in
(
1,435 mm
)
standard gauge
|
---|
Operating speed
| 50 mph (80 km/h) (
)
79 mph (127 km/h) (
)
|
---|
Track owner(s)
| BNSF
,
CPKC
,
Metra
,
MNNR
|
---|
|
Show interactive map
|
|
The
Empire Builder
is a daily
long-distance
passenger train
operated by
Amtrak
between
Chicago
and either
Seattle
or
Portland
via two
sections
west of
Spokane
. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the
Great Northern Railway
and was retained by Amtrak when it took over intercity rail service in 1971.
The end-to-end travel time of the route is 45–46 hours for an average speed of about 50 mph (80 km/h), though the train travels as fast as 79 mph (127 km/h) over the majority of the route. It is Amtrak's busiest long-distance route.
During
fiscal year
2023, the
Empire Builder
carried 338,993 passengers, an increase of 15.0% from FY2022
[3]
but 21.8% below pre-
COVID-19
levels (433,372 passengers during FY2019
[4]
). During FY2022, the train had a total revenue of
$
49,600,000.
History
[
edit
]
The
Great Northern Railway
inaugurated the
Empire Builder
on June 10, 1929. It was named in honor of the company's founder,
James J. Hill
, who had reorganized several failing railroads into the only successful attempt at a privately funded
transcontinental railroad
. It reached the Pacific Northwest in the late 19th century, and for this feat, he was nicknamed "The Empire Builder".
[5]
Following
World War II
, Great Northern placed new
streamlined
and diesel-powered trains in service that cut the scheduled 2,211-mile trip between Chicago and Seattle from 58.5 hours to 45 hours.
[6]
On May
27, 1931, the eastbound
Empire Builder
was struck by a tornado in Clay County, Minnesota. The train, carrying 117 passengers, had all of its cars, minus the locomotive and coal tender, thrown off the tracks by the tornado, with one car being thrown 80 feet (24 m) off the track. One passenger died, with 57 others injured.
[7]
The schedule allowed riders views of the
Cascade Mountains
and
Glacier National Park
, a park established through the lobbying efforts of the Great Northern. Re-equipped with
domes
in 1955, the Empire Builder offered passengers sweeping views of the route through three dome coaches and one full-length
Great Dome
car for first class passengers.
[8]
In 1970, the Great Northern merged with three other closely affiliated railroads to form the
Burlington Northern Railroad
, which assumed operation of the
Builder.
Amtrak took over the train when it began operating most intercity routes a year later. To improve its
farebox recovery ratio
, Amtrak shifted the Chicago–St. Paul leg to run through Milwaukee via the
Milwaukee Road
.
[9]
Before 1971, the Chicago–St. Paul leg used the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
's mainline along the Mississippi River through Wisconsin. The service also used to operate west from the Twin Cities before turning northwest in
Willmar, Minnesota
, to reach Fargo.
Amtrak added a Portland section in 1981, with the train splitting in Spokane. This restored service to the line previously operated by the
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway
.
[10]
It was not the first time that the train had operated Seattle and Portland sections; Great Northern had split the
Builder
in Spokane for much of the 1940s and 1950s.
[11]
[12]
In 2005, Amtrak upgraded service to include a wine and cheese tasting in the dining car for sleeping car passengers and free newspapers in the morning.
[13]
Amtrak's inspector general eliminated some of these services in 2013 as part of a cost-saving measure.
[14]
During summer months, on portions of the route, "
Trails and Rails
" volunteer tour guides in the lounge car give commentary on points of visual and historic interest that can be viewed from the train.
[15]
After running daily for the better part of a century, the
Empire Builder
was cut back to tri-weekly operation along with most of Amtrak's other long-distance routes on October
12, 2020, as part of a round of service reductions due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
. For most of the fall and winter of 2020?21, trains departed Chicago on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays and departed Seattle or Portland on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
[16]
However, in March 2021, Amtrak announced the train would return to its pre-pandemic daily schedule on May
24, 2021.
[17]
The westbound
Empire Builder
derailed
near
Joplin, Montana
on September
25, 2021, with three fatalities.
[18]
Ridership
[
edit
]
The
Empire Builder
is Amtrak's most popular long-distance train. Over fiscal years 2007–2016,
Empire Builder
annual ridership averaged 500,000, with a high of 554,266 in FY 2008. Revenue peaked in FY 2013 at $67,394,779.
[b]
About 65% of the cost of operating the train is covered by fare revenue, a rate among Amtrak's long-distance trains second only to the specialized East Coast
Auto Train
.
[28]
Traffic by Fiscal Year (October?September)
|
Ridership
|
Change over previous year
|
Ticket Revenue
|
Change over previous year
|
2007
[29]
|
504,977
|
-
|
$53,177,760
|
-
|
2008
[29]
|
554,266
|
0
9.76%
|
$59,461,168
|
0
11.81%
|
2009
[29]
|
515,444
|
0
7.0%
|
$54,064,861
|
0
9.07%
|
2010
[30]
|
533,493
|
0
3.5%
|
$58,497,143
|
0
8.19%
|
2011
[30]
|
469,167
|
0
12.05%
|
$53,773,711
|
0
8.07%
|
2012
[31]
|
543,072
|
0
15.75%
|
$66,655,153
|
0
23.95%
|
2013
[31]
|
536,391
|
0
1.23%
|
$67,394,779
|
0
1.1%
|
2014
[32]
|
450,932
|
0
15.93%
|
$54,545,844
|
0
19.06%
|
2015
[32]
|
438,376
|
0
2.78%
|
$50,541,140
|
0
7.34%
|
2016
[33]
|
454,625
|
0
3.7%
|
$51,798,583
|
0
2.48%
|
2017
[34]
|
454,000
|
0
0.13%
|
$59,000,000
|
0
13.9%
|
2018
[35]
|
428,854
|
0
5.53%
|
$57,600,000
|
0
2.37%
|
2019
[35]
|
433,372
|
0
1.05%
|
$57,500,000
|
0
0.17%
|
2020
[36]
|
253,486
|
0
41.5%
|
$32,400,000
|
0
43.65%
|
2021
[37]
|
220,681
|
0
12.94%
|
$38,400,000
|
0
18.52%
|
2022
[38]
|
303,568
|
0
37.56%
|
$49,600,000
|
0
29.17%
|
2023
[39]
[40]
|
348,993
|
0
15%
|
$61,100,000
|
0
23.19%
|
Route
[
edit
]
The current Amtrak
Empire Builder
passes through
Oregon
,
Washington
,
Idaho
,
Montana
,
North Dakota
,
Minnesota
,
Wisconsin
, and
Illinois
. It makes service stops in
Spokane, Washington
;
Havre, Montana
;
Minot, North Dakota
; and
Saint Paul, Minnesota
. Its other major stops include
Vancouver, Washington
;
Whitefish, Montana
;
Williston, North Dakota
;
Fargo, North Dakota
; and
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. It uses
BNSF Railway
's
Northern Transcon
from Seattle to Minneapolis,
Minnesota Commercial Railway
from Minneapolis to St. Paul,
Canadian Pacific Kansas City
(former
Milwaukee Road
) from St. Paul to
Rondout, Illinois
, and
Metra
's
Milwaukee District / North Line
(former Milwaukee Road) from Rondout to Chicago. The St. Paul to Chicago portion currently follows the route of the former
Twin Cities Hiawatha
, and beginning in May 2024 has been supplemented by the
Borealis
. In pre-Amtrak days it used the
Twin Zephyrs
routing.
The Seattle section uses the
Cascade Tunnel
and
Stevens Pass
as it traverses the
Cascade Range
to reach
Spokane
, while the Portland section runs along the Washington side of the
Columbia River Gorge
. The cars from the two sections are combined at Spokane. The combined train then traverses the mountains of northeastern
Washington
, northern
Idaho
and northwestern
Montana
, arriving in Whitefish in the morning. The schedule is timed so that the train passes through the Rocky Mountains (and
Glacier National Park
) during daylight – an occurrence that is more likely on the eastbound train during summer. Passengers can see sweeping views as the
Builder
travels along the middle fork of the
Flathead River
, crossing the
Continental Divide
at
Marias Pass
. After crossing Marias Pass, the
Empire Builder
leaves Glacier National Park and enters the
Northern Plains
of eastern
Montana
and
North Dakota
.
The land changes from
prairie
to forest as it travels through
Minnesota
. From
Minneapolis-St. Paul
, the
Empire Builder
crosses the
Mississippi River
at
Hastings, Minnesota
and passes through
southeastern Minnesota
cities on or near
Lake Pepin
before crossing the Mississippi again at
La Crosse, Wisconsin
. The service travels southeast through rural southern Wisconsin, turns due south at Milwaukee, and ends at
Chicago Union Station
.
The westbound
Empire Builder
leaves Chicago in early afternoon, arriving in Milwaukee just before the afternoon rush and in St. Paul in the evening. After traveling overnight through Minnesota, it spends most of the following day traveling through North Dakota and Montana, arriving at Glacier National Park in the early evening and splitting late at night in Spokane. The Seattle section travels through the Cascades overnight, arriving in Seattle in mid-morning. The Portland section arrives in the Tri-Cities just before breakfast and in Portland in mid-morning. The eastbound Seattle and Portland sections leave within five minutes of each other just before the afternoon rush, combining in Spokane and traveling through Montana overnight before arriving at Glacier National Park in mid-morning and Williston at dinner time. After traveling overnight through North Dakota and Minnesota, it arrives in St. Paul at breakfast time, Columbus/Madison at lunch time, Milwaukee in early afternoon and Chicago just before the afternoon rush.
Stops at Milwaukee Airport and Sturtevant were added beginning March
21, 2020, to replace
Hiawatha Service
trains suspended due to the
COVID-19
-related drastic drop in demand.
[41]
Additionally, local travel was allowed between Chicago and Milwaukee. These adjustments lasted until the train resumed its normal schedule in May 2021.
Flooding
[
edit
]
The line has come under threat from flooding from the Missouri, Souris, Red, and Mississippi Rivers, and has occasionally had to suspend or alter service. Most service gets restored in days or weeks, but
Devils Lake
in
North Dakota
, which has no natural outlet, is a long-standing threat. The lowest top-of-rail elevation in the lake crossing is 1,455.7 ft (443.70 m).
[42]
In spring 2011, the lake reached 1,454.3 ft (443.27 m),
[43]
causing service interruptions on windy days when
high waves
threatened the tracks.
BNSF, which owns the track, suspended freight operations through Devils Lake in 2009 and threatened to allow the rising waters to cover the line unless Amtrak could provide $100 million to raise the track. In that case, the
Empire Builder
would have been rerouted to the south, ending service to
Rugby
,
Devils Lake
, and
Grand Forks
.
[44]
In June 2011 agreement was reached that Amtrak and BNSF would each cover 1/3 of the cost with the rest to come from the federal and state governments.
[45]
In December 2011, North Dakota was awarded a $10 million
TIGER
grant from the
US Department of Transportation
to assist with the state portion of the cost.
[46]
Work began in June 2012, and the track is being raised in two stages: 5 feet (1.5 m) in 2012, and another 5 feet in 2013. Two bridges and their abutments are also being raised. When the track raise is complete, the top-of-rail elevation will be 1,466 ft (446.84 m).
[47]
This is 10 feet above the level at which the lake will naturally overflow and will thus be a permanent solution to the Devils Lake flooding.
In the spring and summer of 2011 flooding of the Souris River near Minot, North Dakota blocked the route in the latter part of June and for most of July. For some of that time the
Empire Builder
(with a typical consist of only four cars) ran from Chicago and terminated in Minneapolis/St Paul; to the west, the
Empire Builder
did not run east of Havre, Montana. (Other locations along the route also flooded, near Devils Lake, North Dakota and areas further west along the Missouri River.)
Freight train interference
[
edit
]
An oil boom from the
Bakken formation
, combined with a robust fall 2013 harvest, led to a spike in the number of crude oil and grain trains using the Northern Transcon in Montana and North Dakota. The resulting congestion led to rampant delays for the
Empire Builder,
with the train running on time 44.5% in November 2013, the worst on-time performance of any Amtrak route and well below congressional standards. In some cases, the delays resulted in an imbalance of crew and equipment, forcing Amtrak to cancel runs of the
Empire Builder
.
[48]
By May 2014, only 26% of
Empire Builder
trains had arrived within 30 minutes of their scheduled time, with delays averaging between 3 and 5 hours.
[49]
In some cases, freight congestion and severe weather resulted in delays as long as 11 to 12 hours.
[50]
This was a marked change from past years in which the
Empire Builder
was one of the best on-time performers in the entire Amtrak system, ahead of even the flagship
Acela Express
.
[51]
Due to the increasingly severe delays, Amtrak adjusted the route's schedule west of St. Paul on April
15, 2014. Westbound trains left St. Paul later, while eastbound trains left Seattle/Portland approximately three hours earlier. Operating hours for affected stations were also officially adjusted accordingly. The Amtrak announcement also said that BNSF was working on adding track capacity, and it was anticipated that sometime in 2015 the
Empire Builder
could be returned to its former schedule. In January 2015, it was announced that the train would resume its normal schedule.
[52]
[50]
Even during the worst of the delays, the train has seen frequent patronage from workers in the Bakken fields and their families who board and detrain in
Williston
. Passengers travel from as far as the Pacific Northwest.
[53]
Stations
[
edit
]
Former stops
[
edit
]
In 1970, the construction and filling of
Lake Koocanusa
necessitated the realignment of 60 miles (97 km) of track between
Stryker, Montana
, and
Libby, Montana
, and the construction of
Flathead Tunnel
, leading the
Empire Builder
to drop service to
Eureka, Montana
. The
Empire Builder
also served
Troy, Montana
, until February
15, 1973.
On October
1, 1979, the
Empire Builder
was rerouted to operate over the
North Coast Hiawatha
'
s old route between Minneapolis and
Fargo, North Dakota
. With this alignment change, the
Empire Builder
dropped
Willmar, Minnesota
;
Morris, Minnesota
; and
Breckenridge, Minnesota
, while adding
St. Cloud, Minnesota
;
Staples, Minnesota
; and
Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
.
Another alignment change came on October
25, 1981, when the Seattle section was rerouted from the old
Northern Pacific
(which had also become part of the BN in 1970) to the
Burlington Northern Railroad
's line through the
Cascade Tunnel
over
Stevens Pass
. This change eliminated service to
Yakima, Washington
;
Ellensburg, Washington
; and
Auburn, Washington
.
[54]
This change also introduced the Portland section, which returned service to the former Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railroad line (which became part of BN in 1970) along the Washington shore of the Columbia River. The route kept
Pasco
, but added
Wishram
, Bingen-White Salmon, and Vancouver (all in Washington) to the route. From Vancouver, the Portland section of the
Empire Builder
uses the same route as the
Coast Starlight
and
Cascades
trains to Portland Union Station.
It has been proposed that the
Empire Builder
and
Hiawatha Service
trains servicing
Glenview
, Illinois have their station stop be shifted one station north to the Metra station at
North Glenview
, to eliminate stops which block traffic on Glenview Road. North Glenview would have to be modified to handle additional traffic, and the move depends on commitments from Glenview, the
Illinois General Assembly
, and Metra.
[55]
In Minnesota, the
Empire Builder
returned to
Saint Paul Union Depot
on May
7, 2014, 43 years after it last served the station the day before the start of Amtrak. Renovation of the 1917 Beaux Arts terminal was undertaken in 2011, continuing through 2013, resulting in a multi-mode terminal used by
Jefferson Lines
,
Greyhound Lines
, commuter bus and the
Metro Green Line
, providing a
light rail
connection to downtown Minneapolis.
[56]
The station replaced
Midway Station
which opened in 1978 after the initial abandonment of Saint Paul Union Depot in 1971 and the demolition of
Minneapolis Great Northern Depot
in 1978.
Equipment
[
edit
]
Current equipment
[
edit
]
Like all long-distance trains west of the Mississippi River, the
Empire Builder
uses bilevel
Superliner
passenger cars (except for the baggage car). The
Empire Builder
was the first train to be fully equipped with Superliners, with the first run occurring on October
28, 1979.
[57]
A typical
Empire Builder
consist includes:
[58]
- Two or three
GE Genesis
or
Siemens Charger ALC-42
locomotives
- Viewliner baggage car
- Superliner transition sleeper car
- Two Superliner sleeper cars
- Superliner diner
- Superliner coach
- Superliner Sightseer Lounge/cafe
- Superliner coach
- Superliner coach/baggage car
- Superliner sleeper
In Spokane, the westbound train is split: the locomotives, baggage car, and first six passenger cars continue on to Seattle as train 7, while a single locomotive is used to take the remaining cars (including the lounge/cafe) to Portland as train 27. Eastbound the sections are combined in a reverse fashion, with the Seattle section numbered as train 8 and the Portland section as train 28. During peak travel periods, an additional coach is added to the rear of the train between Chicago and St. Paul. It is left overnight in St. Paul for the next day's return trip to pick up. This car is designated train 807 westbound and train 808 eastbound.
Amtrak’s
Siemens Charger ALC-42
locomotives were first used in revenue service on the
Empire Builder
on February
8, 2022.
[59]
Historical equipment
[
edit
]
When first launched in 1929, the Great Northern provided new heavyweight consists. When the railway received five new streamlined trainsets in 1947, the old heavyweight sets were used to reintroduce the
Oriental Limited
. In 1951 the
Empire Builder
was re-equipped with six new streamlined trainsets; the 1947 cars were used to launch the
Western Star
, while the
Oriental Limited
was retired. When the GN acquired dome coaches in 1955, the 1951 coaches went to
Western Star
, while the 1947 coaches went to the pool of spare and extra-movement cars. Ownership of the cars on the
Empire Builder
was by-and-large split between the Great Northern and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), though a couple of cars in the original consists were owned by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway (SP&S). In this consist, one of the 48-seat "chair" cars and one of the 4-section sleepers were used for the connection to Portland, while the rest of the consist connected to Seattle.
The Great Northern coaches eventually found their way into state-subsidized commuter service for the
Central Railroad of New Jersey
after the
Burlington Northern
merger and remained until 1987 when
NJ Transit
retired its last E8A locomotive. Some of these cars remain in
New Jersey
. Some coaches were acquired from the
Union Pacific
; these also went to New Jersey. One of the 28 seat coach-dinette cars also remains in New Jersey and is stored near
Interstate 78
wearing tattered Amtrak colors.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Amtrak's Fiscal Year (FY) runs from October 1 of the prior year to September 30 of the named year.
- ^
Compiled from Amtrak's annual ridership and revenue reports.
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Amtrak Fiscal Year 2023 Ridership"
(PDF)
. Amtrak. November 27, 2023
. Retrieved
November 30,
2023
.
- ^
"Amtrak Timetable Results"
.
www.amtrak.com
.
Archived
from the original on January 16, 2022
. Retrieved
December 20,
2021
.
- ^
"Amtrak FY23 Ridership"
(PDF)
.
- ^
https://web.archive.org/web/20210528210432/https://media.amtrak.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/FY19-Year-End-Ridership.pdf
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on May 28, 2021.
- ^
Hidy et al. 2004
, p. 180
- ^
Hidy et al. 2004
, p. 244
- ^
Wheeler, John (May 27, 2017).
"Weather Talk: Anniversary of the Empire Builder tornado"
. Forum News Service
. Retrieved
August 31,
2022
.
- ^
Hidy et al. 2004
, p. 272
- ^
"Empire Builder Timeline"
.
Great Northern Timeline
. Great Northern Railway Historical Society.
Archived
from the original on March 3, 2016
. Retrieved
March 7,
2016
.
- ^
"Through Your Car Window - Westbound - On the Streamlined Empire Builder, Western Star and other Great Northern Trains"
.
Great Northern Railway Page
. Great Northern Railway. June 1953.
Archived
from the original on March 17, 2012
. Retrieved
February 8,
2010
.
- ^
May 4, 1947, Great Northern timetable
http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track7/empbuilder194706.html
Archived
January 22, 2019, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
June 10, 1956, Great Northern timetable
http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track7/empbuilder195607.html
Archived
November 30, 2019, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Amtrak Empire Builder Relaunch"
.
Amtrak Empire Builder
. trainweb.com. August 1, 2009.
Archived
from the original on March 14, 2012
. Retrieved
February 14,
2010
.
- ^
"To See Why Amtrak's Losses Mount, Hop on the Empire Builder Train"
. msn.com. Archived from
the original
on March 8, 2016
. Retrieved
March 7,
2016
.
- ^
"Trails & Rails"
. National Park Service. Archived from
the original
on February 9, 2010
. Retrieved
February 9,
2010
.
- ^
"Long Distance Schedules Change to Tri-Weekly"
.
Amtrak
. Archived from
the original
on September 23, 2020.
- ^
"With Increased Demand and Congressional Funding, Amtrak Restores 12 Long Distance Routes to Daily Service"
. March 10, 2021.
Archived
from the original on October 12, 2021
. Retrieved
April 13,
2021
.
- ^
"Sheriff's office: At least 3 killed in Amtrak derailment"
.
The Spokesman-Review
. September 25, 2021.
Archived
from the original on September 26, 2021
. Retrieved
September 26,
2021
.
- ^
"2016 ridership"
(PDF)
(PDF). Amtrak.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on November 7, 2016
. Retrieved
November 6,
2016
.
- ^
"2015 ridership"
(PDF)
(PDF). Amtrak.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on August 30, 2021
. Retrieved
March 4,
2016
.
- ^
"2014 ridership"
(PDF)
(PDF). Amtrak.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on March 10, 2016
. Retrieved
March 4,
2016
.
- ^
"2013 ridership"
(PDF)
(PDF). Amtrak.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on April 16, 2016
. Retrieved
March 4,
2016
.
- ^
"2012 ridership"
(PDF)
(PDF). Amtrak.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on March 10, 2016
. Retrieved
March 4,
2016
.
- ^
"2011 ridership"
(PDF)
(PDF). Amtrak.
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Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Hidy, Ralph W.; Hidy, Muriel E.; Scott, Roy V.; Hofsummer, Don L. (2004) [1988].
The Great Northern Railway: A History
. Minneapolis:
Minnesota University Press
.
ISBN
978-0-816-64429-2
.
OCLC
54885353
.
- Sanders, Craig (2006).
Amtrak in the Heartland
. Bloomington, Indiana:
Indiana University Press
.
ISBN
978-0-253-34705-3
.
- Wayner, Robert J., ed. (1972).
Car Names, Numbers and Consists
. New York: Wayner Publications.
OCLC
8848690
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- Yenne, Bill (2005).
Great Northern Empire Builder
. Great Passenger Trains. MBI.
ISBN
0-7603-1847-6
.
OCLC
57142776
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]