As a final addition to my blog before heading out on my journey, I cannot forget the one train I have actually traveled on before, the Coast Starlight. The Coast Starlight was actually originally run only from Los Angeles to San Francisco on the Coast Daylight ran by Southern Pacific and then the Cascade which ran from Oakland to Portland. The closet one to the full Starlight was Southern Pacific's West Coast which ran from Los Angeles to Portland with through cars to Seattle. The train itself is unique due to the fact it has a special lounge car specifically meant for the sleeping car passengers, this car is called the Pacific Parlour Car. The car itself is one of the few remaining Hi-Level cars that are dated back to the beginning of Amtrak. There are five different named Pacific Parlour Cars, the first being Columbia Valley number 39970, second being Napa Valley number 39972, third being Santa Lucia Highlands number 39973, fourth being Sonoma Valley number 39974, and the fifth and final car being Willamette Valley number 39975. The Coast Starlight is a train that travels through the vast mountainous area around Klamath Falls and goes near Crater Lake, while on-board you will be graced by the many fields of agriculture through the Central Valley of California, by night you are rolling through the Bay area and while traveling through the night you pass through Sacramento, Chico, and Dunsmuir. The next morning you are traveling through Oregon and heading through the fields that grace the state, by noon you are in Portland and will be awestruck by the beauty of the old Union Station, then after the stop in Portland you are back on your way to Seattle, you head towards Seattle by going inland somewhat and on the way to Seattle you take the water route and are blessed to see the great Puget Sound of the great Pacific Northwest.Another interesting fact about the route is that the train offers wi-fi but it is rather slow and is not reliable but hopefully soon it will be fixed to handle many devices. I have taken the train myself and I would have to say that it is one of the many trains that you should take if you ever decide to take a trip across the United States. I will be ending my journey on the train and joining it in Portland, the great Union Station in Portland is near the city center and gives you great access to the city and its surroundings, so if you do have some time in between your own journey, I would recommend going into town for a short walk and to enjoy the surroundings of the water and the people. Now when traveling on the Coast Starlight I do recommend that during the summer months if you are traveling in the coach section, that you bring a warm blanket since in the evening the train is a tad cold due to the fact they are getting ready to head into areas where it is warmer and want the passengers to feel comfortable. Now I hope you all have enjoyed some of the information I've shared on the routes, my next few blog post will be centered around what to expect while you are on-board and what you should bring. As the time dwindles to my trip, I hope you all will join me and reading the blog while I am traveling through the United States! Thank you and please comment any of your thoughts.
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The Empire Builder has been a staple of rail travel between Chicago and Seattle. The Empire Builder was originally ran by Great Northern and also the Milwaukee Road which ran the Olympic Hiawatha. The train used to travel a different route with the Milwaukee Road, the train would travel through Bozeman and have connection services to Yellowstone National Park. The previous route was electrified through parts of Montana and was able to travel at high speeds. The current Empire Builder run by Amtrak runs through Milwaukee to St. Paul, then onto Fargo and a few other stops in North Dakota, then as the train enters Montana it starts its journey through the great scenery and stops in Glacier Park for passengers to get off and enjoy the park during the Summer and also in the winter for the great skiing access that it offers. After exiting Montana the train enters the northern most point in Idaho before the train enters Washington state around 1 in the morning were the the train splits up into two different trains from Spokane, one train goes to Seattle and travels through the Stevens Pass and Everett before ending the journey in Seattle. The other part of the train continues onto Portland and the lower section of the state of Washington and also gives you great views of the numerous apple groves that the state offers and ends the journey in Portland around 10 in the morning which offers passengers enough time to connect to the Coast Starlight. The train is one that is also a must take if you ever decide to take Amtrak across America. One of the problems that the train encounters while it is traveling to Seattle/Portland is the many freight trains coming out of Williston, North Dakota, the train is sometimes an hour to two hours behind schedule since the train has to wait for the numerous coal freight trains go through there. I will be taking this train when I travel home and also have a Sleeper car which is going to give me the chance to see the many amenities that Amtrak offers to its Sleeper car guest. A perk of traveling through the Chicago is that if you have a Sleeper car reservation is that you are given access to the Metropolitan Lounge. Most of the route of the Olympian Hiawatha and the Great Northern Empire Builder has been changed due to the fact that the old tracks it used to travel have been turned over to the Montana Rail Link and BNSF. The summer months are one of the most busiest for the Empire Builder, due to the fact that most of the passengers are going on vacations to either Glacier, Chicago, Milwaukee, Seattle, Portland and St. Paul. The Empire Builder is the only link for travelers between St. Paul and Chicago. The total distance between Chicago and Seattle is 2,206 miles and the total distance between Chicago and Portland is 2,257 miles. There are two different numbers for the train for the Chicago to Seattle trains it is the number 7 train and the Chicago to Portland train is the number 27.
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