The Northern Transcon, a route operated by the BNSF Railway, traverses the most northerly route of any railroad in the western United States. This route was originally part of the Chicago, Burlington
The Empire Builder crosses the Two Medicine Trestle at East Glacier Park, Montana on the Hi Line Subdivision in 2011.
The Empire Builder traveling through Glacier National Park, Montana. (1947)
The Empire Builder train at Winona Junction, Wisconsin, in 1958
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
Northern Transcon
…Montana and the new Cascade Tunnel through the Cascade Mountains in Washington. From St. Paul to the West Coast, this is basically the route of Amtrak's Empire Builder. But the Builder turns north in Fargo onto a BNSF secondary line to reach Grand Forks, North Dakota, while the Northern Transcon heads directly toward…
The Empire Builder in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, March 2026.
Empire Builder on the Stone Arch Bridge, Minneapolis, c. 1929