Empire Builder: Amtrak across America

What a way to see the country in its 250th year!

You might remember that I am not a fan of Amtrak, but I’m glad to say that their long-distance lines deserve some celebrating. And I’m able this summer to get a vicarious look at coast to coast travel because my son Tom Christensen is taking advantage of the USA Rail Pass.

Tom had a fellowship in western China after college and then worked in Beijing for nearly 10 years. He’s taken long trips on old-fashioned Chinese trains, and faster trips on modern high-speed rail. The Empire Builder is somewhere between the two: better than the old trains but a long, long way from Chinese trains today. He’s returned from China and has friends and family scattered across the country to reconnect with. And he has a job in Seattle that allows him the flexibility to travel for a month. He set out from Seattle a couple days ago, and we got a look at the train station there, built in 1906—seven years before Grand Central opened. A little different from waiting for a plane at SeaTac!

In 1976, as a teenager, I took Greyhound buses across the country from California to the East Coast and back. But that wasn’t at all the same because we were on the interstate highway system the whole way, not going through the southern end of Glacier National Park, or rolling through central Washington state on a beautiful evening.

One asset the Amtrak trains have is an observation car on a second deck.

The USA Rail Pass is a bargain at $500 for 10 trips over the course of a month, and it’s ideal for someone like Tom who has stops to make in many cities, starting with Minneapolis where he has Grinnell friends to catch up with.

Have you taken the Empire Builder or California Zephyr or City of New Orleans? We’d love to hear your stories, and to have links to anything you’ve read about them.

Next week, I’ll be recording a podcast with Ian Hodkinson, Alstom’s Technical and Business Development Director of Transit Systems, who has over 20 years of experience in the industry. We plan to discuss rail planning with extreme weather in mind, and if you have questions, please send them my way.

And Matt Silber and I will be doing a rail round-up, general chat and general rant podcast, too. When Matt and I get talking about trains and transit it gets lively—I wish there was a way for you to join us!

This 2025 podcast focused on the revival of another rail line in Montana, across the southern part of the state.