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The ''Empire Builder'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak in the Midwestern and Northwestern United States. It is Amtrak's busiest long-distance route, carrying more than 500,000 passengers a year in 2007–2010. Before Amtrak, the ''Empire Builder'' was the flagship train of the Great Northern Railway. The current route runs from Chicago, Illinois, to the Pacific Northwest. The line splits in Spokane, Washington, terminating at Seattle, Washington's King Street Station ( from Chicago) in the north and Portland, Oregon's Union Station ( from Chicago) in the south. The train passes through Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Layovers (train service stops) are made in Saint Paul, Minot, Havre, and Spokane. Other major stops are Milwaukee; Fargo; Whitefish, Montana; and Vancouver, Washington. Railways used are BNSF Railway's northern route from Seattle to Minneapolis, Minnesota Commercial from Minneapolis to St. Paul, Canadian Pacific from St. Paul to Glenview, and Metra from Glenview to Chicago. One train a day passes each way. The schedule is timed so the train will pass through the Rocky Mountains (and Glacier National Park) during daylight, but this is more likely in summer and eastbound. Schedule is 45 to 46 hours between Seattle and Chicago, average including stops, though the train is allowed up to . ==History== The ''Empire Builder'' was started by the Great Northern on June 11, 1929, and displaced the ''Oriental Limited'' as the railroad's premier train. The train's name honored James J. Hill, known as "The Empire Builder" who reorganized several failing railroads into the Great Northern Railway and extended the line to the Pacific Northwest in the late 19th century. The fare was standard and the initial schedule for 2264 miles Chicago to Seattle was the same 63 hours westward and 61-1/4 hours eastward as on the other non-extra-fare trains between Chicago and the west coast. The service was altered to carry more passengers during World War II. After the war new streamlined, diesel-powered trains were placed in service on February 23, 1947. The train was re-equipped again on June 31, 1951, with the 1947 equipment being used to create the ''Western Star''; in summer 1954 the schedule for 2211 miles from Chicago to Seattle was 45 hours. (By 1954 it skipped Grand Forks, so less mileage.) The schedule allowed riders views of the Cascade Mountains and the Rocky Mountain landscapes of Glacier National Park, a park established through the lobbying efforts of the Great Northern. After it was re-equipped with domes in 1955 passengers viewed the route through its three dome coaches and one full-length Great Dome car for first class passengers. Two major train wrecks involved the ''Empire Builder'' in the Great Northern era: * In 1931, an eastbound train near Moorhead, Minnesota traveling at nearly was struck by a tornado which derailed the train and flung one of the 83-ton coaches through the air, resulting in one death and 57 injuries. * In 1945 the ''Builder'' was running in two sections (two trains immediately following each other) due to wartime traffic. The second section plowed into the stopped observation car of the first in Michigan, North Dakota, killing 34. See Michigan train wreck for more information. Service always ran Chicago to Spokane and split into Seattle and Portland sections except during the Amtrak era between 1971 and 1981, when there was no Portland section. Before 1971 the Chicago to St. Paul leg was on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad via its mainline along the Mississippi River through Wisconsin. The service also used to operate west from the Twin Cities before turning north in Willmar, Minnesota to reach Fargo. The Spokane-Portland section of the train was operated by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway. In 1971 Amtrak assumed operation of the train and shifted the Chicago to St. Paul leg to the Milwaukee Road route through Milwaukee along the route of the ''Hiawatha'' trains to St Paul. In the January 2011 issue of ''Trains'' Magazine this route was listed as one of five routes to be looked at by Amtrak in FY 2012 and examined like previous routes (''Sunset'', ''Eagle'', ''Zephyr'', ''Capitol'', and ''Cardinal'') were examined in FY 2010.〔"Amtrak's Improvement Wish List", ''Trains'', January 2011, 20-21.〕 During summer months, on portions of the route, "Trails and Rails" volunteers in the Sightseer Lounge car provide commentary about the history of the areas through which the train is passing, and points of interest that can be viewed from the train. This commentary can only be heard in the Sightseer Lounge car.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Trails & Rails )〕 On August 21, 2005 the train was "relaunched" by Amtrak with upgraded service. This included features not seen on other long-distance Amtrak trains: on the second day in mid-afternoon there was a wine and cheese tasting in the dining car for sleeping-car passengers. This included not only information about the wines served but some questions; correct answers win passengers bottles of wine to take with them. As of 2015, this wine and cheese tasting has been discontinued, along with some the other sleeping car amenities, such as free newspapers in the morning. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Empire Builder」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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