Welcome to the Empire Builder
Over 46 hours, the Empire Builder travels 3,500km past the Cascade Mountains, Glacier National Park, and the North Dakota plains. My first stretch on the Empire Builder, however, was only a short one, with the trip between Seattle and Leavenworth taking just over 3.5 hours.
After departing Seattle’s King Street Station, the Empire Builder travelled alongside the city’s waterfront, before passing Bainbridge Island and continuing along the banks of the Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains visible in the distance. Over the train’s PA system, a National Park Service guide from the Trails & Rails program provided commentary on points of visual and historic interest. Highlights included Money Creek, named not after the gold that was found there, but all the money spent unsuccessfully searching for gold in the area. Shortly after, the train passed through the New Cascade Tunnel. Completed in 1929, the tunnel remains the USA’s longest railroad tunnel, the train taking approximately 15 minutes to pass through. John Frank Stevens, the tunnel’s principal engineer, also worked on the Trans-Siberian Railway which I had ridden 2.5 years prior to my trip on the Empire Builder. The Trails & Rails guide informed us that the tunnel took 1,800 men 3 years to construct. As the train followed Washington’s Skykomish River, pine and fir forests were visible on both sides of the track. Our guide also informed us that every lady who rode the Empire Builder was at one point gifted an orchid upon boarding. It seems this practice has unfortunately been discontinued.
Leavenworth
I thoroughly enjoyed my 24 hours in Leavenworth, a Bavarian themed village in the Cascade Mountains. The town was transitioned into its current Bavarian style after two Seattle businessmen purchased a failing cafe in the area and came up with the idea in order to attract visitors to the village.
I spent the day exploring Leavenworth’s unique stores and walking along its beautiful Waterfront Park trail. For lunch, I enjoyed a German bratwurst.
A Christmas store in the centre of the village kept me entertained for quite some time, and I became infatuated with its impressive collection of ceramic village houses and stores (pictured below), deciding that I would one day become a collector myself. My favourite was the ceramic recreation of the Iowa house from Grant Wood’s American Gothic painting.
In the evening, while waiting for the Empire Builder to roll into Leavenworth and take me to Montana, a lovely hotelier fed me cinnamon rolls.