EB Question

[white rabbitt]

i read that the eb is split going to seattle

does the main train go to seattle, and 3 or 4 cars go to spokane at the split?

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

It goes from Chicago to Spokan as one train. There it splits, the larger train to Seattle and the smaller one to Portland.

 

[oregon pioneer]

The westbound EB is split at Spokane. About 2/3 of the cars, including a couple of sleepers and the diner car, go to Seattle. Breakfast is available in the diner on the last morning.

The rest of the cars (a couple of coaches, one sleeper, and the SSL) go to PDX. Breakfast for sleeper passengers on the last morning is a "box" breakfast that was put on the train in Spokane (I understand it's a cold ham-and-cheese croissant). I have not had it, but rumors are that it's mediocre to bad.

If you are boarding out of PDX going east bound, your dinner the first night will be a "box" dinner from a Portland restaurant, and it will be VERY good: choice when I had it was salmon, chicken or beef, on a bed of baby greens, with roll and dessert. Yummy.

 

[oregon pioneer]

Oh, and the splits/combinations in Spokane all occur in the middle of the night. If you're lucky, you sleep right through it.

 

[white rabbitt]

wow so the empire builder splits into 3 trains

the main train chicago-seattle the 2nd train chicago- portland and the 3rd train chicago- spokane

wow that is amazing

 

[fairviewroad]

wow so the empire builder splits into 3 trainsthe main train chicago-seattle the 2nd train chicago- portland and the 3rd train chicago- spokane

wow that is amazing

Not quite. From Chicago to Spokane, it's all one train. In Spokane, part of the train goes to Seattle and part

goes to Portland. Nothing remains in Spokane.

That said, sometimes during the summer a coach is cut off/added in Minneapolis. So the section from Chicago

to Minneapolis is technically three different trains during that time of year. But cutting off a single coach is a much

less complicated procedure then splitting the train in half in Spokane.

 

[zephyr17]

The Seattle section of the Builder usually consists of a baggage car, a transdorm, 2 sleepers, a diner and 2 coaches in that order. The Portland section usually consists of a Sightseer Lounge, a Coach/Baggage, a coach and 1 sleeper, again, in that order (although I may have switched the coach and coach/bag. The lounge is always on the front and the sleeper is always on the rear, though). Eastbound, the trains are combined in Spokane, with the Seattle section forward. Westbound, the Portland section on the rear is cut off at Spokane. For inventory control purposes, they have 2 separate train numbers, but they are one physical train east of Spokane. The Minneapolis coach is also assigned its own train number (807/808, IIRC).

So the Seattle section gets the diner and has no lounge, although they set up one table to sell cafe items at the end of the diner. The Portland section has a lounge, but no diner. Sleeper passengers get box meals, which I hear are pretty good, but don't know since I've only taken the Seattle section.

 

[Eric308]

Good overview, zephyr 17...my only comment would be that the PDX box breakfast is lousy. That's fine with me...I grab a cab to the hotel and am grazing at the 10th and Alder food carts by 11:30am.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

I heard rumors a few months ago that Amtrak was considering adding a CCC to the EB as a second (Portland) diner / first class pax lounge, possibly as soon as this summer. Is there any progress on that front?

 

[Eric308]

I heard rumors a few months ago that Amtrak was considering adding a CCC to the EB as a second (Portland) diner / first class pax lounge, possibly as soon as this summer. Is there any progress on that front?

Surprise....I heard not happening because of lack of funding.

 

[AlanB]

I heard rumors a few months ago that Amtrak was considering adding a CCC to the EB as a second (Portland) diner / first class pax lounge, possibly as soon as this summer. Is there any progress on that front?

Surprise....I heard not happening because of lack of funding.

Amtrak has been talking about doing this since the Stimulus monies were first announced; but it has yet to come to fruition. It was also sidelined for a while with the daily Texas Eagle plan to LA, as that would have taken up the extra equipment.