Empire Builder discussion

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danasgoodstuff said:
I think he's going the other way, from the Builder to the Coast Starlight.
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Same things apply, though the connection has more wiggle room than Starlight to Builder. Still has significant pad between Vancouver and Portland.

The main difference is if the Builder is really late at Spokane, there is a good chance they'll terminate at Spokane and bustitute to PDX and SEA. In that case, I think a Pasco-K Falls bus bridge becomes less likely and a layover in PDX more so.
 
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When I bought the ticket, Amtrak wasn't selling the Starlight to Builder connection (I'll be overnighting in Seattle instead, part of the fun and get to visit family), but for my return Amtrak was willing to sell the Builder to Starlight connection. Any of the above options sound relatively fine, my biggest concern would be not getting a room on the following day's Starlight after an overnight in Portland.
 
I am sure if I were better at the forum I could find my answer, but, here is my question:

The Empire Builder Chicago to Seattle in a Roomette, is there a toilet in the room? I have found conflicting information. I do not think it is a double decker, but I am not sure. The wife would REALLY like to know the answer.
 
WizardBill said:
Thank you. My e-ticket says there is a toilet in the roomette.
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are you in a roomette or a bedroom? There are no toilets in the Empire Builder roomettes. Some of the eastern trains (Viewliner 1's) still have toilets in the roomettes.
 
WizardBill said:
Thank you. My e-ticket says there is a toilet in the roomette.
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Your e-ticket is wrong.

The Empire Builder carries Superliners. Superliner roomettes do not have toilets on them. There are 3 washrooms downstairs and 1 upstairs on standard Superliner sleepers.

There are in room toilets in Viewliner 1 roomettes on eastern long distance trains.
 
zephyr17 said:
Your e-ticket is wrong.

The Empire Builder carries Superliners. Superliner roomettes do not have toilets on them. There are 3 washrooms downstairs and 1 upstairs on standard Superliner sleepers.

There are in room toilets in Viewliner 1 roomettes on eastern long distance trains.
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Great information. Yet another question: Is there any way to know if we are upstairs or downstairs?
 
WizardBill said:
I saw that on the map. My ticket says:

1 Roomette | Car 732 Room - 21
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Just FYI, in case you're wondering: It's called "transition" because the end door on one end is on the upper level, and on the other end it's at the level of single-level trains. It's usually attached at that end to the locomotive or baggage car, and it allows crew members to move between them and the rest of the train.

It's called a "dormitory" because it was built to house crew members, but there aren't enough crew members to fill the car, so Amtrak sells some Roomettes to regular passengers. The crew member's facilities are separate from the paying passengers'.
 
In addition to the roomettes on the upper level there actually is also an accessible bedroom on the lower level which is occasionally used. On my last trip on a superliner train the transition sleeper’s H Room was in revenue use. Lately also on some of the trains Amtrak considers it just another sleeper and it has a separate attendant. On the same trip I described with the accessible room open in the transition sleeper the car also had its own SCA. The transition sleepers actually have two more roomettes than a regular sleeper does so if fully sold compared to a standard sleeper in inventory it nets 4 fewer rooms. Doesn’t have the 5 bedrooms and 1 family bedroom but does have 2 additional roomettes hence the net 4 less.
 
desertflyer said:
I got a notification from Amtrak that there is a freight derailment around Detroit Lakes, MN causing a Service Disruption. It's a rough summer for the Builder.
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7(3) appears to be stuck at Detroit Lakes as of 7:51am CT (8/4) according to railrat.net. It was supposed to have departed around 2:50am taking into account that it was running slightly late at that point.
 
jis said:
7(3) appears to be stuck at Detroit Lakes as of 7:51am CT (8/4) according to railrat.net. It was supposed to have departed around 2:50am taking into account that it was running slightly late at that point.
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And 8(2) is stuck just east of Fargo
 
Rasputin said:
I don't know how far this fire is from U.S. 2 near Hungry Horse, MT but if this fire jumps U.S. 2 it may be getting close to the BNSF mainline and the Park:

https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2023/aug/09/evacuation-warning-issued-between-hungry-horse-and/
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The fire is still about 4 miles from the highway - and its normal tendency will be to spread uphill and downwind, while the highway and tracks are downhill and upwind.

If you are curious where exactly the fire perimeter is, you can try the Montana Department of Natural Resources fire map (you're looking for the 'Ridge Fire'.)

If it did make a run the 'wrong' direction, they will try very hard to keep the fire from crossing the highway (or burning the houses and businesses along it.) The highway corridor is probably the widest firebreak in the area.

If we have a bad August it could well spread eastward, and reach the highway, tracks, and park between Nyack and Essex. (But fingers xed - we got some rain this week, and with luck we wont have another round of dry lightning next week when it gets hot again.)
 
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Finally took the empire builder again. It’s been just over a year and a half since I last rode. Apparently most of the Seattle section is based out of Chicago now.

(All the Seattle sleeper attendants and both dining car staff were out of CHI).

However, I think the dining car LSA is still out of Seattle. I recognized her trainee who used to work cascades trains regularly.

Luckily, service did not disappoint.
 
trimetbusfan said:
Finally took the empire builder again. It’s been just over a year and a half since I last rode. Apparently most of the Seattle section is based out of Chicago now.

(All the Seattle sleeper attendants and both dining car staff were out of CHI).

However, I think the dining car LSA is still out of Seattle. I recognized her trainee who used to work cascades trains regularly.

Luckily, service did not disappoint.
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On 28/27 are there any crew based from PDX?
 
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