Rail Travel News posting June 12, 2004

Rail Travel News
News posting June 12, 2004

Rail Travel News is a twice-monthly print publication, published since Dec 10, 1970.
Publisher: Message Media Company,
PO Box 9007,
Berkeley CA 94709.
Website copyright © 1997-2004 by Message Media Co.

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EMPIRE BUILDER'S 50th AND 75th ANNIVERSARIES

Photo above: The eastbound Amtrak Empire Builder
east of Minot ND in 1979, its 50th anniversary year.
The train carries three Budd dome cars and is powered by two SDP40F locomotives.
Photo by Peggy Rayton copyright 1979 & 2004 by Message Media.
Reprinted from Rail Travel News issue 189, June 1979.

On Friday, June 11 Amtrak marked the 75th anniversary of the Empire Builder train. For the occasion, the westbound train was a special affair.

Aboard was Amtrak President David Gunn, who rode the full route to Seattle. The train's consist was reversed to accommodate Amtrak business car 10001 and former GN Great Dome 10031, Amtrak's last remaining dome car.

The train was led by locomotive #7, appropriate for train 7, followed by #31, which would take the Portland section of the train on after it split at Spokane. The Portland section, a sleeper and two coaches and a lounge, was behind the two locos and baggage car. Then followed the Seattle cars: two coaches, diner, two sleepers and transition dorm, followed by the 10031 and 10001.

Because of this oddball train makeup, Amtrak ran a separate mail train, #877, from Chicago to Minneapolis, which consisted of engine 196, a deadhead coach and seven mail cars, some of them empty.

In business car 10001, David Gunn granted interviews to the rail media. Those present called it a wonderful day.

THE EMPIRE BUILDER IN 1979, AGE 50

Back in 1979 the birthday of the Empire Builder was considered to be June 10 (1929). The reason seems unclear, but that date may have been the inaugural run of the train, while June 11 was the first revenue run.

On June 10, 1979, a Sunday, Amtrak train 7 left Chicago with 203 passengers aboard, 12 minutes late at 11:42am from track 15.

As recorded by Brian Cutter in Rail Travel News issue 190 in July 1979, "The run went smoothly until the ongoing trackwork of the Milwaukee Road slowed #7 to a crawl west of Columbia WI and kept the speed down below 40mph the majority of the 90 miles to Tomah WI. The train was dragged down to 15mph in one spot.

"The dining car crew, led by on-board services supervisor Napoleon Brawner, rose to the occasion with impeccable servvice in what had to be the most appropriate car for this event--the one remaining Amtrak-owned ex-GN Builder dining car in service, car 8068, the former 'Lake Wenatchee'."
(Continued on next page)

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