Empire Builder Route Atlas
Chicago, Illinois to Seattle,
Washington
Amtrak
Train Numbers 7 (westbound) and 8
(eastbound)
Numbers 1-40 on the map represent the Empire Builder's currently scheduled stops. Using the following links you can either choose to tour the entire route between Chicago and Seattle, or hop on the train at any station along the way and proceed in either direction from there.
Click here to start at the beginning or click on one of the stations listed below to start there and begin to discover the history of the territory you'll encounter when traveling along the route built by James Jerome Hill, "The Empire Builder" himself.
Once on board..... click "next"
(toward Seattle) or
"previous" 
(toward Chicago)
to take
the virtual rail journey at your leisure.
Stations on Amtrak's Empire Builder Route
Illinois |
North Dakota |
Montana |
| 1 Chicago (CHI) | 15 Fargo (FAR) | 30 Essex (ESM) |
| 2 Glenview (GLN) | 16 Grand Forks (GFK) | 31 West Glacier (WGL) |
| 17 Devils Lake (DLK) | 32 Whitefish (WFH) | |
Wisconsin |
18 Rugby (RUG) | 33 Libby (LIB) |
| 3 Milwaukee (MKE) | 19 Minot (MOT) | |
| 4 Columbus (CBS) | 20 Stanley (STN) |
Idaho |
| 5 Portage (POG) | 21 Williston (WTN) | 34 Sandpoint(SPT) |
| 6 Wisconsin Dells (WDL) |
|
|
| 7 Tomah (TOH) |
Montana |
Washington State |
| 8 La Crosse (LSE) | 22 Wolf Point (WPT) | 35 Spokane (SPK) |
| 23 Glasgow (MOT) | 36 Ephrata(EDM) | |
Minnesota |
24 Malta (MAL) | 37 Wenatchee (WEN) |
| 9 Winona (WIN) | 25 Havre (HAV) | 38 Everett(EVR) |
| 10 Red Wing (RDW) | 26 Shelby (SBY) | 39 Edmonds (EDM) |
| 11 St Paul-Minn (MSP) | 27 Cut Bank (CUT) | 40 Seattle (SEA) |
| 12 St Cloud (SCD) | 28 Browning (BRO) | |
| 13 Staples (SPL) | 29 East Glacier (GPK) | |
| 14 Detroit Lakes (DLK) |
|
Click on 
at any time to go
to the "Route Overview
Page" where you may again jump to any station along the
route.
Each "station stop" includes a photo of the station, a local street map, local transportation options, and links to many more items of local interest. Between station stop pages there are detailed station to station maps and links to all of the counties that you pass through along the way.
***(Portland Passengers)***
- for Trains 27 and 28 - stations 35-40 click - Empire Builder - Portland Leg
Enjoy the Ride!
Amtrak Route Description
The following has been extracted from Amtrak's "Empire Builder" Route Guide.
"Just a few generations ago, the route of the Empire Builder was wilderness, roamed by Native Americans and buffalo. Later, fur traders and gold miners visited it. And still later, it was developed by merchants, timber men, farmers and - most dramatically - by railroaders.
In this northern plains country, the greatest railroader of all was James J. Hill, a freewheeling, big-dealing tycoon who linked St. Paul and Seattle with his Great Northern Railway. He acquired the land, built the tracks and even encouraged homesteading along the route. In the process, 'Empire Builder' Hill came to govern the fate and fortunes of a good part of this powerfully beautiful area... "
The rail travel distance between Chicago and Seattle via the Empire Builder is a little over 2,200 miles and the scheduled rail travel time is about two full calendar days; just over 47 hours.
