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New Amtrak power means new opportunities to grab photos in familiar locations with a new look. I am reconsidering locations with the mindset of "I have not shot a Siemens locomotives there yet." Here Siemens Charger 306 hits the Merriam Park Subdivision mainline originally laid by the Milwaukee Road for a descent down to the level of the Mississippi River at downtown Saint Paul's Union Depot.
Amtrak train #8, the eastbound Empire Builder, cruises along the shores of Lake Pepin near Maple Springs, Minnesota on August 11, 2020.
Getting in front of TCW's St. Paul Turn on this morning was the Empire Builder, sailing past East Minneapolis Yard on its way to St. Anthony and down to St. Paul.
Empire Builder, #8, runs on Soo Line's Tomah sub with one of only two built F69PHAC leading. 450,331. A snowy day 28 years and 1 day ago. I only got a couple of shots of these two, Amtrak 450 and 451. Scanned from SFW negative.
The Union-Midway Yard power pulls ahead after shoving some intermodal onto the old main while the Empire Builder comes in to head into the Commercial. In the background, TCW waits to head into the Commercial as well for a delivery. Behind me, a northbound MNNR move and the CPBN also wait their turn at the St. Anthony interlocking.
Amtrak 27, the Portland section of the Empire Builder, rolls west through the Columbia River Gorge this morning. The train is around 53 miles from the end of the line at Union Station in Portland, Oregon. That mountain in the distance is Greenleaf Peak. Since Amtrak’s Pioneer came off in 1997, the Builder’s route on the Washington side of the river is the only way to see the Gorge by rail.
When I saw that the train was operating on schedule today, I figured that I could get to this spot west of Stevenson in time to get a shot of the train, and then make the 11:00 am service at our church. Even though No. 27 was held briefly at Cooks for an eastbound BNSF freight train, I was still able to get back to Washougal with plenty of time for coffee before the service started.
The outgoing engineer initializes PTC while passengers stretch their legs on the platform. The train ended up arriving 30 mins ahead of schedule giving the passengers ample time for some fresh air.
Typically I would be getting Amtrak on a morning walk here at St. Anthony, but today, being so many hours down, I found them on an afternoon walk. That switch button still needed a pressing, and then the couple of new Siemens locos and P42s entered the Commercial Yard for their trip to Union Depot.
AMTK 45 leads Chargers 301 and 303 at Minneapolis Junction on a late Empire Builder through the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The normal winter consist with an extra baggage and 4 Superliners up front from the train that got damaged by a tree. CP242 can be seen in the distance.
Full video on YouTube:
50th anniversary heritage engine 161 leading the Empire Builder as it raises dust headed down track one at top speed.
ALC-42 # 311 leads Eastbound Empire Builder at East Frontenac on a beautiful Blue sky day (which, of course, means below 0 Fahrenheit temps).
Three identical Siemens ALC-42s take the Empire Builder away from Saint Paul Union Depot underneath the bluffs along the Mississippi River. For a long while now Amtrak has only allocated a single coach on the Seattle section while the Portland section retains two. One of those things that makes you say, "Hmmmm...."
It hasn't rained in weeks at the time of this photo, so it's evident that all sorts of dust and debris is up in the air during this period of dry weather. The Empire Builder, meanwhile, departs Saint Paul, Minnesota passing Dayton's Bluff after ducking under Saint Paul's famous signal bridge adorned with searchlight signals.
Amtrak's eastbound Empire Builder cuts through the autumn color while on the approach to Watertown. The 'Pepsi Can' paint scheme sure looked nice with the full autumnal backdrop and cobalt sky.
Amtrak train 28, the eastbound Portland section of the Empire Builder, passes beneath The Dalles Bridge as it rolls along the Columbia River near Dallesport, Washington on May 17, 2025.
A late running number 8 made for a perfect view of the train as it rounded the sweeping curve at Lake Park, MN.
Amtrak train 8, the eastbound Empire Builder has just passed Division Street on the morning of June 10, 2016, in a view from Dayton’s Bluff that features the Mississippi River and downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, as a background.
Unlike most fans, I like the look and paint of Amtrak's new long distance ALC-42s. Since a set began running on the Empire Builder, I've been wanting to get them, but as most know they've had their troubles and had proven elusive. So when I saw the Builder was running late on March 10, I decided to drive west and intercept it along the way. But the train kept getting later, and I kept driving farther, until finally I set up at the curves at Lake Park, 216 miles from my house! I wanted a nice first shot of the new units, and know this spot would give me one. After this shot I was able to catch up to the fast moving train and get it five more times, but as George P. says, this was The Shot Of The Day. Hopefully it's the beginning of many chances to catch these new engines on the Builder as the P42s fade away. I can hear it now, as some young fans are talking to an old man Glischinski a few years from now saying "You have shots of Amtrak P42s!?" Thanks to Mr. Darcy, Mr. Malone and Mr. Guss for their assistance.
In the fading daylight, Amtrak's Veterans unit leads the eastbound Empire Builder out of Columbus, Wisconsin - 3 hours and 12 minutes late - on December 27, 2016.
#8, the eastbound Empire Builder, arrives Chicago behind two of the first Siemens ALC-42s built for long-distance passenger service. Amtrak has ordered a total of 125 ALC-42s for its long-distance trains outside of the Northeast Corridor, and they are expected to phase out the GE P42DCs.
On the long summer days, it’s still daylight when Empire Builder traverses the Glasgow Sub and arrives Minot..:.At Lonetree North Dakota…this evening forest fires across Saskatchewan and Manitoba fill the sky with smoke
My favorite train in one of my favorite places - but timing and outside factors needed to line up.
The Empire Builder runs along the former CB&Q mainline towards St. Croix where it will divert off the BNSF St. Paul Subdivision and make a run down the Minnesota side of the Mississippi River. The train lost time in northwestern Montana and was unable to recover, so the lateness sunk, floating just under eight hours. However, that lateness was making it possible for an afternoon shot in the Grey Cloud Dunes Scientific & Natural Area, but that was depending on the will of the dispatcher.
I arrived Grey Cloud Dunes well in advance of the Empire Builder arriving St. Paul Union Depot. In the meantime, I was happy to get some eastbound BNSF intermodal traffic while I waited, additionally watching the clouds come and go and hoping dispatching would route the train on the more scenic BNSF St. Paul Subdivision route winding along the Mississippi River in Cottage Grove, Denmark Township, and briefly in Hastings. At 4:16pm, the Builder departed Union Depot and the hope of seeing it at Grey Cloud was strong. To my surprise, the clouds broke off and the sun proudly shined on my scene - I now just needed the train! Nerves built around the prospect of getting 'the shot,' fingers crossed, but there was still a 50 percent chance the dispatcher would send the Empire Builder straight through Cottage Grove along US 10/61 and avoid Grey Cloud Dunes altogether. My nervousness turned to delight when the distant rumble of eastbound traffic became evident. I should note, too, that I had no idea what power combination would lead this particular run of the Empire Builder. I was just hoping to see it in any form. I was surprised to see this unique pairing of 203 and 301 through the lens as it passed into my scene.
Glorious!
The daily eastbound Empire Builder is seen a mile east of Whitefish under crisp blue skies as it approaches the road crossing at East Second Street. I had been out the previous morning but the skies were laden with smoke. What a difference the clarity made.
GE P42 locomotive 18 is seen on point with sister 206 coupled behind.
The Empire Builder passes a whole slug of dwarf signals at the east side of the Hoffman interlocking as it departs Saint Paul with two Siemens ALC-42s. Meanwhile, the trees growing out of Dayton's Bluff are starting to think about turning colors and calling it a wrap on the year.
A tardy Empire Builder is back up to speed on the straight track just west of Royalton as they are about to pass under the SOO Line Trail. For 1000 hrs on a Sunday, eastbound US10 sure was busy as hell. Seen here is a "break" in traffic.
I managed to get ahead of them at St. Cloud while they were making a station stop, but they caught back up to me by Big Lake. It was cute having the train chase me down.
West Hump really needed to get intermodals down the Midway and decided to take Amtrak through the Park Jct connection. Here they jump across the Midway Sub at St. Anthony.
The westbound Empire Builder cuts through Duplainville on a snowy-covered April day. Note the tower still standing in the distance by the Soo Line diamond. J. David Ingles, Brian M. Schmidt collection
The Empire Builder find a wedge of sunlight along the jointed rail east of Merriam Park Junction. Decided to grab on last shot of this location for the season and the sun does not favor this angle for much longer beyond the autumnal equinox. I also like the concept of a long distance passenger train using jointed rail in the middle of a metropolitan area. It is a fascinating thing.
A very late Empire Builder passes over University Avenue in St. Paul with "Save Big Money" Menards in the background.
This is a composite of two photos blended together with Photoshop, I wasn't lucky enough to get an over/under with the light-rail.
The infamous push-button yard switch was lined against them, so I knew I could get the human element incorporated into the shot. The conductor climbs up to cab after reversing the switch and they will quickly be on their way.
The Empire Builder zips through Dresbach on the Mississippi River between the Winona and La Crosse station stops. So glad the train showed up before the clouds rolled in to spoil the party. Having never shot here, I was surprised by all the signs with strong dislike of people loitering, stopping, and otherwise lingering around. Oof da!
The inbound Empire Builder hustles past the Stone Avenue station in La Grange IL in June 1967. Although it was standard practice during this era for the Builder, North Coast Limited and Morning Zephyr to be combined at Minneapolis for the run into Chicago, the green class lights and solid GN livery here would indicate they were running separately this day, although I apparently did not hang around long enough to record it since I have no companion slide.
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Amtrak’s westbound Empire Builder passes Soo Line train 17 at Duplainville, Wisconsin, on the afternoon of June 6, 1987. Leading train 17 is a former Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern EMD SD39, as Soo acquired MN&S Nos 40-41 in the 1982 purchase of the railroad. After overextending themselves acquiring Milwaukee Road, Soo Line established a wholly-owned division called Lake States Transportation Division on February 10, 1986, to operate its mostly former Soo Line trackage in Wisconsin and prepare it for sale. With this move, older locomotives and some leased power began to be much more common on these lines. Soo Line No. 6241 was the only locomotive that featured “Lake States” lettering on its nose.
The eastbound Empire Builder lazily joins the BNSF St Paul Sub and comes off the Depot Track connection at Division Street having just departed Union Depot. Some nice color on this only-slightly-late edition of Amtrak 8, in contrast to the stale blue and silver of the recent past.
A late July edition of the Empire Builder arrives into Saint Paul, Minnesota using motor 82, GE P42 DC, up front with a newer Siemens locomotive, Amtrak 305, as additional traction and head-end power. The conductor is back on-board after aligning the electric switch into the Minnesota Commercial. I really like the look of this consist - something new for my Amtrak long distance collection. There was a lot of excitement when the Siemens ALC-42s came onto the scene and could be seen leading the Empire Builder this last winter and spring. P42s are back leading as the prevailing power on the train this summer.
The Empire Builder checks in to the Minnesota Commercial and leaves the BNSF Midway Subdivision for a run down the CP Merriam Park Subdivision.
The fuel trucks headlights cast an eerie glow on the eastbound Empire Builder. Were at our passenger, fuel, inspection and smoking break in Minot, North Dakota.
This Empire Builder left CHI with Charger 300 leading and this OLS unit trailing. Due to a malfunction, they were swapped out on the east side of Whitefish, Montana. Here, the train has finally made it into Whitefish depot and is doing it’s station work. I hope Amtrak purchased the extended warranty package on those Chargers?!
This photograph was selected for the 2017 Annual Curated Auction by The Light Factory, Center for Contemporary Photography in Charlotte, NC.
The Empire Builder heads west from Glenview as it passes under the C&NW bridge at Techny.
20 years prior to this shot I was stationed at Glenview Naval Air Station (about a mile to the right) as an ASW Air Crewman on P2V Neptunes and flew over this bridge weekly and saw a wide variety of Milwakee and CNW trains, but, of course, never took a photo....
On a cold and clear Thanksgiving Day, Amtrak train No. 8, the Empire Builder, heads east across the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, leaving the jagged mountains of Glacier National Park in its rearview mirror.
It's around 3:15pm on June 11, 2021 on a sunny day, perfect for a different take on the Empire Builder as it navigates through Saint Paul down seven hours. Here it works through the Minnesota Commercial yard in the Midway neighborhood.