(Source: Flathead Beacon, June 26, 2019)
KALISPELL, Mont. — For 90 years, the Empire Builder passenger train has connected Chicago with Portland and Seattle by way of Glacier National Park and the Flathead Valley. In its early years, it was not alone. When the first Empire Builder steamed out of Chicago on June 10, 1929, it was one of at least four long-distance passenger trains to connect the Upper Midwest with the Pacific Northwest and three of those trains cut right through Montana. Today, the Empire Builder is the sole survivor of that fleet. Now operated by Amtrak, the Empire Builder is also one of America’s most popular long-distance trains, carrying nearly a half-million people annually, many of which are destined for Northwest Montana.
Full story: Flathead Beacon