Empire Builder Direction

Depends upon where you board, time of year, (daylight hours available), and what you hope to see.

If you'd care to see Montana, you can catch most of the State either direction. Except in the shortest months, when you miss the Rockies and Bitterroots both ways.

Westward you can see a good portion of the route in Washington State, west of Spokane. Heading east it's dark after you get across the Cascades- Much sooner in winter, where you don't see a lot by the time you hit Everett.

I'm hoping to do it again soon. Before poor weather sets in for that season... I always love westward- Heading out of Everett, and seeing Puget Sound again.

Boxcab E50

 

Summertime, in the longest days, east-west is good; you'll get to Whitefish by dusk generally, if you're on-time. East to west, you wake up about Whitefish, and spend the morning over Marias Pass.

In Washington, east-west, (taking the Portland/ Columbia River Gorge routing) you see nothing but black till you wake up about Pasco (Wenatchee for Seattle bound riders). Then, you follow the Gorge all morning to Portland.
I went west-east by way of a Amtrak Cascades train Portland to Seattle, where I picked up the 'Builder again. We ate dinner going thru Skykomish, and waited for the tunnel venting before we proceeded. We saw the Cascades out to about Wenatchee, where it was dark all the way to Spokane and points east. I took an Amtrak shower while riding thru Cascade Tunnel--no curves to buck you around!
I did this trip 2 months ago, the last week of June. What a ride!

In winter, it gets dark around 5PM MST. East-west:
You'll be lucky to see Shelby, MT before dark. (there's nothing spectacular in Shelby), and you'll race thru a barren white wasteland of eastern MT/and all of North Dakota. You'll leave Minot, ND about daybreak. The rest of the trip west will be black till you're to Everett or Vancouver, depending on your final terminus.
West-east: You'll depart at dusk,a nd it'll be dark till you get to about Essex, MT at first light. The ride east over Marias in winter would be spectacular. The rest of the trip east would be rolling hills and white wasteland again clear to Wolf Point, MT, where it would be getting dark again.
The winter trip is prolly nice, but too much darkness.
The summer train is best!

 

If on schedule. At that time of the evening, in this area, departing as advertised you will still have some views for about an hour on west. Too dark by the time you are in vicinity of Flathead Tunnel.

I believe that is west to east. In mid-summer the daylight is pretty good by the time you hit Stryker. Bright sun at Whitefish.

In late summer/early fall, when there is still some light, the Mountain tree colors are nice.

Boxcab E50

 

In the off travel season months, except Holidays, you will have a better chances to get your chosen date. Summer months the trains can be, and often are full. Reserve well ahead, in order to get space and the best rates.

I spoke with our area Amtrak Agent early this week, and he says right now the EB are quite often selling out 10 days to two weeks in advance. Or even further out.

Boxcab E50

 

Good catch--I was in a rush to get out the door....

We bought our tickets, with sleeper accomodations, back in January. We wanted the family bedroom, and we had a tough time even finding the right combination of days for that bedroom both ways, even 6 months in advance.
The morning we showed up in WF, it was overcast. Whitefish Lake was pretty, no matter what the weather. It prolly would have been bright sun.