In order to serve the Pacific Northwest’s two largest cities, Amtrak’s Empire Builder added a Portland section in 1981, with the train splitting in two at Spokane, Washington, and continuing over BNSF’s route across the Cascade Range to Seattle WA (the traditional route from when it was a Great Northern train), or along the Columbia River to Portland, Oregon, on the former Spokane Portland & Seattle’s line. Trains serving Seattle are numbered 7 and 8, while the Portland section is numbered 27 and 28.
On August 22, 2015, eastbound train 28 has departed Portland Oregon and is 9.6 miles into its 2255-mile journey to Chicago, Illinois, as it crosses the 2,807-foot-long (856 m) BNSF Bridge 9.6 (also known as the Columbia River Railroad Bridge), opened in 1908, a series of Pratt through truss bridges with a swing section to allow river traffic to navigate the Columbia, and is about to make its first stop in Vancouver, Washington, just 2112-feet ahead. This four-car train is led by P42DC 191, and upon arrival in Spokane – another 366 miles ahead – will be combined with the Seattle section to create a much more impressive length train that continues to Chicago.
With two sections of the Empire Builder, the Coast Starlight, Seattle, the Cascade Mountains, Columbia Valley and Puget Sound, Washington state offers rail buffs plenty of variety and beauty.
