A pair of new Siemens ALC-42s lead the eastbound Empire Builder, running just over 2hrs late out of St Cloud.

Amtrak's class ALC-42 leads the eastbound Empire Builder out of St. Paul.

The westbound Empire Builder soaks in the last rays of sunlight along the shores of Lake Pepin at Maple Springs. Soon a timetable change will set back the departure from Chicago making the train ... (more)

AMTK 78 leads the eastbound Empire Builder after departing Red Wing.

AMTK 78 leads the eastbound Empire Builder arriving at the Red Wing Depot.

AMTK ALC-42 #300, AMTK ALC-42 #301, AMTK P42DC #136, AMTK P32-8BWH #506, and AMTK P42DC #11 provide power to Amtrak Empire Builder train #8 as it makes its station stop in Red Wing, MN.

AMTK 161 leads the eastbound Empire Builder through St. Paul.

AMTK 161 leads the eastbound Empire Builder through St. Paul.

One of Amtrak's new Charger units trails a weather beaten leader on the Empire Builder.

Amtrak train 17, the North Coast Hiawatha races into St. Paul past Milwaukee Road's Pigs Eye Yard hump tower and BN's main and Dayton's Bluff yard lead. E9 MILW 31C, built in April 1956, which wil... (more)

The engineer for Amtrak's North Coast Hiawatha checks things over as the train loads passengers at Minneapolis. At start up, Amtrak chose to make one stop in the Twin Cities and decided on Minneap... (more)

On a rare move, Amtrak's Empire Builder heads east on its namesake route for the first time in 7 years. Of course during the Great Northern era, and even Amtrak until 1979, the Empire Builder was ... (more)

A railroading version of the tortoise and the hare. The fresh snow kicked up by the Empire Builder illustrates the speed difference of the two trains. AMTK 17 is sprinting ahead of BNSF 6778, wh... (more)

While the historic city water tower is no longer in use, it makes for a nice backdrop as Amtrak's Empire Builder operating over five hours late sweeps thru an S curve in downtown Elk River MN.

Inconsistent Consist. On Sunday, August 1, 2021, Amtrak Train 8 (Empire Builder) was a few moments from arriving at the St. Paul, Minnesota station as it passed through downtown with 4 P42D... (more)