Continuing on the Empire Builder - Day 2

So I fell asleep shortly after we left Minneapolis and I pretty much stayed asleep until the next morning.  That morning brought us to North Dakota.

 The funny thing about North Dakota is that we are starting to get into the mountains, although it doesn't really look like it.  I guess this would be considered as a plateau or the great northern plains.

 For the most part, the towns along the Empire Builder look roughly the same.  All I know is that I wouldn't want to break one of the rules on the train and find myself stuck in one of them.

 Evidently, there was some pretty serious flooding in the area just before we were passing through.

 If you aren't passing a wheat field, you're passing a cow pasture.

 And of course, trains.  This train is still painted in the older ATSF scheme.  I thought it looked kind of cool.

 One other thing about North Dakota is that it is going through a oil boom at the moment.  These appear to be new tank cars.  This boom is causing unemployment to be much lower in North Dakota than many other states.

 A pair of BNSF engines.

 One of the nice things about train travel is that if the train is running ahead of schedule, there are more stops to get out and stretch your legs.  This is the train station in Minot, North Dakota.  I think there is or used to be an Air Force Base nearby.

 This would be another typical scene in North Dakota.

 This is the lovely town of Stanley North Dakota.  It is the county seat of Mountrail County and has a population of just under 1,500.  It is located on the Bakken Oil Field but the oil there has been tough to extract.  The town was founded in 1902.

 We also passed several grain elevators.

 As we started to get higher in elevation, it started to look more like mountains.

 One of the things I like about taking the Empire Builder is the number of Gate Guardians at the train stations.  This particular one was used by the Great Northern railway and is in Williston, North Dakota.

 I'm not sure if this is a gate guardian or an active engine but at any rate it's message is still valid.  Don't try to play beat the train.  It's a game where one loss will do you in.

 Another set of grain elevators.

 I'm not sure if this is the Missouri River but I know that we paralleled the river for a while.

 I didn't think Norfolk-Southern serviced this part of the country, so I took a picture of the train.

 We were starting to get in a more mountainous area.

 These remind me of the mountains I would see on the Zephyr.

 More mountains.

 I think this may be Glasgow, Montana.  It was founded in 1887 by James Hill as railroad town.  The town grew in the 1930's with the formation of the Fort Peck Dam.  During World War II, it was home to Glasgow Air Base which housed B-17 Bombers.  The base was closed after World War II.  Its population is around 3,500 people.

 I'm not sure what town this was but I liked the church.

 I'm not sure what this was but I kind of liked the look of the scene.

 A shot of one of the Eastbound Empire Builders as it passed us.

 I think this may still be the Missouri River.

 As is this.

 Our next long stop was at Havre.  It is a major railyard for the BNSF railroad.  Consequently, I was able to get many engine pictures.

 A pair of engines.

 I kind of liked the looks of these.

 This is the station and a BNSF local headquarters.

 A shot of our train.  This is pretty typical for the distance trains of the west.

 This particular station gave us the opportunity to get closer to the guardian.

 A shot of the front.

 And just in case you forgot who originally owned this line.

 And then we were on our way again.  This is a plateau.

 And the fool on the hill.

 And just a shot of the vastness of the west.  I guess you never realize just how vast this country is unless you take a trip like this. 

 And we started to get closer to the Glacier Mountains.

 The weather wasn't terribly cooperative though.   This pretty much meant I was shooting at a higher ISO than I really wanted.

 A river passing under us.

 A golf course as we approached the mountains.

 I'm not sure what hotel this was but I kind of liked it.  Sadly, I couldn't get a much better picture than this one.

 I'm always amazed at the beauty of the mountains.

 And doubly so when you put a lake or a pond in front of them.

 I just wish the water were a little calmer.

 One of the mountains peeking up over the woods.

 This was a monument to one of the engineers.

 I kind of wish I knew what this mountain was called.

 A shot of our train as we pass through the mountains.

 Even though this is a crappy shot, I wanted to post it because it has an avalanche shelter in it.  These are used to keep the rail open in the event of an avalanche.

 Another shot of the mountains.

 And the river passing through.

 This is a spot that I wish I could have stopped at.  This is making me want to make Glacier my destination next year.

 Another track.

 This is the gate guardian at the Isaak Walton Hotel.  I was hoping I would get a better shot of it this time...nope.

 Same for the hotel.

 And we slowly move out of the park.

 The snow capped mountains fading out of view.

 Moving to more relatively flat land.

 And another river passing through.

 We had another long stop at one of my favorite stations along the route.  That is the station at Whitefish, Montana.  This is a statue of the Billy Goat which was the symbol for the Great Northern Railroad.

 A shot of the station itself.  It was opened in 1927 by the Great Northern Railroad.  It is one of the busiest stations on the Empire Builder.  In 2002, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

 And a shot of our train as the sun started to set.

 Another gate guardian.

And the sun as it set over the mountains, signifying the end of another day on the train.