Had 2 full size sleepers for me, my wife and 2 20 something adult children. Truly enjoyed the trip. 44 hours to Seattle. Food was great on the whole trip. Snow everywhere for the whole trip. Great time with kids spending time 2 empty nesters really needed. .If we did it again we would do it in reverse from Seattle to Chicago, In order to view better scenery, in Glacier park. you could actually just go from Seattle to Whitefish Montana and turn around and get the whole scenery experience.

A planned two-day business trip included a scheduled 4-hour ride from Portland, OR to Pasco, WA, returning two days later. Not wanting to make a long drive out to Eastern Washington, and wanting to take my father, a 95 year old former railroader, the train seemed to be a good alternative. Well, I'm left to wonder now about that choice.
I've ridden trains all my life of 67 years. It's sad and pathetic to see what Amtrak has become, when it has such potential. The train car we were assigned to was literally worn out, dirty, and in need of repair or replacement. An example of what poor condition the equipment is in is showing in the picture. Literally, the toilet had to be flushed by pouring water from a cup into the toilet bowl. Are you kidding me?
The stairway to the upper level reminded me of dark, dirty stairways I used to see in the Projects in New York. The EB is one of Amtrak's longest-distance trains but what I saw reminded me of the New York subways of the 70's.... smelly and dismal.
The return trip was punctuated by late, late arrival of two hours, normal for the EB. This, after waking at 3:30 AM for a scheduled 5:25 AM departure. Even that I could live with, except the cafe' car was totally out of all breakfast items except for stale donut holes and dry cinnamon rolls.
I'm left to wonder why, given the starvation diet that is Amtrak's funding, coupled with host railroads' disdain for prioritizing Amtrak trains, they even field such a dismal representation of what was once the premier Great Northern train.
The very least that could be done is clean up the cars. We're it not for my Dad's presence, I would have moved to the Sightseer car. Oh, but wait..... the car is directly behind the locomotive and is the unwilling collective for the exhaust of the engine. The air in the car was almost unbreathable.
I am a diehard train rider. I love the ride, the scenery, and stressless travel. But I am saddened by the deterioration of this once-proud train and left to wonder if the country's infernal addiction to cars hasn't killed off any incentive to make rail travel the pleasurable experience I remember from decades ago.

The Amtrak trip from Chicago to Seattle aboard the Empire Builder was just part of our big vacation. We started the trip in Memphis on "The City of New Orleans". There were 4 couples that made the trip to Seattle by train. We met up with the rest of our group that took a 7 day cruise to Alaska. The westbound leg of the trip was by far the best. We had great staff on the train. The food was incredible! We had a roomette, so the food was included in the price. The scenery was also amazing. I was planning on doing a little reading & catching up on emails, but spent most of my time just watching the miles go by. The changes in landscape & variety of animals that we saw were interesting. It was fun getting to travel with friends. On the eastbound trip home, it seemed a little rougher, although it is basically the same tracks. We still had good food & service, just didn't bond with the staff as well. Traveling through some areas one way is night & the other way is daytime, so we saw some things coming home that we missed going west. It was a great trip, my wife & I went through 6 states we'd never been in before. I would like to take this trip again someday, but make some extended stops in places along the way with a multi-city ticket.