Route
The route starts at Chicago and runs west across northern Illinois to the Mississippi River. It follows the eastern shore of the river through La Crosse and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin before turning west again in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota to Casselton, North Dakota. From Casselton the route runs northwest to Minot, North Dakota, then west through Montana and Idaho to Spokane, Washington.
In Montana, the line passes the East Gate of Glacier National Park and crosses the Two Medicine River on a high trestle. From East Glacier Park, Montana, the route continues ascending until it crests the Continental Divide at the summit of Marias Pass. The line then descends for 20 miles down the west side of the pass to Essex, Montana, running mostly double track on a narrow shelf, and crossing several high trestles over the Flathead River. Essex is home to the Izaak Walton Inn, which was constructed when the line was built to shelter railroad employees during the winter months, and also contains a small yard used to store helper engines, which are used to supply additional power to freight trains crossing Marias Pass. Prior to the invention of the powerful diesel locomotives used today, it was often necessary to split longer trains in order to make it up the pass.
From Essex, the line follows the Flathead River valley to Whitefish, Montana. Located in Whitefish is a restored passenger depot/museum (also serving Amtrak). The line then continues northwest to Stryker, Montana, then turns south and passes through the 7.2 mile long Flathead Tunnel as it makes its way west towards Sandpoint, Idaho. The line finally leaves the Rocky Mountains after Athol and reaches Spokane.
At Spokane the route splits into two routes, one going to Seattle, Washington and the other to Portland, Oregon. This route required construction of the Flathead Tunnel through the Rocky Mountains in Montana and the new Cascade Tunnel through the Cascade Mountains in Washington, which are the two longest railroad tunnels in the country. From St. Paul to the West Coast, this is the route of Amtrak's Empire Builder, except that the Builder turns north in Fargo to reach Grand Forks, while the Northern Transcon heads directly toward Minot, where the Builder rejoins the Transcon route. Also owned in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is trackage with running rights and a yard operated by a switch unit and full crew and the track is maintained by a small track crew.
Read more about this topic: Northern Transcon
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