Amtrak Cascades - History

History

The Amtrak Cascades route is an outgrowth of the original routes between Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC. Originally operated as a joint partnership by the Northern Pacific, Great Northern, and Union Pacific, this route has evolved to become one of Amtrak's most popular.

When Amtrak started in 1971, there were three trains running between Seattle and Portland; the connection to Vancouver was discontinued upon Amtrak's founding. These three trains were unnamed at first, but with the advent of Amtrak's first "official" timetable in November 1971, one became the Coast Starlight (which continued south to Los Angeles), while the other two became the Mount Rainier and Puget Sound.

1972 brought the return of the Vancouver service, with the inauguration of the Pacific International. It always was a small train, though for a time it had one of the most unusual consists in the Amtrak system, carrying one of the few observation cars that Amtrak operated.

The corridor grew in 1980 with the State of Oregon financially subsidizing two daily round trips between Portland and Eugene. Named the Willamette Valley, these trains were discontinued in April 1982. This was on the heels of the Pacific International's discontinuance in September 1981. This left three trains on the Portland-Seattle corridor: the Coast Starlight, the Pioneer and the Mount Rainier. This situation remained unchanged for the next 12 years.