Welcome to the Empire Builder, departing from Whitefish, Montana, for points east. This audio narration of the Empire Builder’s route from Whitefish to Havre is sponsored by GeoTours4U. The tour presents information describing points of interest along the route. This information comes from a variety of sources including the public domain version of the route guide researched by volunteers of the Trails and Rails program of the National Park Service. The narrations were prepared as a class project by students studying in the Geography Department of the University of Washington. If you have comments or suggestions about this tour, please email "geotours4u@gmail.com". Geotours4u is spelled g, e, o, t, o, u, r, s, followed by the number 4, followed by the letter u.
The Empire Builder has been traveling through the State of Montana for about the past 130 miles. Shortly we will begin our climb into the Rocky Mountains. Montana is the fourth largest state in total area. It is nearly 600 miles from East to West, and an average of 250 miles from North to South. The western third of the state is mountainous; eastern two thirds is Northern Great Plains
Nestled in the stunning Flathead Valley, Columbia Falls offers authentic Montana hospitality and family entertainment. Centrally located near Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake, golf courses, and Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort, it provides year-round attractions, accommodations, and dining with genuine Montana charm and value.
Currently, we are traveling through Montana’s Flathead County. The Flathead River is to our right and is flowing west before it bends south and enters Flathead Lake. In 1976, the federal government designated 219 miles of the Flathead River system as a National Wild and Scenic River, which means it managed to maintain its natural primitive state.
Glacial Lake Missoula, formed by the Cordilleran Ice Sheet blocking the Clark Fork River, was a vast prehistoric lake in Western Montana near present-day Lake Pend Oreille. Its repeated filling and emptying from 13,000 to 15,000 years ago left enduring marks on the landscape, evident in car-sized boulders and the Channeled Scablands of eastern Washington. Geologists have studied its impact since J.T. Pardee's 1910 discovery of shoreline marks around Missoula.
As you near Glacier National Park, the majestic mountains and breathtaking scenery for which the Park is renowned come into view. Spanning approximately 1,600 square miles, the Park safeguards a diverse landscape of dense forests, alpine meadows, lakes, peaks, and valleys sculpted by ancient glaciers, all nestled within the Northern Rocky Mountains.
In the summer of 2003, the Robert Fire was one of six large fires in and around Glacier National Park. These six fires together burned over a quarter of a million acres. The area burned inside the park was more than 10% of the total area of the park. The Roberts Fire grew from a fire started by a campfire. Some of the burned area can be seen to our left on the Apgar Mountains.
West Glacier serves as the western entrance to Glacier National Park and the Park’s headquarters. This is also the southern end of the Going-to-the-Sun highway. In the 1890s this town’s name was Bell’s Town, which was later shortened to Belton. Glacier National Park has been important to the community since the park opened in 1910. In an effort to promote tourism after World War II, Belton residents voted to change the town’s name to West Glacier. That explains why you can still spot the name “Belton” on the siding sign displayed on West Glacier’s depot.
The Belton Chalet is on our right across US Highway 2 about one block after we leave the station. This was one of the first hotels built by the Great Northern to serve its passengers on their tours inside Glacier National Park. The idea was to harmonize both the Chalet and Western Rustic-style architecture with the Park’s natural landscape. It’s been described as bringing a Swiss theme to the area promoted as the “American Alps.” The Belton Chalet is now in private hands, and celebrated its centennial along with that of Glacier National Park in 2010. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
For the next 30 miles, we will be traveling in an area little changed since the 1890s. The scenery along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River appears pretty much as it would have had your grandparents or great-grandparents traveled the route of the Empire Builder. Enjoy the natural beauty of the river, the geology of the rocks, and the forest. We may spot some birds and animals. We will pass through six tunnels on the way to our next stop at Essex.
Louis Hill was the son of Great Northern Railway founder James J. Hill, and his successor as its CEO. Louis Hill constructed many of the early lodges and chalets within the Park to attract visitors to the park and passengers for his trains. He also created a marketing campaign around the slogan “See America First – Glacier National Park.”
To the left of the train is Nyack Flats, also known as Nyack Meadows. This is an important elk feeding and calving ground. Sometimes in the morning, elk and deer can be spotted in the pastureland with the cattle. If you see elk or deer, call out and point. Great Bear Mountain, Mt. Penrose , and Nyack Mountain can be seen on the right side of the window. These mountains tower more than 7500 feet respectively, with Mt. Penrose the tallest being at 7,875 feet tall.
While we can view landscapes that have been carved by glaciers, we cannot see any of the Park’s glaciers from the train. The glaciers in the Park are generally on the northern exposures of the mountains, and from our current perspective we are looking at the mountains’ southern exposures. Although we cannot see any of the glaciers inside the Park, we may see one glacier that is just outside the Park. Atop Great Northern Mountain noted to be 8705 feet, to our right is Stanton Glacier. When the view of the mountain is clear, we will have a one or two second time window in which to spot the glacier, located just below the peak
We are passing by the southern boundary of Glacier National Park so let’s talk about glaciers for a few minutes. We cannot see any of the Park’s glaciers from the train – the glaciers are on the northern exposures of the mountains, and we see the mountain’s southern exposures from the train.
Across the river valley in the mountains of Glacier National Park is a sight more often associated with the Swiss Alps than the Rocky Mountains. Mount Saint Nicholas is recognizable by its close resemblance to the Matterhorn. Legend has it that the mountain also resembles Saint Nicholas’ hat, a bishop’s miter or tall cap. The sides of the original mountain have been carved away by glaciers, leaving its central core. What is left, and what we see today, is technically called a horn. Most horns, however, are the spired remnants of the sides of larger mountains, as opposed to a remnant center.
In about 30 minutes our route will take us over Marias Pass and the Continental Divide. For years, explorers and surveyors had attempted to find a suitable railroad passage through the Rocky Mountains near the Canadian border. Even Lewis and Clark missed this pass, which could have shortened the length of their Rocky Mountain journey and lessened its hardships. Though this area was well-known to the indigenous people of the Blackfeet and Salish-Kootenai tribes, it wasn’t until December 1889 that Chief Engineer John F. Stevens plowed through four feet of snow in temperatures of -40 degrees Fahrenheit, which is -40 degrees Celsius, reconnoitering Marias Pass for the Great Northern Railway. The railroad line we are following today was completed over Marias Pass in 1893.
Essex, at an elevation of nearly 3,900 feet, was formerly known as Walton before being renamed in 1947. Just before the train stop we will pass by the Izaak Walton Inn on our left. It’s named after the famous British author, angler and naturalist. This three-story Bavarian-style structure first opened in 1939 as a bunkhouse to house crews of the Great Northern Railway in the winter. The building became a private hotel in 1950. Look on the porch of the Izaak Walton Inn for guests and employees greeting us with a wave as the train passes by. Wave back! This is a longstanding tradition of the Inn.
We will be crossing the Sheep Creek Bridge in a moment, with a view across the valley of the area known as the Walton Goat Lick. Mountain goats prefer the rocky cliffs at higher elevations, yet descend each spring from the high country to the natural mineral licks along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River. The goats need the salts and minerals found in these eroding banks, visible [to the northeast] across the river from the train. Once in a while, mountain goats can be spotted on the mountainside across the river above the highway in the rocks and open green areas. They are also regular visitors to the cliffs below the highway. If the mountain goats are there, they will be far enough away to appear as small grayish-white “cotton balls.”
Shortly, we will be crossing the Java East Bridge over the Flathead River. As we cross the trestle, there are dramatic views of the river and valley on both sides of the train. The Java East Bridge marks the place where we leave the Middle Fork of the Flathead River and begin traveling up a steepening grade to the summit of Marias Pass. The double track main line we will be traveling on is constructed of continuous welded rail and concrete ties. This is one of the smoother mountain railroad right-of-ways in the United States. This is the most southerly point of Glacier National Park.
Look across the valley at the vertical scar running down the mountain. That is an avalanche chute. When snow builds up at the top in the winter and spring, it can roar down the avalanche chute, tearing away all the vegetation. Each year new trees and bushes sprout up, but the next winter’s avalanche tears them out and the cycle starts over again. We will pass through a series of eight snow sheds. If we could see through the snow shed over our heads, we would see an avalanche chute aimed directly at us. If an avalanche were to come down that chute during the winter or early spring, the snow, rocks and trees would shoot over the top of us into the valley below, thanks to this snow shed. In the accompanying photo, you can see the avalanche chutes that the snow sheds provide protection for on this train route. These snow sheds allow the trains to continue to operate safely during the winter. Many of the timbers used in these snow sheds were salvaged from the snow sheds of the previous route of the Great Northern Railway over Stevens Pass in Washington.
We are coming to an area known as Blacktail Siding. Here the train will go around a horseshoe curve. We should be able to see both ends of the train at the same time. Trains aren’t like cars that can make a quick turn around a right-angle corner. In fact, the track in this horseshoe curve is about the maximum curvature a train can negotiate. In 1985 a westbound freight train derailed and spilled hundreds of tons of corn in this area. Despite efforts by railway crews to clean up the spill, both black and grizzly bears came to feed on the corn. “By the spring of 1987 the corn had fermented, and officials began receiving reports of bears getting tipsy after eating the spoiled spillage. News reports about the ‘drunken bears’ in Glacier Park were carried around the world, and flocks of spectators soon began gathering. Concerned about erratic behavior of the bears and the large number of people gathering, officials closed the area and mixed the leftover corn with lime, hoping the chemical reaction would stop the aroma from attracting bears.” The lime may have helped, or the fermentation process may have simply run its course, but only one group of grizzly bears was sighted in the area the following year. Three more derailments involving a total of more than 100 grain cars came during the winter of 1988-1989, dumping some 10,000 tons of grain and corn on the hillside. “The bears awoke in spring and began to assist in the cleanup. Rangers tell of 11 bears at any one time gorging on the mounds of corn. So blissfully content was one grizzly that it lay down on its side and simply scooped corn into its face until it could eat no more. Little bears ate peaceably right along with the big ones, and even some black bears – which normally flee at the sight of the bully grizzlies – came to join in the feast. Wildlife biologists figure that bears will remember and visit the scene each spring just to double check for as long as they live, which for grizzlies is about 25 years.
You have probably noticed that many of the trees in view are not green, but either rust-colored, gray, or black. Those that are rust-colored or gray and scattered seemingly at random have in all likelihood been killed by bark beetle infestation. Those trees that are black and distinguished by the large area of destruction are evidence of forest fire. The bark beetle is a flying insect which at maturity is the size of a long grain of rice. The beetles bore through the bark to reach the tree’s cambium layer and lay their eggs. Once hatched, the larvae create feeding tunnels that encircle or "girdle" the tree. This "blocks" the flow of water and nutrients within the tree and it dies. The first growth season the tree is attacked it may appear outwardly healthy and green. After that it will turn rust-red, then gray, as it loses its needles and becomes a dead tree. At this point the larvae have grown to mature adults and migrate to other trees.
We have now climbed to nearly a mile above sea level and we are at the summit of Marias Pass. Marias Pass is the lowest and easiest transcontinental railway route across the Rocky Mountains between Canada and New Mexico. The Continental Divide marks the point where water to the west flows to the Pacific Ocean and water east of the divide flows to the Gulf of Mexico. The Continental Divide is marked by a tall stone obelisk to our right across US Highway 2. The obelisk is dedicated to President Theodore Roosevelt, who was an early proponent of the establishment and preservation of lands for our National Parks. To its left is a statue of John F. Stevens, who first explored Marias Pass for the Great Northern Railway in 1889.
Lubec Lake will soon appear on the left side of the train. This is a popular spot for photographers. When the wind is calm and the lake is ripple-free, you can capture the reflection of the Glacier Park Ramparts off the lake. When looking at Lubec Lake, you may see a beaver lodge on the left in the foreground, what appears to be an old hunting cabin on the left, the long rail fence in the foreground on the right, and perhaps even an occasional moose off in the distance. The cabin-like structure is the only remaining building from Glenn and Clara Smiley’s homestead. Glenn started a thriving lumber business here in 1910. In 1915 he married Clara who had come west on her own to homestead near Rudyard in 1913. After her claim was stolen by a crooked land agent, she found a job at Glacier Park Lodge, where she met Glenn. In 1921, the Smileys moved to East Glacier. They sold their homestead in 1930, and the house and barn were taken apart for use in a new building across the road. The building you see next to Lubec Lake was once a bunkhouse for the logging company workers.
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We are approaching East Glacier Station, a summer-season stop for the Empire Builder. The present depot opened in 1912 and became the eastern rail entrance to both Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park just across the Canadian border. The following year, the Glacier Park Hotel opened just north of the station and is framed beautifully under the watchful eye of Dancing Lady Mountain. In order to promote both the railroad and Glacier National Park, the Great Northern hired local Blackfeet members to meet the train at East Glacier in full regalia, pose with passengers for photos, and entertain tourists at what is now known as Glacier Park Lodge. In earlier years, a small town popped up to our right consisting of railroad employees and settlers. Back in those days it was called Midvale (probably because it was in the middle of the valley). The name was changed in 1913 at the same time as West Glacier to give a point of reference for visitors. Today, East Glacier Park, Montana has about 500 full-year residents.
We are about to cross the Two Medicine Bridge over the Two Medicine River. This is the highest trestle that the Empire Builder crosses between Seattle and Chicago. Good views of the river on both sides of the train as we cross the bridge.
In total, the Blackfeet Nation manages about 800 animals. Some bison have recently been introduced into the area near Chief Mountain. It’s the home the bison always had, a place where the Blackfeet Indian Reservation’s rolling foothills adjoin the ragged edge of the Rocky Mountain Front to form one of the most diverse ecosystems in North America, and where, for a century-and-a-half, the glaring absence of bison has conjured painful memories of cultural and ecological collapse for members of the Blackfeet Nation.
Between Marias Pass and Cut Bank we pass through the Blackfeet Reservation. The present reservation is what remains of a much larger tribal homeland after several land cessions in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, including the present railroad right of way and much of Glacier National Park. Of the over 15,000 enrolled tribal members, about 7,000 live on or near the reservation. The Blackfeet in Montana are part of a confederation with two Blackfoot tribes in Canada, the Siksika (or Northern Blackfoot) and the Kainah (or Blood). The Montana Blackfeet are known as the Piegan or Pikuni. The confederation, whose tribes trace their ancestry back to ice age hunters, has been divided by the U.S. Canadian border since the 1870s. By the late 1870s, the prairie ecosystems had been shattered beyond repair by the arrival of Euro-American settlers. The Blackfeet ceded land under social and economic distress, and thought the land would be shared, as they had reserved their rights to hunt, gather, travel, and hold sacred ceremonies. The U.S. government took the position that these rights were extinguished upon the National Park’s creation in 1910. The Blackfeet have never accepted this.
The structure alongside the tracks is a high-tech wind fence. The Browning area is known for its 60 to 100-mile-per-hour winds. These winds typically come from the west and can be strong enough to blow empty freight cars right off the tracks. The wind fence here on this north-south stretch of track was designed to prevent this from happening.
Located in central Montana and known for its very high winds, Browning is the only incorporated town on the Blackfeet reservation and serves as the tribal headquarters. Browning is the home of the Museum of the Plains Indian, which showcases the history, culture, artifacts, and artistic abilities of the Northern Great Plains tribes.
We are traveling in an area referred to as the Montana Hi-Line. It’s comprised of rolling prairie, seemingly endless fields of wheat, large herds of cattle, and statuesque mountains to the west. To Montana residents, the Hi-Line typically refers to the part of Montana along these railroad tracks and U.S. Highway 2, south of the Canadian border, stretching from North Dakota in the east to Idaho in the west, a distance of more than 650 miles.
Camp Disappointment is the farthest northern location that the Lewis and Clark Expedition explored. The location received its name from Lewis due to his disappointment that the location did not have what he was looking for. This site is about 12 miles northeast of Browning at the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The site was dedicated on 15 October 1966.
We are passing fields of winter wheat, spring wheat and barley. The difference between winter and spring wheat is the time of year when it is planted. Spring wheat is sown in April and harvested in August, while winter wheat is sown in October and harvested in July. Winter wheat needs a period of cold temperatures to create grain heads, whereas spring wheat does not.
As we approach the city of Cut Bank we will be crossing the 1,200 foot long, 160 foot high Cut Bank Creek Bridge. The current structure was opened to rail traffic in 1900. Because of oil production in the area, the trestle was considered strategic to the World War II effort and needed to be protected. During that time, armed guards were posted on this bridge 24 hours a day to prevent sabotage.
We’ve been commenting on the strong winds that occur here on the Montana Hi-Line. Those strong winds can be both a curse and a blessing. The blessing is in the energy generated by the wind farm you see on the right. The energy produced by these wind turbines is channeled downward into electrical ground cables that allow for transfer into the energy grid.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, thousands of homesteaders staked their claims and their hopes on a dream of freedom and independence in the West. More homesteading claims were filed in Montana than in any other state. This saw a rise of individuals chasing a self sufficient agricultural lifestyle.
With vast plots of land in central Montana, agriculture has always been imbedded in the culture. Farmers are reintroducing an old type of wheat growing method. Instead of strip-cropping that requires tilling the soil, they are utilizing a practice known as “no-till” or “chem fallow.” Instead of tilling the soil, they plant the wheat in the existing wheat stubble, controlling the weeds with chemicals.
Just before the I-15 overpass, on the hill to our right, you can see the 100 foot tall 30 by 50 foot Flag. The flag pole and its flag are Shelby’s memorial for remembering the contributions made by veterans in protecting our nation’s freedom. Because of the strong winds, the flag has to be replaced three times every year. Shelby was originally known as “Rattlesnake Gulch.” In the 1890s, the Great Northern Railway made Shelby a water stop for steam engines. In 1921, a geologist discovered oil nearby and the result was that Shelby turned into one of the biggest boomtowns of the “Roaring Twenties,” billing itself as the “Tulsa of the West.” Today there are approximately 2,000 oil wells between Shelby and the Canadian border. Shelby is one of the busiest towns on the Montana Hi Line. It is located just 35 miles south of the Port of Sweetgrass, a major entry point to Canada. Every day 2,500 trucks pass through town on Interstate 15, many headed north to Calgary, Edmonton and Anchorage Alaska.
You can see a chain link fence on the right across US Hwy 2. That is a site left over from the Cold War era -- an underground US Air Force missile silo. It is probable in the past that the silo has contained a Minuteman III missile, but most likely, the silo is empty and unused today.
The geologic formation appearing in the distance to the left of the train is known as the Sweet Grass Hills. Though on a clear day they may appear to be fairly close, they are actually nearly 30 miles north, just on the US side of the Canadian Border. The tallest, West Butte, is almost 7,000 feet high, while Gold Butte and East Butte are each over 6,500 feet high.
The Bears Paw Mountains on the right in the distance are the site of the Bears Paw Battlefield, the location of the final battle of the Nez Perce War of 18 77, one of the last Indian wars in the American West. The events that took place in 1877 can be remembered as the Nez Perce people's painful and tragic encounter with 'Manifest Destiny'.
Montana is the third largest wheat producer in the country. North Dakota is first and Kansas is second. Grain storage facilities in this area are important in the supply chain that moves grain from Montana farms to Japan, China and Central America. On your left is one of two state-of-the-art, high-speed shuttle train grain loaders in this area.
Thank you for listening to this description of Points of Interest along the route followed by the AMTRAK Empire Builder train from Whitefish to Havre, Montana. We hope you have added to your knowledge of the history and geography of this interesting region of the US. If you have comments regarding this tour, email us at geotours4u@gmail.com (Geotours4u is spelled g, e, o, t, o, u, r, s, followed by the number 4, followed by the letter u.)
Havre was first known as Bullhook Bottoms. When the Great Northern Railway was slated to stop here, its founder, James J. Hill, asked the the town’s founding fathers to select a new name. Unfortunately, the first meeting ended in a brawl. At a subsequent meeting, Gus Descelles, an original homesteader, suggested it be named after his parents’ hometown of Havre, France. Havre quickly became the transportation hub of the area, providing goods and supplies to the area trappers, miners and military stationed at Fort Assinniboine, six miles southwest of town. Prior to 1910, the area was devoted primarily to raising sheep, cattle and horses. Soon, the number of farms began to outpace the number of ranches, as farmers started growing some of the world’s greatest spring and winter wheat. Although agriculture is the undisputed financial mainstay in the area, the economy is diversified with farming, ranching, hospital and health services, education, professional and retail business, manufacturing, and railroad industries. Havre is the focal point of commercial activity in the area. As the largest city on the Hi-Line, it serves as a wholesale distribution and retail center for communities within 150 miles. Havre is the county seat of Hill County.
This Tour is a Thematic Tour or Heritage Trail.
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The AMTRAK Empire Builder Train originates at the King Street Station in Seattle and terminates in Chicago. This tour covers the leg of this journey from Whitefish to Havre, Montana.
